Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Nick Sautner: Eden Park CEO on this weekend's Bledisloe Cup test between the All Blacks and Wallabies

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Nick Sautner: Eden Park CEO on this weekend's Bledisloe Cup test between the All Blacks and Wallabies · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: All Blacks Wallabies, 7pm Saturday night, first game of the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Bledisloe Cup. Damian McKenzie's back at 10, Richie Mwanga and
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Ruben Love both injured. Bowdoin Barrett's going to start at fullback,
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  Speaker 1: Will Jordan and Leroy Carter are going to be on
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: the wings.
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: We named Richie on Monday to the squad, which is disappointing.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Disappointing for him and disappointing.
• 0:19
  Speaker 3: For the group.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: I mean, Damian's trained a lot there for us. Bowdoin's
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  Speaker 2: predominantly trained at 15 when we're in Africa. I think
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: both those players are interchangeable. They both spend a lot
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: of time in the backfield.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: And the man who's hosting the big event from the
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  Speaker 1: big game, the National Stadium, Eden Park, Nick Seltner, CEO.
• 0:37
  Speaker 3: Nick, g'day. Good morning, Andrew. Thanks for your time.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Is it going to be a biggie? I mean, ticket sales,
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  Speaker 1: as I mentioned, were slow at first, but there was
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: a massive final demand this week. But this is going
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: to be a big old game?
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: There's nothing like a sold-out atmosphere for the All Blacks
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  Speaker 3: at Eden Park. We're looking forward to welcoming the All
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: Blacks back to the fortress for next and they've got
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: a phenomenal record at our national stadium. They haven't lost
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: against the Wallabies since 1986, and we want to make
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  Speaker 3: sure that the winning streak continues.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: Last time the All Blacks lost at your park was
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: July 1994, this fortress thing. Is it an albatross around
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  Speaker 1: your neck?
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  Speaker 3: Certainly not. I think when teams come to play at
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  Speaker 3: Eden Park, they come to play the All Blacks or
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: the Black Ferns, but they also come to play Eden Park.
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  Speaker 3: There's 125 years of history and tradition. And when the
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: bus arrives, they look into Jonah's eyes. They know they're
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: going to be in for another loss.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: No new graffiti art this week?
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  Speaker 3: Our street art was added last week with our Warriors installation.
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  Speaker 3: We've already got All Blacks content. It's just going to
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  Speaker 3: be a huge celebration of the All Blacks returning to
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  Speaker 3: their home.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: Should we read anything into the fact that the Warriors
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: game sold out lickety-split, whereas the All Blacks have been
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: a slow burn?
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  Speaker 3: The Warriors had an amazing season, and there's space for
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  Speaker 3: both league and union in this country. The fandom of
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  Speaker 3: both codes is something that we're excited to bring to
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  Speaker 3: our national stadium and working with both hirers. I've got
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  Speaker 3: to acknowledge Steve Lancaster. It's been a delight to work
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: with him and his team. Under his new leadership, I
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: think we're going to see a real change in where
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: rugby's heading.
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  Speaker 1: And what do you reckon is going to change?
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  Speaker 3: Well, I mean, it's a fan focus. You've seen with Steve,
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  Speaker 3: he's going out, he's listing. There will be change and
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  Speaker 3: we're looking forward to seeing that. But Eden Park's got
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: a long tradition. The All Blacks are part of our DNA,
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  Speaker 3: and we look forward to continuing to enter, whether it
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  Speaker 3: be Lions Series or, again, the greatest rivalry when it
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: comes to New Zealand.
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so good, so good. Last time I went to
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  Speaker 1: a Wallabies game at Eden Park, I remember when they
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: started playing Ice House and Great Southern Land on the
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  Speaker 1: tannoy system around the whole ground and the whole thing's
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: throbbing away to this song. Honestly, the hairs went up
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  Speaker 1: on the back of my neck, you know.
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: So there's nothing like an all-black sold-out game at Egan Park,
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  Speaker 3: bilingual national anthem and a harker. It's one of those
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  Speaker 3: bucket list items. It's open at 5 o'clock, CRL open,
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  Speaker 3: public transport is part of your ticket. Just make sure
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: that fans get there early and experience something special.
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: Look, I don't want to really mention it because you've
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: been here so long, but there's a touch of the
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: Aussie in you, so where are you standing?
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  Speaker 3: Well, as you know, I've got three beautiful Kiwi children.
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  Speaker 3: I've got a Kiwi passport. The All Blacks are great
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  Speaker 3: for business, and I'm looking forward to seeing the All
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  Speaker 3: Blacks have another victory.
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  Speaker 1: You're a good man. You've got a good ground, and
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  Speaker 1: I thank you so much for your time today. Nick
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: Soutner from Eden Park. He is the CEO.