Samoa confirmed to host the All Blacks on 8 July 2015

The Samoan Prime Minister has now confirmed the date of Wednesday July 8 that the All Blacks will travel to Samoa for a historic test match.

Samoa and New Zealand have long been closely linked rugby nations, however with Samoa rated as one of the lowest GDP nations in the world and the All Blacks schedule packed with fixtures against the 6 Nations and Rugby Championship sides they have never played an away game in Apia.

John Campbell

However following a successful campaign by New Zealand TV host John Campbell, the NZRU finally decided to make the jump and play a game at Apia Park before next year's World Cup.

The game will be played on July 8, a few days after the Super Rugby final and week and a half before the opening Rugby Championship game against Argentina.

Considering that, it is likely the All Blacks will be using it to give game time to those who were knocked out early and resting the finalists, meaning it won't be a full strength team and several players will get chances to make a statement for the 30 man World Cup squad.

This is a long way from the NZRU sacrificing the profit of a lucrative European November test. It is essentially a repeat schedule to 2011 where they played Fiji the week before the Rugby Championship, but just playing Samoa instead and away from home. They will likely lose money relative to playing the game at home, but it will be a valuable PR exercise for them in getting a monkey off their back and getting some goodwill worldwide.

Apia Park will need refurbishing

For Samoa they ought to be able to field a full side with the release window differing in World Cup years, and surely every Samoan player would be keen to play in this historic match. The game will be huge for Samoa as a nation who will be buzzing about the news and a real treat for them. It will be an emotional game and the atmosphere will be massive for such a highly anticipated game. With temporary seating at a refurbished Apia Park, the crowd will also likely be the biggest for many years in the country.

However there will be a spotlight on the Samoan Rugby Union who have suffered serious scandals in recent memory. The game is unlikely to be a regular occurrence like games in England are and they need to get the game right and make sure the tickets, stadium and TV coverage are well organised and the game is made into a real event.

Whilst the game is without doubt a great treat for Samoan fans in Samoa, there have been some who have pointed out that Samoa themselves may not benefit a great deal in the long term other than having a nice party on the day. After the match has been and gone the SRU will likely have less money having spent preparing for the game whilst profits would be higher in New Zealand, with the SRU having moved home games there themselves in the past.