A 25TH anniversary Wallabies tour of Great Britain and Ireland is close to being finalised after talks involving the Australian Rugby Union and the English Rugby Football Union.

Also, the prospect of the Wallabies playing the All Blacks in an offshore Test at Twickenham late next year is gaining momentum.

The Herald has been told that an announcement is imminent that during next year's end of season northern hemisphere tour, the Wallabies will play Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England on the same trip for the first time since the famous 1984 grand slam tour.

While the Scotland, Ireland and Wales Tests are locked in for next year, the stumbling block has been a date to play England at Twickenham. However, the Herald has learnt a Twickenham date is close to being finalised, and the RFU is very interested in having England involved in the ARU's grand slam proposal.

Yet like the Wales Test, which the Wallabies play in Cardiff tomorrow morning Sydney time, the proposed England Test would be outside the International Rugby Board's November window, and so the home team would depend on European clubs allowing England players to be involved in the match.

A 2009 grand slam would mark the 25th anniversary of one of Australia's most famous tours, when the Andrew Slack-led Wallabies won all four Home Nations Tests, with Wallabies five-eighth Mark Ella scoring tries in each Test. The tour is regarded as one of the defining moments in the history of Australian rugby.

Apart from the grand slam match in London, the Wallabies may well be heading to Twickenham a second time late next year for a Bledisloe Cup clash.

While the New Zealand Rugby Union is pushing for next year's offshore Bledisloe Cup Test to be played in the United States, this hasn't excited the ARU, which is understood to be keener on Twickenham. Considering the high number of Australasian expatriates in London, the ARU believes it would be a sell-out. The RFU is understood to be very interested, too.

However, Metro Denver Sports Commission president KieAnn Brownell said they were "pretty close" to hosting a Bledisloe Test at the Denver Broncos' home, Mile High Stadium, late next year.

Following the success of the Hong Kong Bledisloe Cup Test last month, both the ARU and NZRU have stressed they are eager to play more matches in neutral venues. Japan has also been mentioned as a possible venue, with the ARU in particular keen to embrace Asia.

Playing more matches against New Zealand will also gain the support of the Wallabies, in particular their coach Robbie Deans, who believes the standard of the national team will only improve if they play more games against the world's best.

Deans was a strong supporter of the Hong Kong venture, while arguing that the young players in the squad can only benefit from playing more games at the major overseas venues.