Aisle be Back: All Blacks v Ireland in Chicago

Above: when the All Blacks played Ireland in Dublin in 1963. 

• By Kevin McCarthy

The country will seem a bit emptier for the next month – because 70 of the best rugby players are in the northern hemisphere. Plus, an unspecified number of coaching and support staff.

So, a round 100 folks would seem a fair guess.

The best 36 players are in Chicago (population just over 9 million, depending on how many ICE raids are in progress).

These 36 have sold out Soldier Field for the Dave Gallagher Cup – The Rematch (catchy title but what’s next, the ReReMatch or going full NFL with roman numerals).

The next best 32 are in Brentford, England, heading to a game with the fabled BaaBaas at GTECH stadium, home of the West London town’s Premier League football side. Also, home to the Water and Steam Museum, and some 20-thousand plus people.

Fortuitously, these two player groups will remain within close proximity of each other until November the 16^th. Finally, the calendar gods have done their magic.

In other words, effectively the All Blacks tilt at the Grand Slam will be able to call on nearly 70 players. The All Blacks XV could be deemed the new dirt-trackers, although in English parlance, they’re at least a dual carriageway.

Now, all this has many plusses, which go beyond the Grand Slam.  Blooding and assessing future stars and also keeping Jamie Joseph as a coach in waiting in case everything goes Full Force Fozzie before the World Cup.

It also reflects the sometimes appalling attrition rate of modern rugby.

But in the end, the 1924-25 Invincibles managed with 30 players – over nearly 30 matches.  Now we need 36 over 4 matches, and another 32 in reserve. The odds of someone defecting unseen must be extremely high.

So, if you’re wondering why those test rugby tickets cost a lot, this may be one of the factors.

Now that we are paying at least for their food bill, let’s hope for both squads that they sweep the fields respectively, and bring this sometimes wretched 2025 to a glorious end.

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The Rematch is being streamed, outside these shores, for about 25 dollars a shot on the streaming platform NZR+.

The list of countries that can log in are interesting. 66 countries or territories, on top of regular various broadcasters.

Five of the Stans. The Pitcairns. Ukraine. The Falkland Islands and the West Sahara.

And Palestine.

Somewhere in Palestine, I guarantee someone (maybe a Kiwi, maybe a Paddy) will have worked out their time zones and is hoping to log-in.

Let’s wish them 90 plus minutes of peace on earth from the game made in heaven.