A full-strength northern hemisphere team is being assembled for next month's tsunami fundraising rugby match at Twickenham, much to the delight of southern coach Rod Macqueen.
There had been fears the leading players in the Six Nations championship would be unavailable for the match but Macqueen had learned northern coach Sir Clive Woodward is free to select from them for the match on March 5.
"We understand they're close to naming a team which will be full strength, a very strong team," Macqueen told NZPA.
The match falls in a weekend between the third and fourth rounds of the Six Nations.
The team could provide some early indication of British and Irish Lions coach Woodward's thinking ahead of the Lions' tour to New Zealand later this year. However, the northern team is also sure to feature players from France, Italy and North America.
Macqueen was pleased the match would feature some of the world's best players, particularly as he was on the verge of naming a powerful southern side after a week of intense multi-national negotiation.
"I'm sure everyone hopes that if we're going to have southern and northern hemisphere sides playing for a cause like this that we're going to have the best players we can get," the former Australian coach said. "There's a lot happening behind the scenes but I'm pretty sure now everyone will be happy with the end result from both sides."
Macqueen said English-based New Zealand back Bruce Reihana was being "looked at" as a reserve but could not confirm his selection in the southern team.
Tana Umaga (Hurricanes), Andrew Mehrtens (Crusaders), Carl Hoeft (Highlanders) and Jerome Kaino (Blues) are the representatives from New Zealand Super 12 franchises. Macqueen hoped to name the Chiefs representative by the end of this week.
George Gregan (ACT Brumbies), Chris Latham (Queensland Reds) and Phil Waugh (NSW Waratahs) have been secured from Australia while South Africa's representatives have also been confirmed.
John Smit will be one of the South Africans but Macqueen wouldn't reveal the others until the team is officially announced.
The team would be unveiled "within days" after he and assistant coach Ian Jones, the former All Blacks lock, had made countless more phone calls.
"It's just a matter of logistics at the moment. We're dealing with people in the Pacific Islands and on the other side of the time zone at European clubs," he said.
"We've obviously got to organise some shadow players as well. The reality will be that there are a couple of injuries before the game." NZPA