KEY POINTS:
It is bloody good to be back in Dunedin for a test after Carisbrook had been sinbinned from international duty.
Three years away from international action is far too long for this city which has been heavily involved in the rich rugby history of New Zealand.
If we
are to continue to promote rugby as a game for all New Zealand then tests should be taken to all parts of the country. Especially with the glut of internationals which infest the rugby calendar.
Dunedin is still muddling over whether to shift rugby headquarters from Carisbrook to a new covered stadium down the other end of the city.
That decision is for the city fathers and rugby administrators who are trying to deal with the business of running rugby in Dunedin, whether the city can afford to stay at Carisbrook or whether it makes better sense to shift to an alternate venue.
No matter what conditions eventuate today in this southern city, you feel that tests should still be played in the afternoon at Carisbrook for any number of reasons.
It would not matter at a new covered stadium but Carisbrook at night, even on a decent winter's evening, is not the most inviting prospect for spectators who then usually have to bunk down somewhere overnight in Dunedin.
A few years back they came up with a mix of reasons to allow the test to be played in the afternoon, a decision which allowed those who had travelled from the hinterland to stay a while and still motor home after that.
Even if the weather is poor, an afternoon kickoff can be tolerated and spectators can still then spend a few hours with their mates at the ground, in the bars, in conversation and discussion about what happened at the match before they travel home.
Night rugby does not encourage those extra parts of the rugby package, not at an open ground like Carisbrook.
The full house sign has been up at Carisbrook for the past few weeks after an agreement to offer tickets first to those who live in the area. Apparently only 500 tickets for those who live outside the region went on sale.
There is a great deal of sense in that arrangement and it was great to see rugby followers south of the Waitaki take full advantage of that offer.
But how much friendlier it would have been if the deal had gone one step further and included an afternoon kickoff. The NZRU have made exceptions before.
If rugby remains at Carisbrook they should invoke that dispensation again.
