The match is just three weekends after the Pacific Islanders are due at Twickenham for an historic debut clash with England.

But while New Zealand will take home a significant portion of the approximate £7m (€9.3m) the RFU make from a home Test match, the cash-strapped islanders cannot command an appearance fee or slice of the gate receipts.

Baron explained: “We have agreed to play New Zealand on November 29, 2008 and are just waiting on IRB clearance, which we expect to receive some time this week.

“Any Test played outside of the IRB official tours window require a voluntary agreement between the two participating unions and all the issues of cost sharing come into it, so you have to agree a financial package.

“We are very proud of our record here. We always provide financial assistance to the Pacific Island teams when they come here. We have helped Samoa and Tonga.

“We haven’t had a request from the Pacific Islands yet but if we did get one we would listen to it sympathetically.”

England’s two other opponents in November will be Australia and South Africa, who are now bound by agreements made at the Woking international summit to bring their strongest teams on tour.

Following the debacle of last summer’s trip to South Africa, when head coach Brian Ashton was down to the bare bones, there has also been an acknowledgement at Twickenham that England must do the same.

“We hope those days, in England and elsewhere, are behind us,” said Baron.

“By taking weakened sides on tour, all it does is undermine the value of Test rugby. I have great sympathy for the complaints the southern hemisphere has been throwing in the northern hemisphere’s direction because they have been suffering the big commercial hit as a result of it.

“We all agreed that we have to protect the value of Test match rugby. If not you will suffer commercially and financially in the long term.

“At Woking, all the countries agreed we have to play tours going both ways and it has to be best teams or it will devalue it.”