Looking enviously at golf's Ryder Cup, The Guardian's Robert Kitson wonders if rugby could ever put a viable north v south match together.
"The Ryder Cup will soon be with us in all its pastel-slacked, absurdly partisan, you're-the-man glory. Not so long ago it was but a relatively low-key event in the golfing calendar; now there are pretty much dedicated 'WAG lanes' on the M4 to ferry the players' partners to and from Celtic Manor. Rugby union, always looking for ways to boost its global profile, can only gaze longingly at golf's sexiest format.
"The nearest oval-ball equivalent is the British and Irish Lions, whose teams generate massive interest for a relatively short space of time before dissolving into history overnight. Never again will Jamie Roberts and Brian O'Driscoll have the chance to dovetail to the same stunning effect as in South Africa in 2009. The closest thing to a direct Ryder Cup comparison - apart from the occasional Barbarians showpiece - came in 2005 when the Southern Hemisphere beat the North 54-19 at Twickenham to help raise money for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami."
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