Barrett boys face split in North-South divide

When you’ve got it to flaunt it. New Zealand, COVID free and trucking along very nicely thank you, are in the happy position of not only being able to stage a top-class domestic competition this summer, but they can also fill their stadia with paying fans to ease the cash flow situation.

- BRENDAN GALLAGHER

The NZRU understandably intend to take full advantage which is why on August 29 they are hoping for a capacity 48,000 at Eden Park for a revival of the North v South fixture that used to be the showpiece occasion to their domestic season for many decades.

The game has been played only twice since 1986. Once in 1995 to get players to match fit ahead of the World Cup in South Africa and then a one-off in 2012 down in Dunedin when it helped raise funds for the beleaguered Otago Union who were encountering financial problems... largely on account of building the innovative indoor Forsyth Barr Stadium!

Given the strong rivalry between the North Island and South Island they were often no holds barred encounters and there is every indication this could be a full-on affair rather than an NBA all-star type encounter. New Zealand rugby doesn’t really do exhibition games.

Being rugby, of course, an argument/debate has already kicked off. The old tradition is that you qualified for your team by virtue of where you were born and/or played your high school rugby, ie where you were brought up and learned the game and where your cultural roots lay.