KEY POINTS:
A glorious night in Limerick reminded the world of how special midweek games can be but the chances of a repeat soon are slim.
A review at the end of this tour will determine whether the All Blacks seek more midweek clashes on future tours but, even if
they do, the appetite among European clubs is lukewarm at best.
Munster agreed to the game last week because of a quirk in circumstance which saw the 30th year anniversary of their 12-0 victory against the All Blacks coincide with the completion of their new stadium at Thomond Park and New Zealand already being in Ireland.
The critical factor in ensuring the All Blacks played was reaching an agreement on the commercial arrangement.
"These games have to be at the very least cost neutral for us," said New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew. "We can't afford for them not to be."
It may seem outside the spirit of rugby to put commerce ahead of tradition but Tew does justify the union's stance when he elaborates on the realities of moving the modern All Blacks from A to B. More than five tonnes of gear has to be transported and 35 players, plus an extended management team of around 15 people have to be accommodated. The costs are considerable and the NZRU is not prepared to lose money while the host club picks up sizeable gate receipts and broadcast revenue.
Munster, with such a strong and loyal support base, knew they would sell out Thomond Park in minutes and could therefore guarantee the All Blacks a fee that would cover all their costs and leave some over. The other concern the NZRU has with midweek games is the effect on test match preparations. A full review of this tour will be conducted in December to assess how the logistics worked and whether having to travel from Limerick to Cardiff in the middle of the week affected the test team's preparations for the Welsh clash.
The indications at this early stage suggest that, while it has been a juggling act for the All Black coaches having to prepare and run two separate sides - one for the Munster game and one for the Welsh test - that they are absolutely in favour of playing more on future tours.
The atmosphere in Limerick was astonishing and the competitive nature of the game will have done much to strengthen the character of those young players brought to the UK to accelerate their development. That is precisely what coach Graham Henry was hoping for and he's long been an advocate of building non-test fixtures into the calendar so young players can get a taste of the All Blacks without having to be thrown into test matches before they might be ready.
But the real difficulty in arranging midweek games is finding opponents. This year there was some hope that games against Stade Francais in Paris and/or a game with Leicester Tigers would be possible. In the end both fell through; the packed schedule of the European clubs being a major factor behind that.
The big clubs in Europe who could offer the All Blacks the commercial guarantees they seek, tend to have significant numbers of players in various international squads - meaning they would be unlikely to be released for any non-test fixtures in November.
The first weekend of December is also an important Heineken Cup round and clubs are wary of players picking up injuries.
At this stage, Tew says the NZRU are not actively seeking to schedule midweek games. That may change, however, once this tour has been reviewed.
If only tests are lined up for the November tour next year, Tew says it is probable that the size of the squad will shrink.
