Ireland v All Blacks
Kickoff: 9.10am Sunday, 2 November
Soldier Field, Chicago
Live blog coverage on RNZ
In what might be a first for an All Black, Ardie Savea faced media this week with his own recording device pointing straight back at the cameras.
Savea was wearing Oakley Meta glasses, designed for augmented AI reality, but also so he could capture and create his own content.
"I'm trying to pivot the athlete content,' said Savea. "I did a reel of us mixing kava - it was all from these [the glasses], instead of holding up the phone and videoing it."
The fact that the All Blacks are touching down in the biggest sporting market in the world is not lost on the players - specifically, the ones who are aware of the power their personal brands hold, Savea in particular.
"It's an interesting one because... the Americans have all hero sports," he said. "The superstars, the megastars, the hero personality.
"I think rugby's so conservative and it's always the team, which is awesome, it's great. I still believe there's growth in embracing the characters, and the people who are the superstars and the villains that we have in this in our sport."
Ardie Savea understands the power of his personal brand. Photo: Kerry Marshall / www.photosport.nz
The sort of rivalry stoking certainly gained growth during this year's Super Rugby Pacific season, thanks in no small part to Savea's Moana Pasifika entering into an online feud with the Blues.
"It all adds into the pot," he said. "You look at Moana and the Blues, and what built up.
"We're still boys after all and have a laugh, but I think that's what our sport's missing is that swag, you know... just the guys being you and not being scared that you're going to step out from where the team is."
One player who certainly wasn't scared of embracing that 'swag' is Rieko Ioane, who famously infuriated Irish fans with a series of posts directed at Johnny Sexton's recently released biography.
Ioane then carried that into Super Rugby Pacific, with some not so subtle messages to his critics in New Zealand.
Rieko Ioane and the Blues social media team were busy after facing Moana Pasifika. Photo: Blake Armstrong /ActionPress
Savea acknowledged it was a sign of the times.
"Obviously, social media is more prevalent, so the boys are on them more and seeing more, doing vlogs and whatnot. It's kind of important for you to show who you are… and for most of us in this team, it helps our performance.
"For me, if I'm just rugby, rugby, rugby, you're not going to get a performance. I need a creative outlet and just my mind needs to go elsewhere."
Others are the same, with Jordie Barrett having his own separate Instagram account showcasing his golfing exploits.
The All Blacks are famously protective of the team-first approach to marketing, which makes a lot of sense in the small NZ market. That's also very tightly controlled by the NZ Rugby Players Association, which is why whenever you see an advertisement featuring the All Blacks, there will always be three of them - because the payment will go into a shared fund that's distributed equally among the players.
Given the push to broaden American awareness of both the brand and the sport in the lead-up to the World Cup in 2031, it feels like something has to give in terms of pushing the brightest stars. Savea was quick to point out that the most important thing the All Blacks could do to market themselves was to win test matches though.
Ireland's Conor Murray celebrates a try against New Zealand at Soldier Field in Chicago. Photo: Photosport
"I think our game's moving into that soon… but at the end of the day, we need to do a job and that's to get a performance against Ireland."
The All Blacks will spend a good amount of time doing extra off-field work next week in Chicago, which has been scheduled as their major commercial commitment. Plenty will be spent with sponsors and simply getting the brand out there, while the NZ Rugby executive has meetings and shakes hands on the All Blacks' behalf behind closed doors.
"We understand that's part of it, but also… we need to have have fun and embrace the culture and what Chicago provides," Savea said.
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