It has taken 10 years and a "Tsunami" for rugby league and rugby union to consider a hybrid game, but at last there is a chance this will happen in the wake of the Southern Asia tidal wave and the successful cricket match last Monday that raised in excess of $10 million.

In 1995, the International Rugby Board decided that the game of rugby could be a professional game with players able to accept payment for play. This had been the sticking point with players 100 years before when the breakaway rugby league was formed in England.

This was followed in 1908 by a similar breakaway move in Australia that then gave the rival rugby code opposition on the world stage. Since that day, rugby union has advanced the number of countries in which the game is played to in excess of 100 while rugby league has been restricted in its expansion to a handful of countries with England, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea being the main competitors for the Australian all conquering Kangaroos team.

A match on a combined (hybrid) set of rules played at the Stadium Australia venue in Sydney with the proceeds going to the Asian Tsunami victims would be likely to draw a crowd of 50-60,000 and likely to rival the huge success of the International One Day cricket match played in Melbourne last Monday. The teams were drawn from representatives of Asian countries against a "rest of the world" team. Ricky Ponting (Australia) captained the World side while Surev Gangulay (India) skippered the Asian team. Crowd was 70,000.

In the proposed rugby match, it is planned to have one team drawn from the 16 National Rugby League club sides each contributing one player each and a team made up of International Wallaby players with the key positions taken up by stars that have converted in the past ten years from rugby league to rugby union.

The harsh scrummaging of union would be replaced by uncontested scrums where the team putting in the ball wins the scrum. This happens in 97% of scrums in the normal game and being uncontested would protect the league players from likely injury in a mode of play that is not in their training schedule.

It is the backs where the game would flow and the opportunity to see star former league players Wendell Sailor, Lote Tuquiri and Mat Rogers being pitted against the likes of Andrew Johns, Brad Fittler, Braith Anasta and Daren Lockyer would help to pack the 80,000 seat former Olympic main stadium.

Add to the mix of players names like Brad Thorn, Duncan McCrae, Andrew Walker and overseas stars that have converted to union Jason Robinson, Iestyn Harris, Henry Paul and Liam Botham and the TV contracts should roll in.

Lineouts would be likely to stay for their spectacle while the breakdown of play from tackles presents the rule makers with the greatest dilemma. Many will say that for safety the league play the ball should be adopted but union followers will believe the continuity of play presented by the release of the ball and contesting for possession is the way to go.

A date in February/March is to be announced for the still to be confirmed event.

For more information go to: http://www.sundaytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,9353,11952495-28780,00.html

Any ideas on a combined set of rules for a hybrid game will be welcomed by the author. Send your suggestions to rollom@bigpond.net.au