Rugby: NZRU to monitor Apia Park

Scotland train in the scenic Apia Park in 2012. FOTOSPORT/DAVID GIBSON

The NZRU are monitoring the condition of Apia Park.

The trip to Samoa next July will present a unique set of challenges for the All Blacks, with manager Darren Shand scheduled to travel there soon to investigate everything from the state of the Apia Stadium pitch to the availability of medical care and security arrangements.

There are concerns about the pitch and it's understood the New Zealand Rugby Union will send specialists, including a groundsman, to ensure it's in good shape.

"It will be a New Year project, to get up there, have a look and try to get a gauge on what it's going to be like," Shand said. "We're flying blind at the moment in terms of everything - facilities, match venue, accommodation. Everything is all booked. It's a matter of getting everything to a level we're all happy with."

Asked if a groundsman would be sent, Shand said only that "part of the agreement is that the pitch will be up to the standard required and there is some work going on in the background to ensure that happens. External help and the pitch being up to standard is a key ingredient of the match".

The availability of quick response hospital care in the case of a serious injury would also be investigated. "We're not going to risk anything, not next year," Shand said.

The historic match - it will be the first time the All Blacks have played a test in the Islands - is likely to be played against the backdrop of the dispute between the Samoa players and the national team's administration. Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, also the Samoa Rugby Union chairman, described the players as "little brats" for daring to consider boycotting this morning's (NZT) test against England at Twickenham because of their concerns about the SRU's direction - financial and otherwise.

The All Blacks will be forced to walk a diplomatic tightrope in Apia. Ten players, including Sonny Bill Williams and Dan Carter, have already posted on social media support for their Samoan colleagues, and the NZRU, while probably privately concerned at the direction the SRU have been going, will be at pains not to offend their hosts.

In a disturbing development, Samoa lock Daniel Leo, a players' spokesman in the dispute, said he and his family had received threats.

"I have had threats personally since we went down this road," Leo told Britain's Daily Telegraph. "If it's happened to me, it has probably happened to others. We are talking about from board members and everyone knows that our board members are our senior politicians.

"It's in the back of our minds all the time. This is exactly our point that the bigger issue is that there needs to be a separation of politics from sport. You can't have a situation where players are questioning accountability and transparency and then getting their families threatened. That's not sport in my opinion."

The All Blacks are likely to prefer community events to official government functions in Apia - but that could create problems in itself because of crowd control. Shand will also investigate security.

It's become an increasingly important part of arrangements for the team, although it's unlikely they will require anywhere near the attention they get in Argentina, where they have riot police in body armour and firearms escort them on motorbikes.