All Blacks could play test in USA

[no.8]

The All Blacks are being tipped to line out against Ireland in a neutral test in New Jersey as part of New Zealand's new agreement with the United States rugby union.

The two countries signed a five-year deal yesterday that will see New Zealand help the development of the American game while hoping to cash in on lucrative commercial opportunities in the massive United States market.

The New Zealand Rugby Union has made no secret of its desire to have the All Blacks playing glamour matches in neutral venues where significant revenue can be generated.

NZRU officials are currently in Hong Kong finalising arrangements for a test there against Australia in October.

But there is clearly appeal in tapping into the United States where rugby remains stalled in its infancy despite plenty of resources.

The large Irish population in New York and New Jersey lends itself to the possibility of a test being played there.

In following up yesterday's announcement TV3 has suggested a test between the All Blacks and Ireland was a real possibility as early as next year.

NZRU officials certainly didn't squash that suggestion and USA rugby officials said a test involving New Zealand and Ireland at the famous Giants Stadium in New Jersey would be "a dream" for American rugby.

The United States is a natural stopover for the All Blacks on the way to their traditional end of year tours to Europe and a mid-year date could also tie in with the end of European season.

Whether the All Blacks step up to play the American Eagles is another matter.

The All Blacks have only played the United States three times - winning 51-3 in California way back in 1913 and then winning 53-6 in San Diego in 1980 and lastly 46-6 at the 1991 World Cup in England.

New Zealand Maori have had involvement with the US national side through the Churchill Cup.

Stuff

[Darren]

Jersey? Larry will be happy!!

[jono]

hopefully this pans out.
could be the start of a widening competition.
and in regards to the wallabies and the allblacks playing in hong kong at a neutral ground.


LOL
theres no such thing as a neutral game between our 2 countries!

[no.8]

Good NJL will be our man on the spot - Will you'll be wearing your Force shirt or your US Eagles shirt?

Amazing though we have been bleating for years about having the All Blacks play here in Perth and we get overlooked again this time for NEW JERSEY!

Good luck too you Larry - have a great day introducing prospective hard core Force fans to Rugby!

[frontrow]

I reckon he will definately be wearing his force gear, if not he would certainly cop a ribbing on here...

At the minimum, a Wallabies top would suffice....

[Thequeerone]

what do mean WALLABIES - All yanks have a healthy dose of mick in them

[slomo]

if they played a test match of this scale would they get a big enough crowd? or would they play it at a smaller venue so it looks full.......

[LarryNJ]

That would be awesome. I good chance for me to pimp the Force and mess with the AB fans! The Irish population that they mention must be hiding in secret bars!

Good NJL will be our man on the spot - Will you'll be wearing your Force shirt or your US Eagles shirt?

what do mean WALLABIES - All yanks have a healthy dose of mick in them

I don't have an Eagles shirt so it will be my signed Force Jersey or Wallabies Jersey. (the TWF jersey is a possiblity if I lose a few lbs.)

if they played a test match of this scale would they get a big enough crowd? or would they play it at a smaller venue so it looks full.......

My guess would be that it would be played in Giants Stadium with a capacity of 80,000. They are also opening a new complex there in the fall Xanadu so there will be thing to do before and after the game.

Even though rugby is a very minor sport here there are about 50 million people within a 4 hour drive of NYC so a very small percentage could be a big crowd. It's hard to tell but I'd guess the game would draw about 40,000.

[beige]

My guess would be that it would be played in Giants Stadium with a capacity of 80,000.

Imagine if they filled that! I have no idea if they would - but hey, if Korean pop star Rain can sell-out Madison Square Garden two nights in a row, then who knows...

However, one thing that concerns me is that I have read a number of complaints from Major League Soccer players, including David Beckham, about the FieldTurf surface that Giants Stadium uses, saying it's quite hard on their bodies. I don't imagine this would fill rugby players with confidence

Do you know much about the stadium surface, Larry?

[Darren]

Soccer players complaining - well I never!

[LarryNJ]

I know that they went from natural grass to some type of artificial turf several years ago. I believe the reason was because the field gets so much use that it's very difficult to keep real grass. There are several teams that use this turf and I think the NFL players like it.

That wussy Beckman can keep his ass in LA, or better yet go back across the pond. We really don't give a crap what he thinks.

[jono]

thats the spirit larry!!!

[AndyS]

Harsh Larry - how many of the NFL boys play in shorts?

[beige]

Well that's reassuing - it turns out they've actually played rugby internationals on this FieldTurf stuff

http://www.fieldturf.com/rugby/speci...ID=311&lang=en

And the All Blacks are at least familiar with it...

http://www.fieldturf.com/rugby/highP...ghProfileID=87

Ok, so we have the Wallabies playing the All Blacks in Hong Kong in October and talk of marquee tests in New Jersey and Tokyo in the future. Something odd's going on here - rugby authorities thinking globally? Surely not

[LarryNJ]

Harsh Larry - how many of the NFL boys play in shorts?

Sometimes the truth is harsh! Every other player in the Soccer league wears shorts and I don't hear them crying. Although I'm not really listening for them.

Maybe they are planning to play the game here. A small 42,000 seat college stadium.