that they will take part in the 10th anniversary of the tournament which will run from November 9-16.

And while arrangements have still to be finalised, it looks likely that England will combine with Ireland, Scotland and Wales as the Classic Lions in order to mount a serious challenge to New Zealand.

Japan will get a first taste of Classic rugby later this month when the Far East tournament takes place in Fukuoka, Japan with New Zealand, South Africa and Australia competing.

Fukuoka, known as the City of Sport in Japan, expects to attract over 20,000 spectators to the games.

Local Classic president John Kane, who has been invited to the Far East event, is hoping to interest Japanese sponsors while there, making use of the worldwide television exposure of the World Rugby Classic.

The 1996 Classic, through a one hour programme produced by Yorkshire Television, was seen on ESPN 2 and ESPN International (twice), on ITV in the UK and in special programmes in South America and Australia and was also the lead item on a recent Gillette Sports Special which is seen in over 150 countries.

A specially produced segment was also seen on BBC Television in the UK.

Meanwhile, the giant telecommunications company AT&T, in spite of major sponsorship withdrawals worldwide, have confirmed that they will continue to sponsor the Classic because of the television exposure.