The Crusaders' earthquake-disrupted Super 15 rugby campaign could still benefit from a sixth-round match against the Sharks at Twickenham in London.
The Christchurch franchise last week asked the English Rugby Football Union (RFU) if they could host the March 26 fixture as their own ground was unusable due to damage sustained in last month's 6.3-magnitude earthquake.
Despite their willingness to help, the RFU turned down the request for logistical reasons, as Twickenham neighbours Harlequins are set for a home game on the same day.
However, Crusaders chief executive Hamish Riach today said he was hopeful a date switch would mean the Super 15 fixture could be held at Twickenham after all.
He said "tweaking" the date and time for the match from March 26 to March 27 had resulted in a better likelihood the match would go ahead.
"We haven't quite got it there, but we're very close to knowing whether we're there or not," he told Radio Sport today.
"Now we've just got some logistical issues to sort out around the Sharks team after the game. If we can solve those, then we may well be in business."
Riach said the timing of the kick-off, and getting the Sharks out of England after the game, were the major sticking points.
The Sharks had been "really supportive" of the proposal, he said, and were keen to do something to help Christchurch and the Crusaders after the February 22 earthquake.
If the Twickenham proposal fell through, the match would be held in Timaru on March 26.
Since the earthquake, the Crusaders have played two Super 15 rugby games after points were shared from their cancelled second-round match against the Hurricanes scheduled for Wellington on February 26.
They thumped the Waratahs 33-18 at their temporary home ground in Nelson on March 4, then destroyed the Brumbies 52-10 a week later at the same venue.
The second-placed Crusaders travel to Dunedin for a fifth-round clash with New Zealand conference leaders the Highlanders on Saturday.
