nspired by the blood and thunder of Rugby League's titanic State of Origin series in Australia, Sportsmail's Martin Samuel on Wednesday proposed a 'North v South' football clash in this country.
It's certainly an attractive proposition - the biggest stars from the British Isles divided along geographical lines for a once-a-year showdown.
Sadly, football's State of Origin is a long way from coming to reality but we can at least get a fair idea of what would happen.
Sportsmail teamed up with Sports Interactive, producers of the Football Manager series, to run the 'North v South' clash through their simulators.
And here's what happened...
Martin Samuel drew the North-South
boundary at a mile north of Nottingham in Wednesday's column, meaning
that Stoke City were the first Premier League side in the northern
section.
All the other major Midlands teams would fall in the southern half, putting them together with the London teams.
Scotland and Northern Ireland would naturally fall into the northern bit and Wales has been placed with them too.
As Samuel wrote: 'One imagines the Welsh would feel more kinship with England's industrial heartland than its white-collar capital.'
The other criteria were that the players were split according to their place of birth and were eligible to play internationally for one of the Home Nations.
Gareth Bale inspired the North to a 2-0 victory over the South in the first Premier League representative match played along Britain's traditional geographical divisions.
The Cardiff-born superstar scored and created a host of other chances for his team as the North, who also included Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Michael Carrick, were proven to have the stronger attack.
The South, who had the likes of Jack
Wilshere, Frank Lampard and Jermain Defoe in their line-up, as well as
the old England defensive pairing of Rio Ferdinand and John Terry,
enjoyed the lion's share of possession but couldn't take their chances.
The South started the brighter as Defoe worked the ball through to Wilshere, who blazed over the crossbar.
But they were caught napping on seven minutes, when a misplaced pass in midfield allowed Rooney to seize possession and feed Gerrard inside the box. As he has done so often for Liverpool and England, he found the bottom corner, leaving Joe Hart with no chance.
Gerrard almost doubled the lead
on 11 minutes but Hart denied him, before England's No 1 was again
called into action to frustrate Carroll.
It was one-way traffic in the North's favour, and a second goal duly followed on 22 minutes. From a Leighton Baines free-kick, Bale took the ball down, beat his marker and fired the ball home.
Confident in their two-goal lead, the North sat back and allowed their opponents more territory. But none of their chances seriously troubled Fraser Forster, at least until Terry cracked a header off the crossbar with four minutes left in the half.
Knowing they had to do more to salvage the game and regional honour, the South were by far the better side at the start of the second half.
Theo Walcott lashed a shot into the side-netting and then got the better of Baines for pace only to fire straight at Forster.
The North remained dangerous on the counter-attack, notably through the outstanding Bale.
Twice he had the Southern defence - and especially Glen Johnson - in knots, forcing Hart into a couple of top quality saves.
The Welshman then clipped the outside of the post with a trademark free-kick from 25 yards.
Despite late chances for Walcott and Daniel Sturridge, the North were firmly in control and ran out deserving and convincing winners.
It's certainly an attractive proposition - the biggest stars from the British Isles divided along geographical lines for a once-a-year showdown.
Sadly, football's State of Origin is a long way from coming to reality but we can at least get a fair idea of what would happen.
Sportsmail teamed up with Sports Interactive, producers of the Football Manager series, to run the 'North v South' clash through their simulators.
And here's what happened...
HOW MARTIN SPLIT THE NATION...
All the other major Midlands teams would fall in the southern half, putting them together with the London teams.
Scotland and Northern Ireland would naturally fall into the northern bit and Wales has been placed with them too.
As Samuel wrote: 'One imagines the Welsh would feel more kinship with England's industrial heartland than its white-collar capital.'
The other criteria were that the players were split according to their place of birth and were eligible to play internationally for one of the Home Nations.
MATCH REPORT
THE NORTH 2 (Gerrard 7, Bale 22) THE SOUTH 0Gareth Bale inspired the North to a 2-0 victory over the South in the first Premier League representative match played along Britain's traditional geographical divisions.
The Cardiff-born superstar scored and created a host of other chances for his team as the North, who also included Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Michael Carrick, were proven to have the stronger attack.
Inspirational: Gareth Bale was integral to the North's 2-0 win, scoring and setting up a host of other chances
The South started the brighter as Defoe worked the ball through to Wilshere, who blazed over the crossbar.
But they were caught napping on seven minutes, when a misplaced pass in midfield allowed Rooney to seize possession and feed Gerrard inside the box. As he has done so often for Liverpool and England, he found the bottom corner, leaving Joe Hart with no chance.
Clinical: Steven Gerrard finished with composure to give the North the early advantage
First blood: Steven Gerrard scores past Joe Hart
to give the North a seventh minute lead in our Football Manager
simulation of Britain's 'State of Origin' match
It was one-way traffic in the North's favour, and a second goal duly followed on 22 minutes. From a Leighton Baines free-kick, Bale took the ball down, beat his marker and fired the ball home.
Confident in their two-goal lead, the North sat back and allowed their opponents more territory. But none of their chances seriously troubled Fraser Forster, at least until Terry cracked a header off the crossbar with four minutes left in the half.
Knowing they had to do more to salvage the game and regional honour, the South were by far the better side at the start of the second half.
Double trouble: Gareth Bale makes it 2-0 to the North after 22 minutes with a close-range finish
Almost: John Terry hit the crossbar with a towering header just before half-time in the South's best chance
Great chance! John Terry rattled the crossbar with a header in the South's best chance
The North remained dangerous on the counter-attack, notably through the outstanding Bale.
Twice he had the Southern defence - and especially Glen Johnson - in knots, forcing Hart into a couple of top quality saves.
The Welshman then clipped the outside of the post with a trademark free-kick from 25 yards.
Despite late chances for Walcott and Daniel Sturridge, the North were firmly in control and ran out deserving and convincing winners.
Nearly another: Bale clipped the outside of the post with a trademark free-kick
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