The All Blacks' charge to their World Cup defence will begin in the Samoan sun in July next year.
A milestone agreement was confirmed this afternoon at New Zealand Rugby House in Wellington that will see the All Blacks meet Samoa in Apia for the first time on Wednesday, July 8.
The test match will kick-off at Apia Park at 3pm local time (2pm NZT) and will be the first Steven Hansen's men will play next season as they build towards next year's global tournament in England.
"It's the beginning of that 2015 season so it'll be a great way for us to start," Hansen said. "It'll be a great way to bring the guys together and it is going to be very special. We've got a lot of Samoan guys in the team who are proud of their heritage and we are very proud of them.
"You can only imagine what it's going to be like; 20,000 people can get in to the ground but there's going to be a lot more than that wanting to be part of it and we are looking forward to that.
It's not just going there for a game, it's going there and learning a little bit about some of the heritage and more about the heritage of the people we have in our team and that's pretty special for us."
There's one catch though. The game will be played only a few days after next season's Super Rugby final and any All Blacks involved in the tournament's showpiece game for their franchises won't be considered for the trip to Apia.
A nightmare scenario for all involved would be an all-Kiwi Super Rugby final but Hansen said they were prepared for the worst-case scenario.
"If we've got two teams in the final, well we'll still have an All Black team going to play Samoa and it'll be the best team we can pick and they'll be expected to play like All Blacks.
The game would be a "major boost" for Samoan tourism, attracting fans from around the world, Mr McCully said.
Pacific Island Affairs Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga said the local Samoan community were already preparing to attend en masse.
"It is an honour for Samoa, but also an event not to be missed for the local Samoan community who make New Zealand their home. No doubt there will be a lot of mixed emotions about who to support and the atmosphere will be incredible," Mr Lotu-Iiga said, adding "the stakes will be high" in the run-up to the world cup.
"I know there will be thousands travelling from New Zealand and around the Pacific to Samoa to watch this historic game. It will be rugby at its very best."
