All Blacks: Dollars and sense

If the global recession hadn't bitten so hard, the All Blacks would most likely have been playing in Denver last night and not Tokyo.

This time last year, the Colorado city was the favoured venue for the fourth Bledisloe Cup clash of 2009.

USA Rugby had signed a strategic partnership with the New Zealand Rugby Union and Denver was on a mission to style itself as the sporting capital of the world.

The proposition was for the All Blacks to play the Wallabies at the 80,000 capacity Mile High Stadium - home of NFL heavyweights the Denver Broncos.

It was all on, right up until the point the Wallabies and All Blacks began having doubts about the strength of the financial package.

Both the NZRU and Australian Rugby Union had been hopeful of splitting about $4 million from playing in Denver.

But as the recession deepened, the financial deal being talked about in November last year began to diminish. All the time, coming up on the rails was the Tokyo bid.

As the American offering began to lose appeal, commercially at least, Japan's offer became the front runner.

Details have not been revealed but it is believed the game was worth a maximum of $4.5m - a jump on the $1.5m both Australia and New Zealand are thought to have taken from playing in Hong Kong last year.

It wasn't just the money that appealed about Japan.

ARU chief executive John O'Neill holds a Super Rugby vision that includes Asia. In his former role as chief executive of Australian soccer, he forged close links with Japan.

By March, the decision was made - the game would be played in Tokyo.

'The initial proposition was significant," says NZRU boss Steve Tew about the offer to play in Denver.

"But it ended up being less so, partly because of the recession. The change meant there was going to be a risk to our reputation and also to the financial outcomes."

It was a major blow to the US, who had been confident they would host the game - a test which they believed would be a major driver in boosting public awareness of rugby and whetting the appetite for more.

American sports consumers have a love of the fast and physical, the high-impact collisions of the NFL, and there is some confidence that a top level test featuring two of the best teams in the world would wean significant numbers on to rugby.

In typical American fashion, they bounced back from adversity in a flash and began talks about hosting in 2010 instead.

Those collapsed recently when the financial outlook was still grim and the NZRU began citing concerns about not having the player depth to sustain a winning record across 15 tests in a season.

So the plug was pulled again. USA Rugby chief executive Nigel Melville remains philosophical about missing out and holds some hope the dream is not over.

"It would have had an impact on rugby in the USA, particularly after the Olympic announcement.

"There is always tomorrow so we are keeping the relationship going. Mike Chu, Pat Lam and Mark Hammett were over recently exploring various coaching issues, and Jonno Philips has been helping with a variety of age grade projects - the relationship runs deeper than a one-off game. Maybe next time."

There is some doubt as to whether there will be a next time. With 2010 ruled out now and 2011 a World Cup year, 2012 is the next opportunity.

The global economic outlook is picking up and, more importantly, Tew says there remains a desire within his organisation to play a test in the US.

"The door is very much open," he says. "Our relationship with the US is across a range of issues but we would like to keep the option of playing a test there at some stage."

The option of bringing the US into Super Rugby is also being kept alive.

"By their own admission, they have a lot of work to do. It is a possibility but not in the immediate future."