The idea will be the main focus of talks between IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset, deputy Bill Beaumont and the four home unions, France, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand at the Tier One CEOs meeting, although the possibility of a global tournament to run in between World Cups is also expected to be explored.

But Moore, who won 64 caps for England, expressed concern that any such a project would not necessarily be a good thing for the game.

“I’m sure it will make a lot of money but I’m not really sure if it is of particular benefit to rugby,” Moore said.

“The game will be a sell-out wherever it’s played so it will be a good way of making money from a one-off match, but do we really need another game?

“What it could do is end up creating a quasi-World Cup and the danger with that happening is that it will devalue other matches.

“There is a pool of top rugby-playing nations and if they meet on a more regular basis then it will take the shine off things like the autumn internationals which already see Australia, South Africa and New Zealand visit regularly.

“They hold a similar thing with the clubs in rugby league but it comes at the end of one team’s season and the beginning of the others so I’m not sure whether it would be a fair contest.

“We’re already talking about player burn-out from too much rugby so to add another a game, and all the travelling which is associated with that, seems a bit unnecessary.”

Former Wales captain Gareth Edwards was also sceptical of the idea, and echoed Moore’s fears about the impact on players, but could see the benefits of such a match.

“We all want to see the best play the best so I can definitely see the attraction in having a game like this,” Edwards said.

“From a commercial point of view I can see how it is appealing to those who run the game but we have to worry about how many games the players will play and the timing of when you have such a match.

“And how long is it before you say ’let’s have the top two teams play each other’ and then it becomes not just a one-off annual match.

“I’d also be worried about how it would impact on the British and Irish Lions tours which are very important to the home nations and I would not want to see them suffer as a result.

“Of course it’s not just the match itself, it is the preparations that coaches would demand and this could cause problems with domestic clubs who wouldn’t be happy with their players leaving for such a match.”

Hong Kong Rugby Football Union executive director Allan Payne has already indicated they would be extremely interested in staging any clash.

Hong Kong, who are set to host a Test match between Australia and New Zealand in the autumn, already host an international sevens competition and could seen as suitable geographical neutral venue.

Although the ’best of the best’ match is yet to officially be confirmed, Payne is confident there will be no obstacles preventing the IRB-sanctioned clash from going ahead.

“We believe Hong Kong would be an excellent venue for such a game,” he told the South China Morning Post.

“Part of our strategic plan is to look at hosting international matches and it would be a tremendous honour if we were asked to host this match.

“While nothing has been finalised yet, all parties, including the government, have welcomed the idea with great enthusiasm. This support should give rugby officials a big boost as they make a play to host the touted global championship.”