All Blacks forced to take a back seat to Chicago’s real passions

It is a good job for the promoters of Saturday’s dust-up between Ireland and the All Blacks that it is attracting a sell-out crowd of ex-pats to Soldier Field. If the people behind this Test match had been hoping to broaden the appeal of rugby to an American audience here in Chicago, their timing could not have been worse.

America’s mid-western powerhouse city is currently in the midst of a perfect sporting storm and international rugby, even on their own doorstep, is about as far from the minds of Chicagoans as the result of the 3:20 at Chepstow.

With five major league franchises in the metropolis, four of whom are currently in action, squeezing rugby onto the domestic agenda, even when the world champion New Zealanders are involved, is a tall order.