Peter Williams: ABs face tough battle for fans

The all Blacks face a huge battle for the hearts and minds of New Zealand sports fans in the next two weeks, not to mention eyeballs.

While the All Blacks yet again traipse around Europe, where the major objective seems to be making money for the New Zealand Rugby Union, the rugby league Kiwis and the All Whites are playing matches far more meaningful, and mostly at times much more convenient for us here.

Next Sunday, the All Blacks and the Kiwis essentially go head-to-head.

The test against Wales starts at 6.15am. The Kiwis play England at Huddersfield from 7am. The result of that ratings clash will be one of the more fascinating outcomes of the sporting year.

You get the feeling the All Blacks will have to play really well in the first half to keep their audience for the second.

November 15 is unlikely to be much of a contest. The Kiwis, presuming they're in the Four Nations final, will have the luxury of a relaxed Sunday morning audience from 8.30am, while the All Blacks will have played Italy from 3am.

There are only so many hours to watch sport on TV, especially in the spring. After that awful contest in Christchurch back in June, only the true rugby tragic will disturb his sleep to watch another edition of what is usually a one-sided rivalry.

The big story of that weekend for our national teams will have been played out the night before when the All Whites face Bahrain in the World Cup qualifier in Wellington.

You could make a prediction now that the most-watched match involving a New Zealand team this month will be that All Whites qualifier, with the Four Nations rugby league final not far behind - assuming the Kiwis continue their good form.

Both fixtures have the advantage of convenient starting times for us but shouldn't it be a worry for the NZRU that All Black test matches won't be a priority to watch for many of us?

In this age where television dictates so many decisions in sport, you'd think there'd be better co-ordination between the codes to prevent a clash like we'll have next Sunday.

The dreadful over-exposure of the All Blacks is really likely to come home to roost over the next two weeks, and probably for the remaining three matches of the tour beyond that.

It seems extraordinary that, in a country where not even in a South Island winter do we get a sniff of a daytime test match, three of the All Blacks matches in Europe will have a mid-afternoon kickoff.

That's after afternoon starts in Tokyo and Cardiff and not forgetting the afternoon games in South Africa in the Tri Nations. The convenience of the New Zealand audience seems to matter little to British and South African rugby and TV executives.

They may not be concerned, but in a year when the All Blacks have struggled to get a good press at home for any number of reasons, the team need as good an exposure as they can get during this end of year tour.

But they're going to have to do something pretty special to beat the Kiwis and the All Whites in the popularity stakes.