Sir Clive Woodward is likely to reveal his first British and Irish Lions shortlist before this season's Six Nations kicks off. The coach will announce an extended draft - around 60 or 70 players - in January, before the final 44-strong squad for New Zealand is revealed post-Six Nations.

The Lions' chief executive John Feehan also hopes that a management team can be unveiled by late October.

"We had hoped to have a press conference at the end of September but it has drifted out a couple of weeks purely for logistical reasons," said Feehan, who was in Cardiff yesterday to announce a warm-up game against Argentina at the Millennium Stadium on May 23. "Then in January some time we will probably have a large squad of players, which would reduce down after the Six Nations."

The Argentina match - the Welsh beat off competition from England and Scotland to stage it - will complete Woodward's preparations before he leads his squad to Auckland two days later. The Lions play 11 games in New Zealand, including three Tests against the All Blacks, coached by Graham Henry.

"There is absolutely no doubt that the level of preparation, not just by Clive in terms of the team and operational side but also the commercial side and other considerations, that we are the best prepared squad ever," said Feehan.

David Pickering, the Welsh Rugby Union chairman, said that the Lions' visit to Cardiff will be the most important game staged in Wales since Australia beat France to be crowned 1999 world champions. "This is the greatest catch of all," he said. "The Lions is the greatest brand in world rugby and this will be a major rugby event. We are expecting a tremendous response from the public."

Organisers are confident the Millennium Stadium's record attendance of 74,600, set at the 2002 Heineken Cup final between Leicester and Munster, will be challenged.

All four home unions will receive identical numbers of tickets for the showpiece fixture, while it is planned to put a public ticket allocation on sale from March 1, St David's Day.

"This is a key match for the Lions, as Argentina will provide a tough pre-tour fixture that will set the tone for the challenges in New Zealand," said the Lions tour manager Bill Beaumont.

It will be the Lions' first appearance in Cardiff since 1986, when they took on a world XV to mark the International Rugby Board's centenary.