The Missed Generation

Lancaster Park (the field, not the stadium) hosted the All Blacks 48 times in test matches between 1913 and 2010. Since then the number of test matches in NZ's second-largest city has nearly dried up, with just 4 test matches being hosted at Christchurch's temporary stadium in Addington, the last being in 2016. The share of All Black home tests has dropped significantly from an historic rate of between 25% - 29% in the halcyon earlier decades. Although the trend started with professionalism and the desire to maximise crowds, the loss of an international stadium means that Christchurch's 4 test matches in the decade since Lancaster Park was decommissioned equates to just 7.4% of the 54 All Black home test matches. Of course, this rate is unlikely to improve until, perhaps optimistically, the new stadium is ready for the 2025 season. That's a whole generation with very little opportunity to see their All Black heroes.