The All Blacks play Samoa in Apia for the first time this week and long may it continue.
In 23 years of watching rugby, one thing that has been apparent in regards to the All Blacks is that the lower-tier nations barely get a look in, so this makes Wednesday’s showdown in Apia all the more special.
Rugby fans have been able to expect a three-Test series against a side from the Northern Hemisphere to start of the All Blacks international season, before the Rugby Championship against usual foes Australia, South Africa, and recently Argentina begins in August.
But this year is something a little different – and an event that has come most welcome.
Wednesday’s match against Samoa in Apia will mark the first time the All Blacks have played in the country, and a rare test in the Pacific.
John Campbell, one of New Zealand’s most respected journalists was one of the big movers and shakers who campaigned for the match to happen, and it is only fitting that Sky Sport will have him as part of their television crew for the event on Wednesday.
I just wish occasions like this would happen more often.
Keith Quinn was on Twitter this week saying that the All Blacks vs Samoa matchup should be played on an annual basis and alternated between the two countries.
But I would go a step further than that and ask the question, why don’t the likes of Fiji, Japan, Canada, or even America get annual outings against the world’s best?
Putting the All Blacks on a circuit to all those nations wouldn’t work on an annual basis, because it would add five more games to the already packed schedule, but perhaps two games per year, one at each end of the season against one of the lower tier nations could be something for the NZRU to consider.
It will be interesting to see how Apia copes with the event, the stadium was re-designed and re-built for the match, and rugby in Samoa has a lot to lose if the All Blacks visit doesn’t generate the success hoped for it.
The NZRU didn’t have to send the All Blacks to Samoa, and for that reason alone an annual series won’t be likely.
The All Black squad is also not going to help, because like the match against America last year in Chicago, the backline in particular seems like a bit of a selection lottery. Granted, many star players are unavailable due to the Super Rugby final days prior, but surely the game could have been moved back a week or two during the planning stages.
George Moala being named in the All Black starting XV for Apia says clearly that this isn’t a first string side, and it does a disservice to Samoa and the event itself.
With that said, there have been a lot of discussions around certain players who have been left out of the Samoan side also.
Matches like this can only be good for the sport of rugby because they do a good job at bringing diverse rugby fans together. Some would call them exhibition games, and others have already talked about the cost of getting the television crews over to the pacific and the expenses of broadcasting from such a location, but the benefits in terms of richness for the international game are large.
Let’s just hope it lives up to the hype.
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