The All Blacks continue to snub the Pacific Island nations of Samoa, Tonga and Fiji, by not playing any away test matches there. Here are five reasons why the All Blacks should play in the Pacific Island nations.

1) Plenty of All Blacks over the years have been either born in the Pacific Islands or have parents or grandparents that were. Many Pacific Island families come to New Zealand for a change of lifestyle often bringing with them young children who eventually grow up to become All Blacks or came over to attend high school. This includes players like Mils Muliaina and Joe Rokocoko while others like Sitiveni Sivivatu were slightly older when they came over which suggests they may have been scouted by top high schools in New Zealand.

2) Samoa are ranked seventh in the IRB World Rankings ahead of teams like Ireland, Italy, Argentina and Scotland. Fiji and Tonga aren't ranked quite as well. If the All Blacks are worried about thrashing their opponents then they don't have to worry anymore.

3) While the main excuse for not taking a game to the Pacific Islands is the financial viability of it, you must remember that the Rugby World Cup 2011 was only awarded to New Zealand for the good of the game and the people, rather than the financial benefits. While the Pacific Island venues can't have big crowds and they don't have a very big population base, the same could be said for New Zealand really, yet for the good of the people we were awarded matches in places like Invercargill and New Plymouth which are smaller on population than the Pacific Islands. Instead of taking a game to the Pacific Islands in recent times, there have been a test match in Auckland with the gate takings being shared.

4) There are heaps of players of Pacific Island extraction who play for New Zealand Super Rugby franchises. Watching Samoa beat Scotland was brilliant and it was awesome seeing players like former Highlanders and Blues fullback Paul Williams or Hurricanes player Tusi Pisi. These players have given heaps to Super Rugby and ITM Cup rugby in New Zealand. Having experience in New Zealand has given these players experience and helped Samoa become the seventh ranked team in the IRB rankings. It is hard to say if these guys would be playing for Samoa if they had been selected for the All Blacks.

5) Going to the Pacific Islands would help to increase the profile of the All Blacks and ensure that any young local players from the Pacific Islands would pledge allegiance to New Zealand rugby rather than heading to Australia to further their rugby career. There have been more Pacific Islanders popping up in Australian teams than there used to be. Mind you, that could also be because Australia has less depth than New Zealand.

Do you think the All Blacks should play in the Pacific Islands? I would love to see them play against the Pacific Barbarians in the Pacific Islands. Surely there must be enough time and resources to make this possible.