Sean Fitzpatrick: Regular gigs take gloss off All Black aura

I was 11 years old when I saw the All Blacks play live for the first time. I knew the players, of course, I had watched them at provincial level and knew they were internationals, but to see them all come together in the black jersey was exhilarating.

My first All Black match was hugely exciting, and a fondly held memory that has stayed with me to this day. Seeing the very best players in the country, representing New Zealand, up close, was a fantastic experience and I have no doubt it helped fuel my desire, one day, to be one of them.

In those days, even in New Zealand, to go and see the All Blacks play was a huge occasion. When they were on tour up here in the northern hemisphere it was the same - a huge event; a sporting event that was relished by players and fans alike.

The All Blacks have a fierce loyalty to the jersey and each other. We work bloody hard. We have a deep sense of history and tradition. We are tough and uncompromising. We play the game the way it should be played. We win.

The combination of all these things becomes even more potent and powerful in the northern hemisphere because on top of all that, we come from the other side of the world.

I am sure that distance makes our story and our journey more romantic and compelling. I think it attracts people to the All Blacks.

It is a privileged position to be in and a position to cherish and nurture. Even in this age of ever-increasing commercialism, I believe that this aura, this intangible thing that separates the All Blacks from everyone else, is something that we should fiercely protect.

However, the touring schedules today, and in particular the autumn internationals of recent years have changed all that. It used to be that we'd come over once every three or four years, now we're here pretty much all the time.

It used to be that a Grand Slam tour only came round once in a while, today it seems to happen more frequently. When we came up on tour we were properly on tour, out in the regions, playing midweek games. No longer.

Now we pretty much do big gigs only, in front of huge live and TV audiences.

The All Blacks are required by economics to come north and chase the dollar. We have to play money games.

When you think about each game individually, there is no issue. Getting 80,000 people into the San Siro stadium, for example, is fantastic for the sport - it brings a whole new level of awareness of rugby to Italy, and that is good for the game.

But is there a flip-side? Is there a danger that we might somehow be putting the All Black brand in jeopardy? We are playing 15 test matches per annum in order to generate the required income to service burgeoning costs.

That may well be five or so games more than is good for the players.

There is an argument that by playing so many games and being up here in the northern half of the planet so often, we are undermining and devaluing the brand; that we are losing our aura and mystique in Europe by becoming increasingly familiar.

At the same time we are damaging the domestic game through the absence of the best players and the loosening of the traditional provincial bonds that players used to feel back home.

Perhaps we are working the All Black brand too hard overseas by regularly competing against so many nations in so many games. We could be eroding the connection and the pride that Kiwis at home have always felt, because they never get to see the players in their towns and grounds at provincial level.

So perhaps to preserve our aura as well as our players; to preserve our heritage as well as secure our future; we should play a little bit less, and be a little bit more choosy about where and when we play.

Maybe, even when travel and technology are making the world a much smaller place and when commercial pressures and world rankings mean that everyone wants a piece of the All Blacks, we should be brave enough to take a step back.

Maybe, instead of staying on the roundabout, we should step off. Maybe a little bit less would be a whole lot more.