D'Arcy Waldegrave: Sportstalk host on NZR reportedly moving the 2025 All Blacks v France clash to the US

New Zealand Rugby are weighing up the option of taking an All Blacks home test against France to the United States next year.

The move comes a month after confirmation France would be sending an understrength squad on the tour to New Zealand.

Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Darcy water Grave sports stalk coasters are that's hello, Darcy,
greetings Heather. Okay, so we are going to be playing
against France and the USA. It's our home test.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
It is said news TALKSB understand.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
And when I say we, I do mean the All Blacks. Yes,
talking about rugby.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Yes, yes, the All Blacks. Has been said that come
next year when the French B team, it'll come back
and bite me when they beat It's the French B
team are going to have one of their games away
in the States against New Zealand, Okay, in the USA
and a double header. Yeah, that's what's believed to happen.
So I think it's the thin end of the wedge,

(00:41):
isn't it really? So?

Speaker 1 (00:42):
Is this because the All Blacks would make more money
of taking it to the States and playing it at
Eden part, I'd.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
Say to be double headed, because plainly I'm not a
a No, I don't know, but I'd say yes, there'll
be money in it, plainly, and too the Rugby World
cuts being played over the States, so they want to
promote the game and promote the brand as much unch
as they can to get the Americans on board. What
better way to promote it than having the All Blacks
play in the States, even though they do play all
the time. The question is when they start taking home

(01:11):
games away from New Zealand and playing around the world.
Now said thin into the wedge, and you wonder how
long before it's like, well, I've been doing a few
years now, so we're actually taking two away this time around. Look,
the All Blacks is the brand that ends in our
trade off. They make all their money out that is it.
That's the top of the tree. So why wouldn't they

(01:31):
use that to expand the brand through to the America
and try and make more money. It makes perfect sense
from a.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
Business decision, that's okay. The problem, of course, is what's
the trade off?

Speaker 2 (01:40):
Right?

Speaker 1 (01:40):
The trade off is that you annoy the fans in
New Zealand who are already annoyed because of all the
stuff that's been going on with the team, be it
Fozzy be at tj'shucker whatever, and now you've annoyed them
more and you maybe lost them.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
Well, you're going to have some big games. Eden Park
will remain to Kaha Study when it gets built, will
remain I expect the stadium in Ellington they'll still have
test matches, but not don't give them two because they
didn't behavioral well last time around. Maybe down South and Dunedin,
we're not going to see the all Blacks. I'm sure
there's a lot of people will say, well, Hamilton missed
out last time. Does this mean that Hamilton starts missing out?

(02:14):
Are we ever going to see the all Blacks play
in slightly smaller centers? The answer is no. And this
is a way of slowly massaging us into this concept
that we'll be lucky to see the All Blacks at
home and it will happen, but maybe not as much,
and the seats will be at a premium. But I
wonder how many people actually go to all black test

(02:36):
matches anyway, But who's going to.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
Go to an all Blacks test match against the French
B team?

Speaker 2 (02:41):
Most fans probably would like to see us tramp all
over the French. Look, we'll find out. Let's take ourselves.
I think they play at Eden part when I that
sell out because it's got a high concentration of all
black fans. It's a big population, so most people watch
it on TV, don't they really? And so will they
miss out? When you talk about having the all blacks
at home, and the all blacks being on too, and
the all blacks exposing to the wider population. Do we

(03:05):
really have that much access to the all blacks anyway?
They're so highly managed and highly protected. They're actually very
difficult to get close.

Speaker 1 (03:14):
I know more about their politics than their personality. So
do know you that? Okay, well, just one of them anyway,
But he's gone. Now, Hey, Darcy, thank you. I appreciate it. Okay,
Darcy's going to be back for sports talk at seven o'clock.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
Indeed, I will take calls on man, how happy people
will be. It's inevitable, but we don't have to like it, right,
that's right.

Speaker 1 (03:32):
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