Stamford Bridge ticket rush as Ireland take on Baa-Baas

The ground-breaking game, scheduled for Sunday, May 25, will be the first at the stadium since the pioneering All Blacks beat Middlesex there in 1905 during the early stages of their first British Isles tour.

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The fixture, arranged as a warm-up before Ireland leave London for their three June Tests against New Zealand and Australia, is due to be announced later this month.

The novelty factor, allied to Ireland's large London-based support, is expected to be a 41,000 sell-out. The deal links two of the unlikeliest bed-fellows in British sport — the Baa-Baas, synonymous for so long with amateurism and the Corinthian spirit, and Chelsea, the cash kings of English soccer.

Croke Park, Ireland's temporary home pending the reconstruction of Lansdowne Road, is to stage all three home Six Nations' matches against Italy, Scotland and Wales as well as the November Tests against New Zealand and Argentina.

The other autumn Test, against Canada, is likely to be switched to Limerick and the new Thomond Park currently in the process of being enlarged to more than double capacity to 26,000.

Despite fears that the Baa-Baas would become one of the biggest casualties of professionalism, rugby's most famous touring club will follow up their spectacular success in beating South Africa at Twickenham last month with a series of matches against international opposition — Belgium at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels on May 27, an England XV at Twickenham the following weekend and Australia at Wembley in December.

Rugby's attempts to simplify the sport and win new friends will gather pace with South Africa introducing a raft of experimental law variations to all levels of the sport.

International Board chairman Bernard Lapasset said: 'This is a very exciting development for the game as it gives a further opportunity to conduct comprehensive on-field analysis.

'The Board has no desire to change the very fabric of the game but recognises the need to continually look at the laws to ensure that rugby is as easy as possible to play, referee and understand.'

The experimental laws includes the award of penalties only for offside, foul play and deliberate or persistent infringement. Corner flags are no longer considered to be touch-in-goal and will be removed. Defending teams passing the ball back into their own 22 and kicking direct to touch will concede the line-out not where the ball went out but from in line with where it was kicked.

Mauls can be pulled down, a penalty offence at present, and the only condition about the number of players in the line-out is that there must be a minimum of two.