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Wikipedia

New Zealand national rugby union team

January 01, 1970

"All Blacks" redirects here. For other uses, see All Blacks (disambiguation).
"All Black" redirects here. For the songs, see All Black (song) and All Black (G Herbo song). For the Marvel Comics character and weapon, see All-Black the Necrosword.
This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see New Zealand women's national rugby union team.

The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks,[1][2] represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport.[3] Famed for their international success, the All Blacks have often been regarded as one of the most successful sports teams in history.[4][5]

New Zealand
Nickname(s)All Blacks
EmblemSilver-fern frond
UnionNew Zealand Rugby
Head coachScott Robertson
CaptainSam Cane
Most capsSam Whitelock (153)
Top scorerDan Carter (1,598)
Top try scorerDoug Howlett (49)
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current3 (as of 6 November 2023)
Highest1 (2003, 2004–2008, 2009–2019, 2021)
Lowest5 (2022)
First international
 Australia 3–22 New Zealand 
(Sydney, Australia; 15 August 1903)
Biggest win
 New Zealand 145–17 Japan 
(Bloemfontein, South Africa; 4 June 1995)
Biggest defeat
 South Africa 35–7 New Zealand 
(London, England; 25 August 2023)
World Cup
Appearances10 (First in 1987)
Best resultChampions (1987, 2011, 2015)
Tri Nations/Rugby Championship
Appearances28
Best resultChampions (1996, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
Websiteallblacks.com

The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, 2011, and 2015. This is second only to South Africa, known as the Springboks, who have won the Rugby World Cup four times: in 1995, 2007, 2019, and 2023. They were the first country to retain the Rugby World Cup. New Zealand has a 76 percent winning record in test-match rugby, and has secured more wins than losses against every test opponent. Since their international debut in 1903,[6] New Zealand teams have played test matches against 19 nations, of which 12 have never won a game against the All Blacks. The team has also played against three multinational all-star teams, losing only eight of 45 matches. Since the introduction of the World Rugby Rankings in 2003, New Zealand has held the number-one ranking longer than all other teams combined.[7] They jointly hold the record for the most consecutive test match wins for a tier-one ranked nation, along with England.

The All Blacks compete with Argentina, Australia and South Africa in the Rugby Championship, and have won the trophy twenty times in the competition's 28 year history. The team has completed a Grand Slam tour against the four Home Nations four times (1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010). World Rugby has named New Zealand the World Rugby Team of the Year ten times since the award was initiated in 2001,[8] and an All Black has won the World Rugby Player of the Year award ten times over the same period. Nineteen former All Blacks have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall Of Fame.

The team's first match took place in 1884 in New South Wales and their first international test match in 1903 against Australia in Sydney. The following year New Zealand hosted their first home test, a match against a British Isles side in Wellington.[a] There followed a 34-game tour of Europe and North America in 1905 (which included five test matches), where New Zealand suffered only one defeat: their first test loss, against Wales.

New Zealand's early uniforms consisted of a black jersey with a silver fern and white shorts. By the 1905 tour they were wearing all black, except for the silver fern, and the name "All Blacks" dates from this time.

The team perform a haka before every match; this is a Māori challenge or posture dance. Traditionally the All Blacks use Te Rauparaha's haka Ka Mate, although players have also performed Kapa o Pango since 2005.

History edit

Introduction of rugby to New Zealand edit

 
The New Zealand team that toured New South Wales in 1884

Rugby union, known almost universally in New Zealand as just "rugby", was introduced to the nation by Charles Monro in 1870;[9] he had discovered the sport while completing his studies at Christ's College in Finchley, England.[10] The first recorded game in New Zealand took place in May 1870 in the city of Nelson, between the Nelson rugby club and Nelson College.[11] The first provincial union, the Canterbury Rugby Football Union, was formed in 1879,[12] and New Zealand's first internationals were played in 1882 when the "Waratahs" from New South Wales toured the country.[13] The Australian team did not face a New Zealand national team but played seven provincial sides; the tourists won four games and lost three.[14] Two years later, the first New Zealand team to travel overseas toured New South Wales, winning all eight of their games.[15]

A privately organised British team, which later became the British & Irish Lions, toured New Zealand in 1888. The visitors only played provincial sides and no test matches were played.[16] Wales and Scotland were represented in the British team, but the players were drawn mainly from Northern England.[17]

International competition begins edit

See also: The Original All Blacks

In 1892, following the canvassing of provincial administrators by Ernest Hoben, the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) was formed by the majority of New Zealand's provincial unions, but did not include Canterbury, Otago or Southland.[18][b] The first officially sanctioned New Zealand side toured New South Wales in 1893, where the Thomas Ellison captained team won nine of their ten matches.[19][20] The following year New Zealand played its first home "international" game, losing 6–8 to New South Wales.[c][21] The team's first true test match occurred against Australia on 15 August 1903 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in front of over 30,000 spectators and resulted in a 22–3 victory.[22]

 
The Original All Blacks that toured the British Isles, France and the United States during 1905–06. The team won 34 of their 35 tour matches.

A representative New Zealand team first toured the British Isles in 1905. The side is now known as the "Originals", as the "All Blacks" name emerged during this tour when, according to team member Billy Wallace, a London newspaper reported that the New Zealanders played as if they were "all backs".[23] Wallace claimed that because of a typographical error, subsequent references were to "All Blacks". This account is most likely a myth: because of their black playing strip, the side was probably referred to as the Blacks before they left New Zealand. Even though the name All Blacks most likely existed before the trip, the tour did popularise it.[23]

The Originals played 35 matches on tour, and their only loss was a 0–3 defeat to Wales in Cardiff.[24] The match has entered into the folklore of both countries because of a controversy over whether All Black Bob Deans had scored a try that would have earned his team a 3–3 draw.[25][d] In contrast to the success of the Originals on the field, the team did antagonise some in the Home Nations' rugby establishment; both administrators and the press complained that the All Blacks did not play the game within the amateur and gentlemanly spirit promoted by the International Rugby Football Board. This complaint continued to dog New Zealand teams until the 1930s.[26]

The success of the Originals had uncomfortable consequences for the amateur NZRFU. In 1907, a party of professional players was assembled to tour the British Isles and play rugby league – a professional offshoot of rugby union that was played by clubs that split from England's Rugby Football Union (RFU) due to disagreements over financial compensation for players.[27] When the "All Golds", as the team came to be known, returned they established rugby league in New Zealand, and a large number of players switched to the professional code.[27][28] English and Welsh authorities were alarmed by the threat of professionalism to rugby in New Zealand, and in 1908 an Anglo-Welsh side undertook a tour to New Zealand to help promote the amateur values[e] under which they believed sport should be played.[30][31][f] The tourists were defeated 2–0 in the three-test series by New Zealand, but the Anglo-Welsh did manage to draw the second test 3–3.[32]

Development of a legacy edit

International rugby was suspended during the First World War,[33] but a New Zealand Services team did compete in inter-services competition known as the King's Cup.[34] After their departure from Europe the side toured South Africa before their return to New Zealand, and that tour paved the way for a South African team to tour New Zealand in 1921.[35] The Springboks – as the South African team is known – played New Zealand in a test series that ended all square. New Zealand conducted a return tour to South Africa in 1928, and the test series was again drawn; both teams winning two tests each.[36]

 
"The Invincibles" All Blacks that toured to the British Isles and France in 1924–25

The 1924 All Black tourists to the British Isles and France were dubbed "the Invincibles" because they won every game. However, the team was deprived of a potential grand slam when Scotland refused to play them because they were upset the tour was organised through the RFU rather than the IRFB.[37][38] The first British Isles side since 1908 toured New Zealand in 1930. Although the Lions won the first test, the home side regrouped and went on to win the series 3–1.[39] New Zealand toured the British Isles again in 1935–36, losing only three games – including two tests – during a 30-match tour.[40] In one of these losses, Alexander Obolensky famously scored two tries to help England to a 13–0 win; their first over New Zealand.[41]

In 1937, South Africa toured New Zealand and decisively won the test series despite losing the first test; this 1937 South African team was described as the best team ever to leave New Zealand.[42][43] It was not until 1949 that New Zealand next played the Springboks when they toured South Africa with Fred Allen as captain.[44][45] Although each test against South Africa was very close, New Zealand lost the series 0–4.[46] As part of this 25-match, 4-test series, an All Blacks 'second string' side[47] travelled up to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to face the Rhodesia representative side in two non-Test Internationals. The result of the first match saw Rhodesia run out winners, 10–8. Three days later, the second match resulted in a 3–3 draw. Two of the Rhodesian players were later capped for South Africa (being eligible due to Rhodesia's treatment as a province of South Africa, for rugby reasons) in the All Blacks second test of the tour. No International caps were awarded to either side for these two matches.[48][49]

 
The All Blacks at the climax of their haka before a 1932 test against Australia

At the same time as an All Black team was touring South Africa, Australia were touring New Zealand.[50] The two tours coincided because Māori players were not able to go to South Africa at the time due to apartheid (the All Black team in South Africa refused to do the haka in protest), meaning the Australians played against a New Zealand team made up of the best Māori and the reserve non-Māori players, while the South Africans encountered the best pākehā (white) players.[51][g] On the afternoon of 3 September New Zealand, captained by Johnny Smith, were beaten 6–11 by Australia in Wellington.[53] New Zealand then lost their second test 9–16, giving Australia a Bledisloe Cup series win in New Zealand for the first time.[50][51] 1949 was an annus horribilis for the All Blacks as they lost all six of their test matches, and the experience of playing two test series simultaneously has not been repeated.[50][54]

The two consecutive series losses to South Africa made their 1956 tour of New Zealand highly anticipated. New Zealand were captained by Bob Duff and coached by Bob Stuart, and their 3–1 series win was their first over the Springboks and the Springboks' first series loss that century.[55] During the series, New Zealand introduced Don Clarke, and brought prop Kevin Skinner out of retirement to help secure the win.[56] Skinner, a former New Zealand boxing champion, had retired from international rugby, but was convinced to return for the third and fourth tests.[57] One reason for Skinner's selection was to "sort out" the South African props, while Clarke become known as "The Boot" for his goal kicking.[58]

New Zealand's 3–1 series win over the Lions in 1959 proved to be the start of a dominant period in All Black rugby.[59] This was followed by the 1963–64 tour to Britain and Ireland, led by Wilson Whineray, in which New Zealand were deprived of a Grand Slam by a scoreless draw with Scotland.[60] The only loss on this tour was to Newport RFC, who won 3–0 at Rodney Parade, Newport on 30 October 1963.[61] The 1967 side won three tests against the home nations, but was unable to play Ireland because of a foot-and-mouth scare.[60] This tour formed part of New Zealand's longest winning streak, between 1965 and 1970, of 17 test victories.[62] This was also the longest test winning streak by any nation at the time; it was equalled by the Springboks in 1998, and surpassed by Lithuania in 2010.[63][h]

NZ then lost the 1970 away series in South Africa. Although the 1966 Lions had been defeated 0–4 in their New Zealand tour, there was a reversal of fortune five years later when the 1971 Lions, under the captaincy of Welshman John Dawes, beat New Zealand in a test series, which remains the Lions' only series victory in New Zealand.[64]

The 1972–3 tourists narrowly missed a Grand Slam with a draw against Ireland.[60] The tour was notable for the sending home of prop Keith Murdoch, who was alleged to have been involved in a brawl in a Cardiff hotel while celebrating the defeat of Wales.[65]

In 1978, Graham Mourie captained New Zealand to their first Grand Slam, including a 13–12 victory over Wales. That game generated controversy after New Zealand won as the result of a late penalty. Lock Andy Haden had dived out of a line-out in an attempt to earn a penalty, but referee Roger Quittenden insisted the penalty was against Welsh lock Geoff Wheel for jumping off the shoulder of Frank Oliver.[66] New Zealand's only loss on the tour was the famous 12–0 defeat by Irish province Munster at Thomond Park.[67] A play that focused on the loss was later written by John Breen, called Alone it Stands.[68]

Controversial tours edit

 
Police outside Eden Park prior to a New Zealand match during the 1981 Springbok tour

For the 1960 All Blacks tour of South Africa, the South African authorities insisted that Maori players be excluded from the team. The subsequent controversy led to the New Zealand Rugby Union refusing any other tour of the country for the following 10 years until the 1970 tour, when Maori players were accepted as "honorary whites".[69][70]

The 1976 All Blacks tour of apartheid South Africa generated much controversy and led to the boycott of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal by 33 African nations after the IOC refused to ban the team.[71][72] New Zealand again failed to win the test series in South Africa, and did not secure another series victory until 1996, after the fall of apartheid and the introduction of neutral referees. The 1976 tour contributed to the Gleneagles Agreement being adopted by the Commonwealth Heads of State in 1977.[73]

 
The All Blacks playing the Pumas during their 1985 tour of Argentina

The 1981 South African tour to New Zealand sparked a protest movement against South Africa's apartheid policy; this type of protest had not been seen in New Zealand since the 1951 waterfront dispute.[74][75] The NZRU had invited the Springboks to tour because the Muldoon government refused to involve politics in sport.[76] Although New Zealand won the test series, two of the tour's provincial games were cancelled and the whole tour was marred by violence and protest.[77] The third and final test match of the tour is sometimes known as the Flour Bomb test, as an anti-apartheid activist in a Cessna light aircraft dropped leaflets, flares, a parachute-supported banner reading "Biko", and flour bombs, into Auckland's Eden Park throughout the match, felling a New Zealand player. The country experienced unrest during the tour, which had a significant impact on New Zealand society.[74][77][78]

The 1985 All Blacks tour to South Africa was cancelled after legal action on the grounds that it would breach the NZRU's constitution.[78] In 1986, a rebel tour to South Africa took place that had not been authorised by the NZRU and the team, named the Cavaliers, included many All Blacks.[79][80] Those that participated in the tour received a ban for two tests from the NZRU when they returned to New Zealand. Allegations that players received payment for the tour were never proved.[81]

Early World Cups edit

New Zealand hosted and won the inaugural World Cup in 1987 beating France 29–9 in the final. New Zealand conceded only 52 points and scored 43 tries in six games en route to the title, beating Italy, Fiji, Argentina, Scotland, Wales and France.[82]

By the 1991 World Cup New Zealand were an ageing side,[83] co-coached by Alex Wyllie and John Hart. After beating hosts England in the tournament opener, they struggled during pool matches against the United States and Italy, and won their quarter-final against Canada.[84] They were then knocked out by eventual winners Australia 16–6 in their semi-final at Lansdowne Road. In the wake of the tournament, there were many retirements, including coach Wyllie, who had enjoyed an 86 per cent win rate during 29 tests in charge.[85]

Laurie Mains replaced Wyllie in 1992, and was given the job of preparing the side for the 1995 event in South Africa. New Zealand were again one of the favourites to take the championship. Their status as favourites was enhanced when a young Jonah Lomu scored four tries against England in the 45–29 semi-final win.[86][87] They managed to take hosts South Africa to extra time in the final, before losing 12–15 to Joel Stransky's drop goal.[88][89]

Professionalism edit

 
New Zealand playing England at Twickenham in 2006

The professional era in rugby union began in 1995, spurred by creation of the SANZAR group (a combination of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia)[90] which was formed with the purpose of selling broadcast rights for two new competitions, the domestic Super 12 competition and the Tri-Nations.[90] The first Tri-Nations was contested in 1996, with New Zealand winning all four of their tests to take the trophy.[91] After a 1996 Tri-Nations match hosted by South Africa, won 29–18 by New Zealand,[92] preceded a separate three-match test series between the two sides.[93] Under new coach John Hart and the captaincy of Sean Fitzpatrick, New Zealand won a test series in South Africa for the first time.[94] Fitzpatrick rated the series win higher than the 1987 World Cup victory in which he had participated.[94]

The next three seasons saw mixed results for New Zealand, who won all their Tri-Nations tests in 1997 before losing the title for the first time in 1998.[95] In 1998 New Zealand lost all five tests in the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup series (two to South Africa and three to Australia), the first time they had lost four tests in succession since 1949.[96] The following year they suffered their worst test loss, 7–28 to Australia in Sydney.[97] At the 1999 World Cup later that year, the All Blacks dominated their pool, handing England a 16–30 defeat at Twickenham. They advanced past Scotland 30–18 in the quarter-finals to play France at Twickenham. After New Zealand finished the first half 17–10 ahead,[97] France then produced a famous half of rugby to which New Zealand had no answer, winning 43–31.[97] Hart subsequently resigned as coach and was replaced by co-coaches Wayne Smith and Tony Gilbert.

Under Smith and Gilbert, New Zealand came second in the 2000 and 2001 Tri-Nations, and in neither season did the side reclaim the Bledisloe Cup – which had been lost in 1998. Both coaches were replaced by John Mitchell on 3 October 2001, and he went on to coach New Zealand to victory in both the 2002 and 2003 Tri-Nations, as well as regaining the Bledisloe Cup in 2003. Mitchell's abrasive personal manner and management style, together with his coaching techniques, were the subject of some controversy both at the time and subsequently.[98] Despite losing to England earlier in the year, the All Blacks entered the 2003 World Cup as one of the favourites and dominated their pool, running up wins against Italy, Canada and Tonga, before winning one of the most competitive matches of the tournament against Wales.[99] They defeated South Africa in their quarter-final, a team they had never beaten at the World Cup, 29–9, but lost to Australia 10–22 in the semi-final in Sydney. Following the team's lacklustre showing in the tournament, the NZRU terminated Mitchell's contract[100] and installed Graham Henry as national coach.[101]

Henry era edit

Graham Henry's tenure as coach began with a double victory over 2003 Rugby World Cup winners England in 2004. The two games had an aggregate score of 72–15, and England were kept try-less.[102][103] Despite the winning start to Henry's tenure, the Tri-Nations was a mixed success with two wins and two losses. The competition was the closest ever, bonus points decided the outcome, and New Zealand finishing last.[i][104] The 2004 season finished with three wins in Europe, including a record 45–6 victory over France under new captain and outside centre Tana Umaga.[105][106]

2005 saw New Zealand host the touring British & Irish Lions, steered by World Cup-winning English coach Clive Woodward, and featuring a number of Northern Hemisphere stars including Jonny Wilkinson. New Zealand won all three games easily, with a young Dan Carter turning in a masterclass in the second test. The series was marred by an incident in the first test after the Lions captain, Irish centre Brian O'Driscoll, was upended in an aggressive clearout by Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu. O'Driscoll suffered a dislocated shoulder and missed the rest of the tour as a result. Match footage was inconclusive at the time, and both Umaga and Mealamu escaped serious sanction.[107] O'Driscoll and the Lions management maintained it was a deliberate spear tackle,[108] and the controversy both tainted the All Blacks' series victory and continued for some years afterward.[109]

That same year, they also won the Tri-Nations, and achieved a second Grand Slam over the Home Nations for the first time since 1978. They went on to sweep the major IRB (now World Rugby) awards in which they were named: Team of the Year, Henry was named Coach of the Year, and first five-eighth Dan Carter was Player of the Year.[8] New Zealand were nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year in 2006 for their 2005 performance.[110] The following year they again took the Tri-Nations Series after winning their first five matches, three against Australia and two against South Africa. They lost their final match of the series against South Africa. They completed their end of year tour unbeaten, with record away wins over France, England and Wales.[111] New Zealand were named 2006 IRB Team of the Year and were nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award for the second time, while flanker and newly appointed captain Richie McCaw was named IRB Player of the Year for the first time.[8][110][112]

The 2007 season started off with two mid-year tests against France. New Zealand won the tests 42–11 at Eden Park and 61–10 at Westpac Stadium. A third game, against Canada, resulted in a 64–13 win, although the game was more competitive than the scoreline indicated.[113] New Zealand's first Tri-Nations game of 2007 was against the Springboks in Durban, South Africa. New Zealand scored two tries in the final fifteen minutes of the game to win 26–21.[114] The following week against the Wallabies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground the Wallabies upset New Zealand to win 20–15.[115] The All Blacks won their following home games to successfully defend the Tri-Nations Series for 2007.[116][117] New Zealand entered the 2007 Rugby World Cup as favourites,[118] and topped their pool,[119] beating Scotland, Italy, Romania and Portugal by at least 40 points. However, they then suffered a defeat by hosts France in the quarter-finals in Cardiff.[120] Following the loss to France coach Graham Henry's job was reappointed amid vocal debate and comment, despite Robbie Deans being a strong contender.[121]

 
New Zealand playing Tonga in the 2011 Rugby World Cup

The 2008 season started with three mid-year tests against Ireland and England, all of which New Zealand won.[122] New Zealand played their first Tri-Nations game against South Africa in Wellington, winning 19–8, but a week later at Carisbrook in Dunedin they lost to South Africa 28–30, ending a 30-match winning streak at home.[123] New Zealand played their next Tri-Nations match on 26 July against Australia in Sydney, losing 19–34 but a week later against Australia in New Zealand won 39–10.[122] They then beat South Africa 19–0 at Newlands Stadium.[124] New Zealand played their final match on 13 September against Australia at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane winning 28–24 and retaining the Bledisloe Cup and the Tri-Nations.[125]

The All Blacks opened the 2009 season with a 22–27 loss to France at Carisbrook, but defeated them 14–10 in Wellington a week later. On points difference, France won the Dave Gallaher Cup for the first time. A week later the All Blacks defeated Italy 27–6 in Christchurch. They finished second in the Tri-Nations Series, behind South Africa who lost only one game, and ended the series with a 33–6 win over Australia in Wellington.[126]

In 2010, the All Blacks won the Tri-Nations Series for the tenth time after three successive victories against South Africa,[127] and won the Bledisloe Cup after consecutive victories against Australia.[128] An undefeated streak in tests that began in 2009 reached 15 matches.[129] Despite losing the 2011 Tri-Nations after a loss to Australia in Brisbane,[130] they still entered the 2011 Rugby World Cup as one of the favourites.[131] The All Blacks went through their pool matches undefeated, and after defeating Argentina, and then Australia, faced France in the final. New Zealand scored one try and a penalty to narrowly win 8–7.[132] Henry stepped down as coach following the World Cup, and was replaced as head coach by his assistant Steve Hansen.[133]

Hansen era edit

The Tri-Nations was expanded to include Argentina in 2012, and subsequently renamed The Rugby Championship. The All Blacks went undefeated in the inaugural tournament, and went through the year unbeaten until their last match of the year, where they lost to England at Twickenham. In 2013 New Zealand hosted France in a three-match series – their first meeting since the 2011 World Cup final. They won all three tests, before going unbeaten in the 2013 Rugby Championship.[134] In November 2013, New Zealand became the first rugby nation in the professional era to achieve a 100 per cent record in a calendar year.[135]

At the 2014 Rugby Championship, the All Blacks drew with Australia and lost to South Africa in the away matches, but won the other four matches and the tournament. At the shortened 2015 Rugby Championship, the All Blacks lost to Australia and was runner-up in the competition. They did, however achieve a significant return victory in the second Bledisloe test that year to retain the trophy. The team entered the 2015 Rugby World Cup and again went undefeated in their pool matches. They defeated France 62–13 in the quarter-finals, South Africa 20–18 in the semi-finals, and Australia 34–17 in the final to become the first nation to retain the World Championship title and the first to win the Rugby World Cup three times.[136]

The All Blacks went undefeated at the 2016 Rugby Championship, claiming bonus points at each match, under new captain and Number 8, Kieran Read and vice-captain and fullback Ben Smith. Smith and wing Israel Dagg were also the joint highest try scorers in the competition with five each, while fly-half Beauden Barrett was the highest points scorer of the competition with 81 in total.[137] The autumn of 2016 witnessed an historic defeat, with the All Blacks enduring their first ever loss to Ireland after 111 years of competition,[138] going down by 29–40 at Soldier Field in Chicago. New Zealand redeemed the loss by defeating Ireland in Dublin in the return game two weeks later, by 21–9.[139]

In 2017, the British & Irish Lions toured New Zealand for the second time in the professional era. The series finished in a draw, with the All Blacks and Lions recording 1–1–1. The All Blacks had won the first test 30–15, the Lions took the second test 24–21, and the final test was drawn 15–15. Like the 2005 tour, this Lions series was dogged by controversy, with the Lions' tactics (under expat Kiwi Coach Warren Gatland),[140] the tone of local media coverage,[141] the Red Card awarded to Sonny Bill Williams in the second test[142] and the refereeing of French officials Romain Poite and Jerome Garces[143] all hotly debated. The drawn series, combined with the loss to Ireland to previous year led some in the media to claim that the team were on the slide, and that the Northern Hemisphere sides were catching up.[144] However they went on to go undefeated in the Rugby Championship 2017 season and also securing the Bledisloe Cup against rivals Australia after defeating the Aussies twice in the Rugby Championship. In October, New Zealand suffered a surprise 18–23 loss to Australia, in the final Bledisloe game of the year at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. The autumn saw the All Blacks defeat a Barbarians team 32–21, France 38–18, Scotland 22–17 and Wales 33–18 to end the 2017 season.[145]

At the start of the 2018 season, the All Blacks saw off a touring French side in a 3–0 series victory, and won their first games of the Rugby Championship against Australia by 38–13 and 40–12 to keep the Bledisloe Cup for another year. Another easy win against Argentina by 46–24 followed, however the All Blacks were subsequently beaten at home in Wellington by South Africa for the first time since 2009, losing by 34–36 in a tightly contested game,[146] before again beating Argentina by 35–17. In the return match against South Africa in Pretoria, the All Blacks trailed for much of the game but produced a thrilling comeback late the second half to win by 32–30.[147] They went on to post another crushing win over Australia by 37–20 in Yokohama, to confirm a Bledisloe whitewash for the year.[148] A development side was left behind to pummel Japan 69–31, while the first team travelled to Europe for the autumn internationals. That series proved a relatively difficult one for the All Blacks, with a single-point victory over England (16–15) in a very closely fought test,[149] followed by a second-ever loss to Ireland by 9–16 in a cauldron atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.[150] They went on to thrash Italy by 66–3 to finish their season with a win.[151]

2019 was a mixed year for the All Blacks, starting their campaign with an unconvincing 16 - 20 win over a tough Argentine side, and a 16 all draw against the Springboks. However, the next week they were given their joint worst loss in their history, once again to the Wallabies, 26 - 47, after Scott Barrett was sent off. They got back on track, showcasing the form they have been in the past years, with a 36 - 0 shutout in their rematch at Eden Park to retain the Bledisloe Cup, and finished their season with a 92 - 7 pummelling against Tonga.

The 2019 Rugby World Cup saw New Zealand face off against South Africa. They won, 23 - 13 in Yokohama, then notched wins up on Canada and Namibia, scoring a total of 135 points in the 2 games. In the quarter-final, they faced off against Ireland in Chofu, dominating from start to finish and prevailing 46 - 14. The team's run ended in the semi-finals with a 7 - 19 loss to England in Yokohama, which ended their chances of a third consecutive world title, or "three-peat". This was the team's first World Cup defeat in 20 matches stretching back over twelve years. New Zealand finished their campaign with a 40 - 17 win over Wales in Chofu to claim the bronze medal. Hansen retired after the World Cup, along with many All Blacks veterans, most notably captain Kieran Read, Owen Franks and Ben Smith. Ian Foster was appointed as the new All Blacks coach.

Foster Era edit

 
2023 Rugby World Cup match between France and New Zealand.

2020

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Rugby Championship was cancelled. Instead, a Tri-Nations revival tournament was held from October to December of 2020. Two warm-up Bledisloe Cup matches were held before that, the first was a 16-16 draw and the second a comfortable 27-7 win. They then travelled over to Australia for the Tri-Nations, where they opened by securing the Bledisloe Cup with a (43–5) victory over Australia, but going on to lose to them a week later (22–24). The All Blacks lost a week later to Argentina (15–25) which was their first ever defeat to the Los Pumas and the first time they had lost back-to-back test matches since 2011. Thanks to a 38-0 win against Argentina two weeks later, the All Blacks won the Tri-Nations. They ended the 2020 season with 3 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw.

2021

The All Blacks opened their 2021 campaign by easily defeating Tonga (102–0), followed by two wins against Fiji (57-23) and (60-13). They opened their Bledisloe Cup campaign by defeating Australia at Eden Park (33–25). The All Blacks then went onto defeat the Wallabies 2 more times, (57–22) and (38–21) to retain the Bledisloe Cup. They defeated Argentina twice by comfortable margins. Against South Africa, their record was split (1-1), with New Zealand winning in the 100th Test Match between the two countries in a historic (19–17) victory, with the Springboks winning a week later by (31–29). They would still retain the Freedom Cup and they would then go onto win the Rugby Championship and finish the competition with a (5–1) record. In their first Northern Hemisphere Tour since 2018, the All Blacks played 5 matches and finished with a record of (3–2). They defeated the United States (104–14), Wales (54–16) and Italy (47–9), and then went onto lose two matches in a row against Ireland (20–29) and France (25–40), to finish the season (12–3). The back to back losses against Ireland and France was the first time since 1998 that they finished their season with 2 straight defeats in consecutive weeks.

2022

In July 2022, the All Blacks hosted Ireland to a 3-Test Match Series. In the first game the All Blacks defeated Ireland (42–19), before losing to them in the second game (12-23) and third game (22-32). It was the first time that Ireland had beaten the All Blacks at home, two times in a row and across a Test series. This would also mark the 3rd straight season that the All Blacks lost back to back test matches and this led them to make changes in their coaching setup. They opened their Rugby Championship campaign with a loss to the Springboks in South Africa (10–26), their third consecutive loss. They then rallied back the following week with a win at Ellis Park (35–23) to retain the Freedom Cup. They lost to Argentina (18–25) for the first time ever in New Zealand, before bouncing back with an impressive (53–3) victory a week later. They then defeated Australia in a controversial and much debated (39–37) win, thus retaining the Bledisloe Cup. The All Blacks would go onto defeat the Wallabies again (40–14) at Eden Park in Auckland. In their End Of Year Northern Tour, they defeated Japan (38–31), Wales (55–23), Scotland (31–23) but drew against England (25–25). The All Blacks finished with 8 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw. It was their worst Win/Loss record since the 1998 season.

2023

In 2023, the All Blacks won the shortened version of the Rugby Championship (due to the World Cup) by defeating Argentina (41–12), South Africa (35–20), and Australia (38–7). They also kept the Freedom Cup for another year after beating the Springboks and had wrapped up the Bledisloe for another year after defeating the Wallabies (23–20) in the 2nd bledisloe game which was a test match outside the rugby championship. In a warm up game at Twickenham in London, the All Blacks lost to the Springboks (7–35), which became their worst ever defeat in their 120 year history. At the 2023 Rugby World Cup, the All Blacks tasted their first ever defeat in the pool stages when they were beaten by the host nation France (13–27). They then went on to defeat all the other teams in their pool, Namibia (71–3), Italy (96–17), Uruguay (73–0), to qualify for the quarter–finals. They defeated Ireland in the quarters (28–24), defeated Argentina (44–6) in the semi–final and lost to the Springboks (11–12), who would go on to be the first nation to win 4 World Cups, in the final of the 2023 World Cup tournament. They would end their season with a record of 9 wins, 3 losses, and 0 draws. This marked the end of the Ian Foster era for the All Blacks.

Robertson Era edit

After the conclusion of the 2023 Rugby World Cup tournament, Scott Robertson commenced the role of head coach from November 1, 2023.[152] Robertson's first game as head coach will take place against England in 2024.[153]

Uniform edit

All Blacks historic jerseys
 
The 1905 "Originals" jersey
 
The Adidas July 2003 to August 2005 jersey
 
The 2012 jersey, sponsored by AIG
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Zealand national rugby union team kits.

The current New Zealand jersey features a figure-hugging jersey and is entirely black except for sponsors' logos and the NZRU silver fern on the chest. However, black wasn't always New Zealand's colours. During the 1884 tour of Australia which was the first overseas New Zealand rugby tour, the team donned a dark blue jersey, with a gold fern insignia on the left of the jumper.[154][155][156] In 1893, when the New Zealand Rugby Union was established, they stipulated that the uniform would be a black jersey with silver fern and white knickerbockers,[157] although historic photographs suggest white shorts may have been used instead during these early years. There was a change some time after 1897, and in 1901 the team met New South Wales wearing an all black uniform for the first time - black jersey, a canvas top with no collar, and a silver fern, and black shorts.[158]

In 2006, New Zealand wore an embroidered remembrance poppy on their jersey sleeve when playing France during the end-of-year tour.[159] The poppy honours the ANZAC soldiers who died on the beaches of Gallipoli. Captain Richie McCaw said "We want to honour the overseas service of New Zealanders. It is an important part of our history as a country and a team."[160]

During the 2011 Rugby World Cup, there was an image of the Webb Ellis Cup embroidered on the sleeve of the All Blacks' jerseys, with the year '1987' below it to signify the team's previous world title. Each of the four teams that had won the cup in previous years sported the same detailing on their jerseys.[161]

Kit suppliers edit

Canterbury were kit suppliers to New Zealand from 1924 until 1999,[162] when Adidas paid $70 million to clothe and shoe the All Blacks for five years.[163] Nike also looked at sponsoring New Zealand at this time, but elected to sponsor Tiger Woods instead.[164] In 2003, Adidas renewed this contract and paid the team US$200 million over nine years, expecting New Zealand to win around 75 per cent of their matches.[165] In 2008, this deal was extended to 2019 for an undisclosed amount,[166] In 2017 this was again extended to 2023 in a deal estimated to be worth about $10 million a year.[167]

Period Kit manufacturer
1924–1999 Canterbury
1999–present Adidas

Kit sponsors edit

Steinlager was the first sponsor to appear on the All Blacks' jersey, in the left breast of the jersey (on the opposite side to the silver fern), lasting from 1994 to 1999, when Adidas took over as supplier. In 2012, AIG became the first to sponsor on the centre-front of the All Black jersey in a deal estimated to be worth approximately $80 million over five years.[168] AIG extended this sponsorship to 2021 in a deal thought to be worth about $15m a year.[167] After AIG decided not to renew their sponsorship deal with the team, it was announced that the Altrad Group [fr] would be the new main sponsor of the All Blacks from 2022, with a 6-year deal reportedly worth more than $120 million.[169]

Haka edit

Main article: Haka in sports
 
The New Zealand team performing Ka Mate, led by Richie McCaw, before a match against France in November 2006

The All Blacks perform a haka (a Māori challenge) before every international match. The tradition has been closely associated with New Zealand rugby ever since a tour of Australia and the United Kingdom by the New Zealand Natives in 1888 and 1889,[170][171] although it is likely that the New Zealand team that toured New South Wales in 1884 may also have performed a haka.[172] The 1888–89 New Zealand native team used Ake Ake Kia Kaha, and a mocking haka, Tupoto koe, Kangaru!, was used by the 1903 team that visited Australia. In 1905, the All Blacks began the tradition of using Ka Mate, a haka composed in the 19th century by Te Rauparaha, leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe. The 1924 All Blacks used a specially composed haka, Ko Niu Tireni, but later All Blacks reverted to using Ka Mate.[173][174][175]

In August 2005, before the Tri-Nations test match between New Zealand and South Africa at Carisbrook stadium in Dunedin, the All Blacks performed a new haka, Kapa o Pango, specially composed for the occasion by Derek Lardelli and intended to reflect the Polynesian-influenced multicultural make-up of contemporary New Zealand.[176] Lardelli's haka was not designed to replace Ka Mate as it was only meant to be used for special occasions.[176] Kapa o Pango concludes with a move that has been interpreted as a "throat slitting" gesture, which has led to accusations that the haka encourages violence and sends the wrong message to All Blacks fans.[177] However, according to Lardelli, the gesture is meant to represent "drawing vital energy into the heart and lungs".[178]

In November 2006, at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, the All Blacks performed the haka in the dressing room prior to the match – instead of on the field immediately before kick-off – following a disagreement with the Welsh Rugby Union, who had wanted Wales to sing their national anthem immediately after the haka.[179] In 2008, New Zealand played Munster at Thomond Park; before the match, Munster's four New Zealand players challenged their opponents by performing their own haka before the All Blacks started theirs.[180] On the same tour, Wales responded to New Zealand's haka by silently refusing to move afterwards, and the two teams simply stared at each other until the referee forced them to start the game.[181]

Record edit

Overall edit

Men's World Rugby Rankings
Top 20 as of 18 March 2024[182]
Rank Change* Team Points
1     South Africa 094.54
2     Ireland 090.69
3     New Zealand 089.80
4     France 087.92
5     England 085.75
6     Scotland 082.82
7     Argentina 080.68
8  1   Italy 079.41
9  1   Australia 077.48
10  2   Wales 077.26
11     Fiji 076.38
12     Japan 074.27
13     Georgia 074.02
14     Samoa 072.23
15  1   Tonga 071.57
16  1   Portugal 070.28
17     United States 067.94
18     Uruguay 067.39
19     Spain 064.37
20     Romania 061.66
21     Canada 060.90
22     Namibia 060.56
23     Chile 060.49
24     Hong Kong 059.80
25     Russia 058.06
26      Switzerland 057.44
27     Netherlands 057.29
28  1   Belgium 055.89
29  1   Brazil 055.37
30  1   Korea 053.46
* Change from the previous week
New Zealand's historical rankings
See or edit source data.
Source: World Rugby[182]
Graph updated to 4 March 2024
See also: List of All Blacks tours and series
See also: List of New Zealand rugby union test matches

New Zealand have only ever been beaten by seven test nations (and drawing to an additional nation in Scotland) and two combined teams (the British & Irish Lions, and a World XV) and they are the only international team to have a winning record against every nation they have played. They have won 489 of their 637 test matches (76.77 Percent) – see table below – and have lost at home only 43 times. Since World Rankings were introduced by World Rugby in October 2003, New Zealand have occupied the number one ranking the majority of the time.[7] In the decade from 2000 to 2009, New Zealand won 100 tests (92 per cent of their total games played).

New Zealand's longest winning streak is 18 test victories (a Tier 1 joint world record), achieved between 2015 and 2016. In 2013 they won every test they played during a calendar year. The All Blacks hold the record for most consecutive test wins at home, a 47-match winning streak, achieved between 2009 and 2017.[183] Their longest unbeaten streak is 23 tests (from 1987 to 1990) with one game being drawn.[184]

Their all-time points record for tests stands at 18,195 points for and 8,704 points against (updated 28 October 2023). Many national rugby union teams have suffered their heaviest defeats when playing against New Zealand, these being Argentina (91–8), Fiji (91–0), France (61–10), Ireland (60–0), Japan (145–17), Portugal (108–13), Samoa (101–14), South Africa (57–0), Tonga (102–0, twice) and the British and Irish Lions (38–6). The All Blacks largest test win was (145–17) against Japan in 1995,[185] while their heaviest loss was a (7–35) defeat to the Springboks in 2023.

Below is a summary of New Zealand test results (updated 28 October 2023):[186]

Opponent Played Won Lost Drawn Win% For Aga Diff
  Argentina 37 34 2 1 91.89 1434 506 +928
  Australia 177 124 45 8 70.06 3928 2563 +1365
  British & Irish Lions 41 30 7 4 73.17 700 399 +301
  Canada 6 6 0 0 100.00 376 54 +322
  England 43 33 8 2 76.74 1017 619 +398
  Fiji 7 7 0 0 100.00 481 86 +395
  France 63 48 14 1 76.19 1634 868 +766
  Georgia 1 1 0 0 100.00 43 10 +33
  Ireland 37 31 5 1 83.78 1041 516 +525
  Italy 16 16 0 0 100.00 963 157 +806
  Japan 5 5 0 0 100.00 389 92 +297
  Namibia 3 3 0 0 100.00 200 26 +174
  Pacific Islanders 1 1 0 0 100.00 41 26 +15
  Portugal 1 1 0 0 100.00 108 13 +95
  Romania 2 2 0 0 100.00 99 14 +85
  Samoa 7 7 0 0 100.00 411 72 +339
  Scotland 32 30 0 2 93.75 953 372 +581
  South Africa 106 62 40 4 58.49 2196 1741 +455
  Tonga 7 7 0 0 100.00 520 42 +478
  United States 4 4 0 0 100.00 275 29 +246
  Uruguay 1 1 0 0 100.00 73 0 +73
  Wales 37 34 3 0 91.89 1219 430 +789
 World XV 3 2 1 0 66.67 94 69 +25
Total 637 489 125 23 76.77% 18195 8704 +9491

Rugby World Cup edit

Main article: New Zealand at the Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
Year Round Pld W D L PF PA Squad
    1987 Champions 6 6 0 0 298 52 Squad
          1991 Third place 6 5 0 1 143 74 Squad
  1995 Runners-up 6 5 0 1 327 119 Squad
  1999 Fourth place 6 4 0 2 255 111 Squad
  2003 Third place 7 6 0 1 361 101 Squad
  2007 Quarter-finals 5 4 0 1 327 55 Squad
  2011 Champions 7 7 0 0 301 72 Squad
  2015 Champions 7 7 0 0 290 97 Squad
  2019 Third place 6 5 0 1 250 72 Squad
  2023 Runners-up 7 5 0 2 336 89 Squad
Total Champions 63 54 0 9 2888 842
  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place Home venue

New Zealand have won the World Cup three times. They beat France in the final of the 1987 inaugural competition held in New Zealand and Australia, defeated France again in the final of the 2011 tournament, also hosted in New Zealand, and most recently defeated Australia in England in 2015, making them the first team to win the World Cup in consecutive tournaments. In 1991, they lost their semi-final to Australia before winning the playoff for third. In 1995, they reached the final, before losing in extra time to hosts South Africa. They finished in fourth place in 1999, after losing their semi-final and then the third-place playoff game. In 2003, New Zealand were knocked out by hosts Australia in their semi-final, before finishing third. The 2007 World Cup saw their worst tournament, being knocked out in the quarter-finals by the host nation France;[187] until this they were the only team to have reached the semi-finals of every tournament.[188] As a result of the poor performance in the 2007 World Cup the NZRU commissioned a 47-page report to detail the causes of the failure. In 2019, they lost in the semi-finals against England in a (7–19) defeat, and then finishing in third-place after beating Wales in the 3rd spot playoff game (40–17). In 2023, the All Blacks were defeated by the Springboks (11–12) in the final. The All Blacks had won every World Cup pool match they had played in until 8 September 2023 when they lost their first ever pool match in the opening match of the 2023 Rugby World Cup against the host nation France, and have finished top of their pool in 9 out of the 10 tournaments.

New Zealand holds several World Cup records: most World Cup matches (63), most points in one match (145 versus Japan in 1995), most cumulative points over all World Cups (2,888), most tries overall (396), most conversions (289) and also the record for the most points scored in the first half of a knockout game at the Rugby World Cup (29, against France 2015) along with the largest knockout margin (49) in the same match.[189] They currently hold the record for the most consecutive wins at a World Cup, with 18 straight wins, spanning from 2011 to 2019. Several individual players also hold World Cup records, Jonah Lomu for most World Cup tries (15 over two World Cups)(tied with South Africa's Bryan Habana), Marc Ellis with most tries in a match (6 versus Japan in 1995), Grant Fox with most points in one tournament (126 in 1987), and Simon Culhane with most points in a single game (45 versus Japan in 1995).[189]

Tri Nations and The Rugby Championship edit

New Zealand's only annual tournament is a competition involving the Southern Hemisphere's top national teams. From 1996 through 2011, they competed in the Tri Nations against Australia and South Africa. In 2012, Argentina joined the competition, which was renamed The Rugby Championship. New Zealand's record of 20 tournament wins (the most recent in 2023) and 100 match wins is well ahead of the other teams' records. The Bledisloe Cup is contested between New Zealand and Australia, and the Freedom Cup between New Zealand and South Africa, as part of the Tri Nations and The Rugby Championship.

Tri Nations (1996–2011; 2020)
Nation Matches Points Bonus
points 		Table
points 		Titles
won
P W D L PF PA PD
  New Zealand 76 52 0 24 2,054 1,449 +605 35 243 11
  Australia 76 30 3 43 1,591 1,817 −226 34 160 3
  South Africa 72 28 1 43 1,480 1,831 −351 24 138 3
  Argentina 4 1 2 1 56 84 –28 0 8 0
Source:  lassen.co.nz – Tri-Nations, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa

Bonus points given by T – 4W − 2D, for T table points, W games won and D games drawn.

Rugby Championship (since 2012)
Nation Matches Points Bonus
points 		Table
points 		Titles
won
P W D L PF PA PD
  New Zealand 57 48 2 7 1,979 1,059 +920 36 233 9
  South Africa 57 28 4 25 1,449 1,289 +160 26 146 1
  Australia 57 25 3 29 1,304 1,553 −249 13 126 1
  Argentina 57 8 1 48 1,036 1,868 −832 12 46 0
Updated: 29 July 2023
Source:  lassen.co.nz – TRC, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa
Bonus points given by T – 4W − 2D, for T table points, W games won and D games drawn.
All-time Tri Nations and Rugby Championship Table (since 1996)
Nation Matches Points Bonus
points 		Table
points 		Titles
won
P W D L PF PA PD
  New Zealand 133 100 2 31 4,033 2,508 +1,525 71 476 20
  Australia 133 55 6 72 2,895 3,370 –475 47 286 4
  South Africa 129 56 5 68 2,929 3,120 –191 51 284 4
  Argentina 61 9 3 49 1,092 1,952 –860 12 54 0
Updated: 29 July 2023
Bonus points given by T – 4W − 2D, for T table points, W games won and D games drawn.

Players edit

Current squad edit

New Zealand announced their 33–player squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup on 7 August 2023.[190]

On 9 September, Ethan Blackadder was called into the squad as a replacement for Emoni Narawa who was ruled out of the World Cup due to a back injury.

Head coach:   Ian Foster

  • Caps updated to: 28 October 2023
Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Franchise/province
Dane Coles Hooker (1986-12-10) 10 December 1986 (age 37) 90   Hurricanes / Wellington
Samisoni Taukei'aho Hooker (1997-08-08) 8 August 1997 (age 26) 30   Chiefs / Waikato
Codie Taylor Hooker (1991-03-31) 31 March 1991 (age 33) 86   Crusaders / Canterbury
Ethan de Groot Prop (1998-07-22) 22 July 1998 (age 25) 22   Highlanders / Southland
Nepo Laulala Prop (1991-11-06) 6 November 1991 (age 32) 53   Toulouse
Tyrel Lomax Prop (1996-03-16) 16 March 1996 (age 28) 32   Hurricanes / Tasman
Fletcher Newell Prop (2000-03-01) 1 March 2000 (age 24) 13   Crusaders / Canterbury
Ofa Tuʻungafasi Prop (1992-04-19) 19 April 1992 (age 32) 57   Blues / Northland
Tamaiti Williams Prop (2000-08-10) 10 August 2000 (age 23) 8   Crusaders / Canterbury
Scott Barrett Lock (1993-11-20) 20 November 1993 (age 30) 70   Crusaders / Taranaki
Brodie Retallick Lock (1991-05-31) 31 May 1991 (age 32) 109   Kobelco Kobe Steelers
Tupou Vaa'i Lock (2000-01-27) 27 January 2000 (age 24) 26   Chiefs / Taranaki
Sam Whitelock Lock (1988-10-12) 12 October 1988 (age 35) 153   Pau
Sam Cane (c) Loose forward (1992-01-13) 13 January 1992 (age 32) 95   Chiefs / Bay of Plenty
Shannon Frizell Loose forward (1994-02-11) 11 February 1994 (age 30) 33   Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo
Luke Jacobson Loose forward (1997-04-20) 20 April 1997 (age 27) 18   Chiefs / Waikato
Dalton Papalii Loose forward (1997-10-11) 11 October 1997 (age 26) 32   Blues / Counties Manukau
Ardie Savea Loose forward (1993-10-14) 14 October 1993 (age 30) 81   Kobelco Kobe Steelers
Ethan Blackadder Loose forward (1995-03-22) 22 March 1995 (age 29) 10   Crusaders / Tasman
Finlay Christie Half-back (1995-09-19) 19 September 1995 (age 28) 21   Blues / Tasman
Cam Roigard Half-back (2000-11-16) 16 November 2000 (age 23) 5   Hurricanes / Counties Manukau
Aaron Smith Half-back (1988-11-21) 21 November 1988 (age 35) 125   Toyota Verblitz
Beauden Barrett First five-eighth (1991-05-27) 27 May 1991 (age 32) 124   Toyota Verblitz
Damian McKenzie First five-eighth (1995-04-20) 20 April 1995 (age 29) 47   Chiefs / Waikato
Richie Mo'unga First five-eighth (1994-05-25) 25 May 1994 (age 29) 57   Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo
Jordie Barrett Centre (1997-02-17) 17 February 1997 (age 27) 57   Hurricanes / Taranaki
David Havili Centre (1994-12-23) 23 December 1994 (age 29) 27   Crusaders / Tasman
Rieko Ioane Centre (1997-03-18) 18 March 1997 (age 27) 69   Blues / Auckland
Anton Lienert-Brown Centre (1995-04-15) 15 April 1995 (age 29) 70   Chiefs / Waikato
Caleb Clarke Wing (1999-03-29) 29 March 1999 (age 25) 20   Blues / Auckland
Leicester Fainga'anuku Wing (1999-10-11) 11 October 1999 (age 24) 7   RC Toulon
Emoni Narawa Wing (1999-07-13) 13 July 1999 (age 24) 1   Chiefs / Bay of Plenty
Mark Telea Wing (1996-12-06) 6 December 1996 (age 27) 9   Blues / North Harbour
Will Jordan Fullback (1998-02-24) 24 February 1998 (age 26) 31   Crusaders / Tasman

Notable players edit

Main article: List of New Zealand national rugby union players
 
Captain of the "Original All Blacks" that toured the United Kingdom in 1905, Dave Gallaher is an inductee into the World Rugby Hall of Fame

Nineteen former All Blacks have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame: Sir Fred Allen, Dan Carter, Don Clarke, Sean Fitzpatrick, Grant Fox, Dave Gallaher, Sir Michael Jones, Ian Kirkpatrick, Sir John Kirwan, Sir Brian Lochore, Jonah Lomu, Richie McCaw, Sir Colin Meads, Graham Mourie, George Nēpia, Joe Warbrick, Sir Bryan Williams, Sir Wilson Whineray, and Joe Warbrick.[191][192]

Joe Warbrick represented New Zealand on their historic 1884 tour to Australia, but is better known for selecting and captaining the 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team that embarked on a 107-match tour of New Zealand, Australia and the British Isles.[193] The New Zealand Natives were the first New Zealand team to wear black uniforms, and the first to perform a haka.[194]

Dave Gallaher played in New Zealand's first ever test match in 1903 and also captained the 1905 Originals. Along with Billy Stead, Gallaher wrote the famous rugby book The Complete Rugby Footballer.[195] At the age of only 19, George Nēpia played in all 30 matches on the Invincibles tour of 1924–25.[196] Nēpia played 37 All Blacks games; his last was against the British Isles in 1930.[196]

Sir Fred Allen captained all of his 21 matches for New Zealand, including six tests, between 1946 and 1949.[197] He eventually moved on to coaching New Zealand between 1966 and 1968. New Zealand won all 14 of their test matches with Allen as coach.[197]

 
Colin Meads (here pictured in 1956), New Zealand's player of the century

Five hall of Fame inductees, including the first New Zealander named to the World Rugby Hall of Fame, played during the 1960s. Don Clarke was an All Black between 1956 and 1964 and during this period he broke the record at the time for All Black test points.[198] Clarke famously scored six penalties in one match – a record at the time – to give New Zealand an 18–17 victory over the British Isles at Dunedin in 1959.[198][199] Sir Wilson Whineray played 32 tests, captaining New Zealand in 30 of them.[200] He played prop and also number 8 between 1957 and 1965. New Zealand lost only four of their 30 tests with Whineray as captain.[200] On 21 October 2007, Whineray became the first New Zealander to earn induction to the World Rugby Hall of Fame.[201] In Sir Colin Meads' New Zealand Rugby Museum profile, he is described as "New Zealand's equivalent of Australia's Sir Donald Bradman or the United States of America's Babe Ruth".[202] Meads, nicknamed Pinetree, played 133 games for New Zealand, including 55 tests.[202] In 1999 the New Zealand Rugby Monthly magazine named Meads the New Zealand player of the century.[202] Ian Kirkpatrick played 39 tests, including nine as captain, between 1967 and 1977.[203] He scored 16 tries in his test career, a record at the time.[203]

There were two players in the Hall of Fame to debut in the 1970s one was flanker Graham Mourie. He captained 19 of his 21 tests and 57 of his 61 overall All Blacks matches between 1976 and 1982. Most notably, in 1978 he was captain of the first All Blacks side to complete a Grand Slam over the four Home Nations sides.[204]

The 1987 World Cup champions were coached by Sir Brian Lochore who had represented New Zealand in 25 tests between 1964 and 1971, including 17 as captain.[205] He was knighted in 1999 for his lifetime services to rugby.[206] Four of the 1987 World Cup squad that he had coached are also inductees in the Hall of Fame. Sir John Kirwan played a total of 63 tests between 1984 and 1994, scoring 35 tries, an All Blacks record at the time.[207] In the 1987 World Cup opener against Italy, Kirwan raced 90 meters to score one of the tries of the tournament.[207][208]

An All Black from 1984 to 1993, Grant Fox was one of New Zealand's greatest point-scorers with 1067 points, including 645 test points.[209] Fox played 46 tests, including the 1987 World Cup final against France. Known as The Iceman, Michael Jones was one of the greatest open side flankers of all time.[210] Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Jones first played international rugby for Samoa, then for New Zealand, playing 55 tests between 1987 and 1998.[210] Due to his Christian faith, Jones never played rugby on Sundays, resulting in him not playing in the 1991 World Cup semi-final against Australia, and also in him not being picked for the 1995 World Cup squad.[210][211]

 
Jonah Lomu debuted with New Zealand at 19 years old. He is generally regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union

For many years the most capped test All Black was Sean Fitzpatrick, with 92 appearances.[212] He played in the 1987 World Cup after incumbent Andy Dalton was injured, and was appointed All Blacks captain in 1992, continuing in the role until his retirement in 1997.[212] He played 346 first class rugby matches.[213]

Jonah Lomu is generally regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union.[214] He was the youngest player ever to appear in a test as an All Black, making his debut at age 19 years, 45 days in 1994. Lomu, a wing, had unique physical gifts; even though he stood 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) and weighed 119 kg (262 lb), making him both the tallest[215] and heaviest[216] back ever to play for New Zealand, he could run 100 metres in under 11 seconds. He burst on the international scene in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, scoring seven tries in the competition. Four of those tries came in New Zealand's semi-final win over England, including an iconic try in which he bulldozed England's Mike Catt on his way to the try line. He added eight more tries in the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Perhaps most remarkably, Lomu played virtually his entire top-level career in the shadow of a serious kidney disorder which ended his test career in 2002 and ultimately led to a transplant in 2004. Even with his career hampered and eventually shortened by his health issues, he scored 37 tries in 63 tests.[217]

Player records edit

 
Richie McCaw is the third most capped rugby player of all time after Alun Wyn Jones and Sam Whitelock, and was the first New Zealander to play 100 test matches
Main article: List of New Zealand national rugby union team player records

The record for most test points for not only New Zealand, but any nation, is held by Dan Carter with 1,598 from 112 tests.[218] He surpassed Andrew Mehrtens' All Black record total of 967 points from 70 tests[219] in the All Blacks' win over England on 21 November 2009.[220] On 27 November 2010 Dan Carter scored a penalty against Wales to pass Jonny Wilkinson's previous world record of 1,178 points.[221] Carter also holds the record for points against Australia with 366.

The All Blacks' record test try scorer is Doug Howlett with 49 tries, who overtook Christian Cullen's 46 during the 2007 World Cup.[222] The world record for tries in a calendar year is held by Joe Rokocoko, with 17 tries in 2003; he also became the first All Black to score ten tries in his first five tests, as well as the first All Black to score at least two tries in each of four consecutive tests.[223] In test matches, the most capped All Black is Sam Whitelock with 153 caps.[224] The record for most tests as captain is held by Richie McCaw with 110.[225] The youngest All Black in a test match was Jonah Lomu, capped at age 19 years, 45 days, whilst the oldest test player was Ned Hughes at 40 years, 123 days.[217][226][j]

Award winners edit

The following New Zealand players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001:[8]

World Rugby Try of the Year
Year Date Scorer Match Tournament
2013 15 June Beauden Barrett vs. France Summer Test Series
2015 17 October Julian Savea vs. France Rugby World Cup
2018 18 August Brodie Retallick vs. Australia Rugby Championship
2019 6 October TJ Perenara vs. Namibia Rugby World Cup

Coaches edit

All Head Coaches of the All Blacks (1949–Present). Every All Black coach has been a New Zealander. From 2024 onwards, Scott Robertson will replace Ian Foster as Head Coach.

Name Years Tests Won Lost Draw Win% All Black No.
Alex McDonald 1949 4 0 4 0 0.00% 128
Tom Morrison 1950, 55–56 12 8 3 1 66.7% 441
Len Clode 1951 3 3 0 0 100% -
Arthur Marslin 1953–1954 5 3 2 0 60.0% -
Dick Everest 1957 2 2 0 0 100% -
Jack Sullivan 1958–1960 11 6 4 1 54.5% 428
Neil McPhail 1961–1965 20 16 2 2 80.0% -
Ron Bush 1962 2 2 0 0 100% -
Fred Allen 1966–1968 14 14 0 0 100% 449
Ivan Vodanovich 1969–1971 10 4 5 1 40.0% 568
Bob Duff 1972–1973 8 6 1 1 75.0% 523
JJ Stewart 1974–1976 11 6 4 1 54.5% -
Jack Gleeson 1977–1978 13 10 3 0 76.9% -
Eric Watson 1979–1980 9 5 4 0 55.6% -
Peter Burke 1981–1982 11 9 2 0 81.8% 534
Bryce Rope 1983–1984 12 9 2 1 75.0% -
Brian Lochore 1985–1987 18 14 3 1 77.8% 637
Alex Wyllie 1988–1991 29 25 3 1 86.2% 688
Laurie Mains 1992–1995 34 23 10 1 67.6% 697
John Hart 1996–1999 41 31 9 1 75.6% -
Wayne Smith 2000–2001 17 12 5 0 70.6% 806
John Mitchell[227] 2002–2003 28 23 4 1 82.1% 940
Graham Henry[228] 2004–2011 103 88 15 0 85.4% -
Steve Hansen 2012–2019 107 93 10 4 86.9% -
Ian Foster 2020–2023 46 32 12 2 69.5% -
Scott Robertson[229] 2024– 974

Home grounds edit

class=notpageimage|
Map showing locations of current home grounds in New Zealand

Like other major rugby nations Argentina, Australia, France and South Africa, New Zealand does not have an official stadium for its national team. Instead, the All Blacks play their test matches at a variety of venues throughout New Zealand.

Prior to the construction of Westpac Stadium in 1999, Wellington's test venue was Athletic Park, which had served as the venue for the first All Blacks test match in New Zealand against Great Britain in 1904.[230] The first home test match played outside the main centres of Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin or Wellington was in 1996 at McLean Park in Napier.[231]

Eden Park and AMI Stadium were upgraded in preparation for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. By that time, the NZRU no longer considered Carisbrook a suitable test venue, and a covered sports stadium was proposed as a replacement.[232] Dunedin City Council approved the new stadium in March 2008,[233] land acquisition proceeded from August to October of that year.[234]

Ground First Test Last Test Tests Held Win% Last Loss
Athletic Park, Wellington, North Island 1904
v British Lions 		1999
v France 		42 69% 25 July 1998
Tahuna Park, Dunedin, South Island 1905
v Australia 		(1905) 1 100% N/A
Potter's Park, Auckland, North Island 1908
v British Lions 		(1908) 1 100% N/A
Carisbrook, Dunedin, South Island 1908
v British Lions 		2011
v Fiji 		38 84% 13 June 2009
AMI Stadium, Christchurch, South Island 1913
v Australia 		2010
v Australia 		48 81% 1 August 1998
Christchurch Stadium, Christchurch, South Island 2012
v Ireland 		2022 v Argentina 5 90% 27 August 2022
Eden Park, Auckland, North Island 1921
v South Africa 		2022
v Australia 		91 85% 3 July 1994
Epsom Showgrounds, Auckland, North Island 1958
v Australia 		(1958) 1 100% N/A
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, South Island 2012
v South Africa 		2023

v Australia

9 88% 9 July 2022
McLean Park, Napier, North Island 1996
v Western Samoa 		2014
v Argentina 		2 100% N/A
Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland, North Island 2021
v Tonga 		2023
v South Africa 		2 100% N/A
North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, North Island 1997
v Fiji 		2017
v South Africa 		7 100% N/A
Rugby Park, Hamilton, North Island [235] 1997
v Argentina 		(1997) 1 100% N/A
Sky Stadium, Wellington, North Island 2000
v Australia 		2022 v Ireland 27 77% 16 July 2022
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, North Island[235] 2002
v Italy 		2022 v Argentina 15 93% 12 October 2009
Taranaki Stadium, New Plymouth, North Island 2008
v Samoa 		2017
v Argentina 		4 100% N/A
Trafalgar Park, Nelson, South Island 2018
v Argentina 		(2018) 1 100% N/A
TOTAL 17 17 295 84.24% 8

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ The British Isles side subsequently became known as the British & Irish Lions.
  2. ^ Canterbury, Otago and Southland objected to the requirement that NZRFU executive committee members needed to live in Wellington. They eventually all joined the NZRFU, but the residency rule did not change until 1986.[18]
  3. ^ Six of the New South Welshmen were New Zealanders living in Sydney.[20]
  4. ^ Tries were worth three points at the time.
  5. ^ Amateurism was not just about not playing for money. Many in the traditional rugby establishment believed that: "Excessive striving for victory introduced an unhealthy spirit of competition, transforming a character-building 'mock fight' into 'serious fighting'. Training and specialization degraded sport to the level of work".[29]
  6. ^ The Anglo-Welsh are officially acknowledged as a British & Irish Lions side despite Ireland and Scotland refusing to contribute any players.[30]
  7. ^ This restriction on non-White players representing New Zealand in South Africa lasted until the 1970 tour, when four players of Māori or Samoan ancestry were allowed into the country as "honorary whites".[52]
  8. ^ Unlike South Africa and New Zealand, Lithuania did not have to play any Tier 1 or Tier 2 national teams.
  9. ^ Bonus points could be earned via two means; by scoring four tries or more in one match, or through losing a match by seven points or less.
  10. ^ The next oldest test player was Frank Bunce, aged 35 years, 305 days; over four years younger than Hughes.

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January 01, 1970
zealand, national, rugby, union, team, blacks, redirects, here, other, uses, blacks, disambiguation, black, redirects, here, songs, black, song, black, herbo, song, marvel, comics, character, weapon, black, necrosword, this, article, about, team, women, team, . All Blacks redirects here For other uses see All Blacks disambiguation All Black redirects here For the songs see All Black song and All Black G Herbo song For the Marvel Comics character and weapon see All Black the Necrosword This article is about the men s team For the women s team see New Zealand women s national rugby union team The New Zealand national rugby union team commonly known as the All Blacks 1 2 represents New Zealand in men s international rugby union which is considered the country s national sport 3 Famed for their international success the All Blacks have often been regarded as one of the most successful sports teams in history 4 5 New ZealandNickname s All BlacksEmblemSilver fern frondUnionNew Zealand RugbyHead coachScott RobertsonCaptainSam CaneMost capsSam Whitelock 153 Top scorerDan Carter 1 598 Top try scorerDoug Howlett 49 First coloursSecond coloursWorld Rugby rankingCurrent3 as of 6 November 2023 Highest1 2003 2004 2008 2009 2019 2021 Lowest5 2022 First international Australia 3 22 New Zealand Sydney Australia 15 August 1903 Biggest win New Zealand 145 17 Japan Bloemfontein South Africa 4 June 1995 Biggest defeat South Africa 35 7 New Zealand London England 25 August 2023 World CupAppearances10 First in 1987 Best resultChampions 1987 2011 2015 Tri Nations Rugby ChampionshipAppearances28Best resultChampions 1996 1997 1999 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2010 2012 2013 2014 2016 2017 2018 2020 2021 2022 2023 Websiteallblacks com The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 2011 and 2015 This is second only to South Africa known as the Springboks who have won the Rugby World Cup four times in 1995 2007 2019 and 2023 They were the first country to retain the Rugby World Cup New Zealand has a 76 percent winning record in test match rugby and has secured more wins than losses against every test opponent Since their international debut in 1903 6 New Zealand teams have played test matches against 19 nations of which 12 have never won a game against the All Blacks The team has also played against three multinational all star teams losing only eight of 45 matches Since the introduction of the World Rugby Rankings in 2003 New Zealand has held the number one ranking longer than all other teams combined 7 They jointly hold the record for the most consecutive test match wins for a tier one ranked nation along with England The All Blacks compete with Argentina Australia and South Africa in the Rugby Championship and have won the trophy twenty times in the competition s 28 year history The team has completed a Grand Slam tour against the four Home Nations four times 1978 2005 2008 and 2010 World Rugby has named New Zealand the World Rugby Team of the Year ten times since the award was initiated in 2001 8 and an All Black has won the World Rugby Player of the Year award ten times over the same period Nineteen former All Blacks have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall Of Fame The team s first match took place in 1884 in New South Wales and their first international test match in 1903 against Australia in Sydney The following year New Zealand hosted their first home test a match against a British Isles side in Wellington a There followed a 34 game tour of Europe and North America in 1905 which included five test matches where New Zealand suffered only one defeat their first test loss against Wales New Zealand s early uniforms consisted of a black jersey with a silver fern and white shorts By the 1905 tour they were wearing all black except for the silver fern and the name All Blacks dates from this time The team perform a haka before every match this is a Maori challenge or posture dance Traditionally the All Blacks use Te Rauparaha s haka Ka Mate although players have also performed Kapa o Pango since 2005 Contents 1 History 1 1 Introduction of rugby to New Zealand 1 2 International competition begins 1 3 Development of a legacy 1 4 Controversial tours 1 5 Early World Cups 1 6 Professionalism 1 7 Henry era 1 8 Hansen era 1 9 Foster Era 1 10 Robertson Era 2 Uniform 2 1 Kit suppliers 2 2 Kit sponsors 3 Haka 4 Record 4 1 Overall 4 2 Rugby World Cup 4 3 Tri Nations and The Rugby Championship 5 Players 5 1 Current squad 5 2 Notable players 5 3 Player records 5 4 Award winners 6 Coaches 7 Home grounds 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 Works cited 12 External linksHistory editIntroduction of rugby to New Zealand edit nbsp The New Zealand team that toured New South Wales in 1884 Rugby union known almost universally in New Zealand as just rugby was introduced to the nation by Charles Monro in 1870 9 he had discovered the sport while completing his studies at Christ s College in Finchley England 10 The first recorded game in New Zealand took place in May 1870 in the city of Nelson between the Nelson rugby club and Nelson College 11 The first provincial union the Canterbury Rugby Football Union was formed in 1879 12 and New Zealand s first internationals were played in 1882 when the Waratahs from New South Wales toured the country 13 The Australian team did not face a New Zealand national team but played seven provincial sides the tourists won four games and lost three 14 Two years later the first New Zealand team to travel overseas toured New South Wales winning all eight of their games 15 A privately organised British team which later became the British amp Irish Lions toured New Zealand in 1888 The visitors only played provincial sides and no test matches were played 16 Wales and Scotland were represented in the British team but the players were drawn mainly from Northern England 17 International competition begins edit See also The Original All Blacks In 1892 following the canvassing of provincial administrators by Ernest Hoben the New Zealand Rugby Football Union NZRFU was formed by the majority of New Zealand s provincial unions but did not include Canterbury Otago or Southland 18 b The first officially sanctioned New Zealand side toured New South Wales in 1893 where the Thomas Ellison captained team won nine of their ten matches 19 20 The following year New Zealand played its first home international game losing 6 8 to New South Wales c 21 The team s first true test match occurred against Australia on 15 August 1903 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in front of over 30 000 spectators and resulted in a 22 3 victory 22 nbsp The Original All Blacks that toured the British Isles France and the United States during 1905 06 The team won 34 of their 35 tour matches A representative New Zealand team first toured the British Isles in 1905 The side is now known as the Originals as the All Blacks name emerged during this tour when according to team member Billy Wallace a London newspaper reported that the New Zealanders played as if they were all backs 23 Wallace claimed that because of a typographical error subsequent references were to All Blacks This account is most likely a myth because of their black playing strip the side was probably referred to as the Blacks before they left New Zealand Even though the name All Blacks most likely existed before the trip the tour did popularise it 23 The Originals played 35 matches on tour and their only loss was a 0 3 defeat to Wales in Cardiff 24 The match has entered into the folklore of both countries because of a controversy over whether All Black Bob Deans had scored a try that would have earned his team a 3 3 draw 25 d In contrast to the success of the Originals on the field the team did antagonise some in the Home Nations rugby establishment both administrators and the press complained that the All Blacks did not play the game within the amateur and gentlemanly spirit promoted by the International Rugby Football Board This complaint continued to dog New Zealand teams until the 1930s 26 The success of the Originals had uncomfortable consequences for the amateur NZRFU In 1907 a party of professional players was assembled to tour the British Isles and play rugby league a professional offshoot of rugby union that was played by clubs that split from England s Rugby Football Union RFU due to disagreements over financial compensation for players 27 When the All Golds as the team came to be known returned they established rugby league in New Zealand and a large number of players switched to the professional code 27 28 English and Welsh authorities were alarmed by the threat of professionalism to rugby in New Zealand and in 1908 an Anglo Welsh side undertook a tour to New Zealand to help promote the amateur values e under which they believed sport should be played 30 31 f The tourists were defeated 2 0 in the three test series by New Zealand but the Anglo Welsh did manage to draw the second test 3 3 32 Development of a legacy edit International rugby was suspended during the First World War 33 but a New Zealand Services team did compete in inter services competition known as the King s Cup 34 After their departure from Europe the side toured South Africa before their return to New Zealand and that tour paved the way for a South African team to tour New Zealand in 1921 35 The Springboks as the South African team is known played New Zealand in a test series that ended all square New Zealand conducted a return tour to South Africa in 1928 and the test series was again drawn both teams winning two tests each 36 nbsp The Invincibles All Blacks that toured to the British Isles and France in 1924 25 The 1924 All Black tourists to the British Isles and France were dubbed the Invincibles because they won every game However the team was deprived of a potential grand slam when Scotland refused to play them because they were upset the tour was organised through the RFU rather than the IRFB 37 38 The first British Isles side since 1908 toured New Zealand in 1930 Although the Lions won the first test the home side regrouped and went on to win the series 3 1 39 New Zealand toured the British Isles again in 1935 36 losing only three games including two tests during a 30 match tour 40 In one of these losses Alexander Obolensky famously scored two tries to help England to a 13 0 win their first over New Zealand 41 In 1937 South Africa toured New Zealand and decisively won the test series despite losing the first test this 1937 South African team was described as the best team ever to leave New Zealand 42 43 It was not until 1949 that New Zealand next played the Springboks when they toured South Africa with Fred Allen as captain 44 45 Although each test against South Africa was very close New Zealand lost the series 0 4 46 As part of this 25 match 4 test series an All Blacks second string side 47 travelled up to Southern Rhodesia now Zimbabwe to face the Rhodesia representative side in two non Test Internationals The result of the first match saw Rhodesia run out winners 10 8 Three days later the second match resulted in a 3 3 draw Two of the Rhodesian players were later capped for South Africa being eligible due to Rhodesia s treatment as a province of South Africa for rugby reasons in the All Blacks second test of the tour No International caps were awarded to either side for these two matches 48 49 nbsp The All Blacks at the climax of their haka before a 1932 test against Australia At the same time as an All Black team was touring South Africa Australia were touring New Zealand 50 The two tours coincided because Maori players were not able to go to South Africa at the time due to apartheid the All Black team in South Africa refused to do the haka in protest meaning the Australians played against a New Zealand team made up of the best Maori and the reserve non Maori players while the South Africans encountered the best pakeha white players 51 g On the afternoon of 3 September New Zealand captained by Johnny Smith were beaten 6 11 by Australia in Wellington 53 New Zealand then lost their second test 9 16 giving Australia a Bledisloe Cup series win in New Zealand for the first time 50 51 1949 was an annus horribilis for the All Blacks as they lost all six of their test matches and the experience of playing two test series simultaneously has not been repeated 50 54 The two consecutive series losses to South Africa made their 1956 tour of New Zealand highly anticipated New Zealand were captained by Bob Duff and coached by Bob Stuart and their 3 1 series win was their first over the Springboks and the Springboks first series loss that century 55 During the series New Zealand introduced Don Clarke and brought prop Kevin Skinner out of retirement to help secure the win 56 Skinner a former New Zealand boxing champion had retired from international rugby but was convinced to return for the third and fourth tests 57 One reason for Skinner s selection was to sort out the South African props while Clarke become known as The Boot for his goal kicking 58 New Zealand s 3 1 series win over the Lions in 1959 proved to be the start of a dominant period in All Black rugby 59 This was followed by the 1963 64 tour to Britain and Ireland led by Wilson Whineray in which New Zealand were deprived of a Grand Slam by a scoreless draw with Scotland 60 The only loss on this tour was to Newport RFC who won 3 0 at Rodney Parade Newport on 30 October 1963 61 The 1967 side won three tests against the home nations but was unable to play Ireland because of a foot and mouth scare 60 This tour formed part of New Zealand s longest winning streak between 1965 and 1970 of 17 test victories 62 This was also the longest test winning streak by any nation at the time it was equalled by the Springboks in 1998 and surpassed by Lithuania in 2010 63 h NZ then lost the 1970 away series in South Africa Although the 1966 Lions had been defeated 0 4 in their New Zealand tour there was a reversal of fortune five years later when the 1971 Lions under the captaincy of Welshman John Dawes beat New Zealand in a test series which remains the Lions only series victory in New Zealand 64 The 1972 3 tourists narrowly missed a Grand Slam with a draw against Ireland 60 The tour was notable for the sending home of prop Keith Murdoch who was alleged to have been involved in a brawl in a Cardiff hotel while celebrating the defeat of Wales 65 In 1978 Graham Mourie captained New Zealand to their first Grand Slam including a 13 12 victory over Wales That game generated controversy after New Zealand won as the result of a late penalty Lock Andy Haden had dived out of a line out in an attempt to earn a penalty but referee Roger Quittenden insisted the penalty was against Welsh lock Geoff Wheel for jumping off the shoulder of Frank Oliver 66 New Zealand s only loss on the tour was the famous 12 0 defeat by Irish province Munster at Thomond Park 67 A play that focused on the loss was later written by John Breen called Alone it Stands 68 Controversial tours edit nbsp Police outside Eden Park prior to a New Zealand match during the 1981 Springbok tour For the 1960 All Blacks tour of South Africa the South African authorities insisted that Maori players be excluded from the team The subsequent controversy led to the New Zealand Rugby Union refusing any other tour of the country for the following 10 years until the 1970 tour when Maori players were accepted as honorary whites 69 70 The 1976 All Blacks tour of apartheid South Africa generated much controversy and led to the boycott of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal by 33 African nations after the IOC refused to ban the team 71 72 New Zealand again failed to win the test series in South Africa and did not secure another series victory until 1996 after the fall of apartheid and the introduction of neutral referees The 1976 tour contributed to the Gleneagles Agreement being adopted by the Commonwealth Heads of State in 1977 73 nbsp The All Blacks playing the Pumas during their 1985 tour of Argentina The 1981 South African tour to New Zealand sparked a protest movement against South Africa s apartheid policy this type of protest had not been seen in New Zealand since the 1951 waterfront dispute 74 75 The NZRU had invited the Springboks to tour because the Muldoon government refused to involve politics in sport 76 Although New Zealand won the test series two of the tour s provincial games were cancelled and the whole tour was marred by violence and protest 77 The third and final test match of the tour is sometimes known as the Flour Bomb test as an anti apartheid activist in a Cessna light aircraft dropped leaflets flares a parachute supported banner reading Biko and flour bombs into Auckland s Eden Park throughout the match felling a New Zealand player The country experienced unrest during the tour which had a significant impact on New Zealand society 74 77 78 The 1985 All Blacks tour to South Africa was cancelled after legal action on the grounds that it would breach the NZRU s constitution 78 In 1986 a rebel tour to South Africa took place that had not been authorised by the NZRU and the team named the Cavaliers included many All Blacks 79 80 Those that participated in the tour received a ban for two tests from the NZRU when they returned to New Zealand Allegations that players received payment for the tour were never proved 81 Early World Cups edit New Zealand hosted and won the inaugural World Cup in 1987 beating France 29 9 in the final New Zealand conceded only 52 points and scored 43 tries in six games en route to the title beating Italy Fiji Argentina Scotland Wales and France 82 By the 1991 World Cup New Zealand were an ageing side 83 co coached by Alex Wyllie and John Hart After beating hosts England in the tournament opener they struggled during pool matches against the United States and Italy and won their quarter final against Canada 84 They were then knocked out by eventual winners Australia 16 6 in their semi final at Lansdowne Road In the wake of the tournament there were many retirements including coach Wyllie who had enjoyed an 86 per cent win rate during 29 tests in charge 85 Laurie Mains replaced Wyllie in 1992 and was given the job of preparing the side for the 1995 event in South Africa New Zealand were again one of the favourites to take the championship Their status as favourites was enhanced when a young Jonah Lomu scored four tries against England in the 45 29 semi final win 86 87 They managed to take hosts South Africa to extra time in the final before losing 12 15 to Joel Stransky s drop goal 88 89 Professionalism edit nbsp New Zealand playing England at Twickenham in 2006 The professional era in rugby union began in 1995 spurred by creation of the SANZAR group a combination of South Africa New Zealand and Australia 90 which was formed with the purpose of selling broadcast rights for two new competitions the domestic Super 12 competition and the Tri Nations 90 The first Tri Nations was contested in 1996 with New Zealand winning all four of their tests to take the trophy 91 After a 1996 Tri Nations match hosted by South Africa won 29 18 by New Zealand 92 preceded a separate three match test series between the two sides 93 Under new coach John Hart and the captaincy of Sean Fitzpatrick New Zealand won a test series in South Africa for the first time 94 Fitzpatrick rated the series win higher than the 1987 World Cup victory in which he had participated 94 The next three seasons saw mixed results for New Zealand who won all their Tri Nations tests in 1997 before losing the title for the first time in 1998 95 In 1998 New Zealand lost all five tests in the Tri Nations and Bledisloe Cup series two to South Africa and three to Australia the first time they had lost four tests in succession since 1949 96 The following year they suffered their worst test loss 7 28 to Australia in Sydney 97 At the 1999 World Cup later that year the All Blacks dominated their pool handing England a 16 30 defeat at Twickenham They advanced past Scotland 30 18 in the quarter finals to play France at Twickenham After New Zealand finished the first half 17 10 ahead 97 France then produced a famous half of rugby to which New Zealand had no answer winning 43 31 97 Hart subsequently resigned as coach and was replaced by co coaches Wayne Smith and Tony Gilbert Under Smith and Gilbert New Zealand came second in the 2000 and 2001 Tri Nations and in neither season did the side reclaim the Bledisloe Cup which had been lost in 1998 Both coaches were replaced by John Mitchell on 3 October 2001 and he went on to coach New Zealand to victory in both the 2002 and 2003 Tri Nations as well as regaining the Bledisloe Cup in 2003 Mitchell s abrasive personal manner and management style together with his coaching techniques were the subject of some controversy both at the time and subsequently 98 Despite losing to England earlier in the year the All Blacks entered the 2003 World Cup as one of the favourites and dominated their pool running up wins against Italy Canada and Tonga before winning one of the most competitive matches of the tournament against Wales 99 They defeated South Africa in their quarter final a team they had never beaten at the World Cup 29 9 but lost to Australia 10 22 in the semi final in Sydney Following the team s lacklustre showing in the tournament the NZRU terminated Mitchell s contract 100 and installed Graham Henry as national coach 101 Henry era edit Graham Henry s tenure as coach began with a double victory over 2003 Rugby World Cup winners England in 2004 The two games had an aggregate score of 72 15 and England were kept try less 102 103 Despite the winning start to Henry s tenure the Tri Nations was a mixed success with two wins and two losses The competition was the closest ever bonus points decided the outcome and New Zealand finishing last i 104 The 2004 season finished with three wins in Europe including a record 45 6 victory over France under new captain and outside centre Tana Umaga 105 106 2005 saw New Zealand host the touring British amp Irish Lions steered by World Cup winning English coach Clive Woodward and featuring a number of Northern Hemisphere stars including Jonny Wilkinson New Zealand won all three games easily with a young Dan Carter turning in a masterclass in the second test The series was marred by an incident in the first test after the Lions captain Irish centre Brian O Driscoll was upended in an aggressive clearout by Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu O Driscoll suffered a dislocated shoulder and missed the rest of the tour as a result Match footage was inconclusive at the time and both Umaga and Mealamu escaped serious sanction 107 O Driscoll and the Lions management maintained it was a deliberate spear tackle 108 and the controversy both tainted the All Blacks series victory and continued for some years afterward 109 That same year they also won the Tri Nations and achieved a second Grand Slam over the Home Nations for the first time since 1978 They went on to sweep the major IRB now World Rugby awards in which they were named Team of the Year Henry was named Coach of the Year and first five eighth Dan Carter was Player of the Year 8 New Zealand were nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year in 2006 for their 2005 performance 110 The following year they again took the Tri Nations Series after winning their first five matches three against Australia and two against South Africa They lost their final match of the series against South Africa They completed their end of year tour unbeaten with record away wins over France England and Wales 111 New Zealand were named 2006 IRB Team of the Year and were nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award for the second time while flanker and newly appointed captain Richie McCaw was named IRB Player of the Year for the first time 8 110 112 The 2007 season started off with two mid year tests against France New Zealand won the tests 42 11 at Eden Park and 61 10 at Westpac Stadium A third game against Canada resulted in a 64 13 win although the game was more competitive than the scoreline indicated 113 New Zealand s first Tri Nations game of 2007 was against the Springboks in Durban South Africa New Zealand scored two tries in the final fifteen minutes of the game to win 26 21 114 The following week against the Wallabies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground the Wallabies upset New Zealand to win 20 15 115 The All Blacks won their following home games to successfully defend the Tri Nations Series for 2007 116 117 New Zealand entered the 2007 Rugby World Cup as favourites 118 and topped their pool 119 beating Scotland Italy Romania and Portugal by at least 40 points However they then suffered a defeat by hosts France in the quarter finals in Cardiff 120 Following the loss to France coach Graham Henry s job was reappointed amid vocal debate and comment despite Robbie Deans being a strong contender 121 nbsp New Zealand playing Tonga in the 2011 Rugby World Cup The 2008 season started with three mid year tests against Ireland and England all of which New Zealand won 122 New Zealand played their first Tri Nations game against South Africa in Wellington winning 19 8 but a week later at Carisbrook in Dunedin they lost to South Africa 28 30 ending a 30 match winning streak at home 123 New Zealand played their next Tri Nations match on 26 July against Australia in Sydney losing 19 34 but a week later against Australia in New Zealand won 39 10 122 They then beat South Africa 19 0 at Newlands Stadium 124 New Zealand played their final match on 13 September against Australia at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane winning 28 24 and retaining the Bledisloe Cup and the Tri Nations 125 The All Blacks opened the 2009 season with a 22 27 loss to France at Carisbrook but defeated them 14 10 in Wellington a week later On points difference France won the Dave Gallaher Cup for the first time A week later the All Blacks defeated Italy 27 6 in Christchurch They finished second in the Tri Nations Series behind South Africa who lost only one game and ended the series with a 33 6 win over Australia in Wellington 126 In 2010 the All Blacks won the Tri Nations Series for the tenth time after three successive victories against South Africa 127 and won the Bledisloe Cup after consecutive victories against Australia 128 An undefeated streak in tests that began in 2009 reached 15 matches 129 Despite losing the 2011 Tri Nations after a loss to Australia in Brisbane 130 they still entered the 2011 Rugby World Cup as one of the favourites 131 The All Blacks went through their pool matches undefeated and after defeating Argentina and then Australia faced France in the final New Zealand scored one try and a penalty to narrowly win 8 7 132 Henry stepped down as coach following the World Cup and was replaced as head coach by his assistant Steve Hansen 133 Hansen era edit The Tri Nations was expanded to include Argentina in 2012 and subsequently renamed The Rugby Championship The All Blacks went undefeated in the inaugural tournament and went through the year unbeaten until their last match of the year where they lost to England at Twickenham In 2013 New Zealand hosted France in a three match series their first meeting since the 2011 World Cup final They won all three tests before going unbeaten in the 2013 Rugby Championship 134 In November 2013 New Zealand became the first rugby nation in the professional era to achieve a 100 per cent record in a calendar year 135 At the 2014 Rugby Championship the All Blacks drew with Australia and lost to South Africa in the away matches but won the other four matches and the tournament At the shortened 2015 Rugby Championship the All Blacks lost to Australia and was runner up in the competition They did however achieve a significant return victory in the second Bledisloe test that year to retain the trophy The team entered the 2015 Rugby World Cup and again went undefeated in their pool matches They defeated France 62 13 in the quarter finals South Africa 20 18 in the semi finals and Australia 34 17 in the final to become the first nation to retain the World Championship title and the first to win the Rugby World Cup three times 136 The All Blacks went undefeated at the 2016 Rugby Championship claiming bonus points at each match under new captain and Number 8 Kieran Read and vice captain and fullback Ben Smith Smith and wing Israel Dagg were also the joint highest try scorers in the competition with five each while fly half Beauden Barrett was the highest points scorer of the competition with 81 in total 137 The autumn of 2016 witnessed an historic defeat with the All Blacks enduring their first ever loss to Ireland after 111 years of competition 138 going down by 29 40 at Soldier Field in Chicago New Zealand redeemed the loss by defeating Ireland in Dublin in the return game two weeks later by 21 9 139 In 2017 the British amp Irish Lions toured New Zealand for the second time in the professional era The series finished in a draw with the All Blacks and Lions recording 1 1 1 The All Blacks had won the first test 30 15 the Lions took the second test 24 21 and the final test was drawn 15 15 Like the 2005 tour this Lions series was dogged by controversy with the Lions tactics under expat Kiwi Coach Warren Gatland 140 the tone of local media coverage 141 the Red Card awarded to Sonny Bill Williams in the second test 142 and the refereeing of French officials Romain Poite and Jerome Garces 143 all hotly debated The drawn series combined with the loss to Ireland to previous year led some in the media to claim that the team were on the slide and that the Northern Hemisphere sides were catching up 144 However they went on to go undefeated in the Rugby Championship 2017 season and also securing the Bledisloe Cup against rivals Australia after defeating the Aussies twice in the Rugby Championship In October New Zealand suffered a surprise 18 23 loss to Australia in the final Bledisloe game of the year at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane The autumn saw the All Blacks defeat a Barbarians team 32 21 France 38 18 Scotland 22 17 and Wales 33 18 to end the 2017 season 145 At the start of the 2018 season the All Blacks saw off a touring French side in a 3 0 series victory and won their first games of the Rugby Championship against Australia by 38 13 and 40 12 to keep the Bledisloe Cup for another year Another easy win against Argentina by 46 24 followed however the All Blacks were subsequently beaten at home in Wellington by South Africa for the first time since 2009 losing by 34 36 in a tightly contested game 146 before again beating Argentina by 35 17 In the return match against South Africa in Pretoria the All Blacks trailed for much of the game but produced a thrilling comeback late the second half to win by 32 30 147 They went on to post another crushing win over Australia by 37 20 in Yokohama to confirm a Bledisloe whitewash for the year 148 A development side was left behind to pummel Japan 69 31 while the first team travelled to Europe for the autumn internationals That series proved a relatively difficult one for the All Blacks with a single point victory over England 16 15 in a very closely fought test 149 followed by a second ever loss to Ireland by 9 16 in a cauldron atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin 150 They went on to thrash Italy by 66 3 to finish their season with a win 151 2019 was a mixed year for the All Blacks starting their campaign with an unconvincing 16 20 win over a tough Argentine side and a 16 all draw against the Springboks However the next week they were given their joint worst loss in their history once again to the Wallabies 26 47 after Scott Barrett was sent off They got back on track showcasing the form they have been in the past years with a 36 0 shutout in their rematch at Eden Park to retain the Bledisloe Cup and finished their season with a 92 7 pummelling against Tonga The 2019 Rugby World Cup saw New Zealand face off against South Africa They won 23 13 in Yokohama then notched wins up on Canada and Namibia scoring a total of 135 points in the 2 games In the quarter final they faced off against Ireland in Chofu dominating from start to finish and prevailing 46 14 The team s run ended in the semi finals with a 7 19 loss to England in Yokohama which ended their chances of a third consecutive world title or three peat This was the team s first World Cup defeat in 20 matches stretching back over twelve years New Zealand finished their campaign with a 40 17 win over Wales in Chofu to claim the bronze medal Hansen retired after the World Cup along with many All Blacks veterans most notably captain Kieran Read Owen Franks and Ben Smith Ian Foster was appointed as the new All Blacks coach Foster Era edit This section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed February 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message nbsp 2023 Rugby World Cup match between France and New Zealand 2020Due to the COVID 19 pandemic the 2020 Rugby Championship was cancelled Instead a Tri Nations revival tournament was held from October to December of 2020 Two warm up Bledisloe Cup matches were held before that the first was a 16 16 draw and the second a comfortable 27 7 win They then travelled over to Australia for the Tri Nations where they opened by securing the Bledisloe Cup with a 43 5 victory over Australia but going on to lose to them a week later 22 24 The All Blacks lost a week later to Argentina 15 25 which was their first ever defeat to the Los Pumas and the first time they had lost back to back test matches since 2011 Thanks to a 38 0 win against Argentina two weeks later the All Blacks won the Tri Nations They ended the 2020 season with 3 wins 2 losses and 1 draw 2021The All Blacks opened their 2021 campaign by easily defeating Tonga 102 0 followed by two wins against Fiji 57 23 and 60 13 They opened their Bledisloe Cup campaign by defeating Australia at Eden Park 33 25 The All Blacks then went onto defeat the Wallabies 2 more times 57 22 and 38 21 to retain the Bledisloe Cup They defeated Argentina twice by comfortable margins Against South Africa their record was split 1 1 with New Zealand winning in the 100th Test Match between the two countries in a historic 19 17 victory with the Springboks winning a week later by 31 29 They would still retain the Freedom Cup and they would then go onto win the Rugby Championship and finish the competition with a 5 1 record In their first Northern Hemisphere Tour since 2018 the All Blacks played 5 matches and finished with a record of 3 2 They defeated the United States 104 14 Wales 54 16 and Italy 47 9 and then went onto lose two matches in a row against Ireland 20 29 and France 25 40 to finish the season 12 3 The back to back losses against Ireland and France was the first time since 1998 that they finished their season with 2 straight defeats in consecutive weeks 2022In July 2022 the All Blacks hosted Ireland to a 3 Test Match Series In the first game the All Blacks defeated Ireland 42 19 before losing to them in the second game 12 23 and third game 22 32 It was the first time that Ireland had beaten the All Blacks at home two times in a row and across a Test series This would also mark the 3rd straight season that the All Blacks lost back to back test matches and this led them to make changes in their coaching setup They opened their Rugby Championship campaign with a loss to the Springboks in South Africa 10 26 their third consecutive loss They then rallied back the following week with a win at Ellis Park 35 23 to retain the Freedom Cup They lost to Argentina 18 25 for the first time ever in New Zealand before bouncing back with an impressive 53 3 victory a week later They then defeated Australia in a controversial and much debated 39 37 win thus retaining the Bledisloe Cup The All Blacks would go onto defeat the Wallabies again 40 14 at Eden Park in Auckland In their End Of Year Northern Tour they defeated Japan 38 31 Wales 55 23 Scotland 31 23 but drew against England 25 25 The All Blacks finished with 8 wins 4 losses and 1 draw It was their worst Win Loss record since the 1998 season 2023In 2023 the All Blacks won the shortened version of the Rugby Championship due to the World Cup by defeating Argentina 41 12 South Africa 35 20 and Australia 38 7 They also kept the Freedom Cup for another year after beating the Springboks and had wrapped up the Bledisloe for another year after defeating the Wallabies 23 20 in the 2nd bledisloe game which was a test match outside the rugby championship In a warm up game at Twickenham in London the All Blacks lost to the Springboks 7 35 which became their worst ever defeat in their 120 year history At the 2023 Rugby World Cup the All Blacks tasted their first ever defeat in the pool stages when they were beaten by the host nation France 13 27 They then went on to defeat all the other teams in their pool Namibia 71 3 Italy 96 17 Uruguay 73 0 to qualify for the quarter finals They defeated Ireland in the quarters 28 24 defeated Argentina 44 6 in the semi final and lost to the Springboks 11 12 who would go on to be the first nation to win 4 World Cups in the final of the 2023 World Cup tournament They would end their season with a record of 9 wins 3 losses and 0 draws This marked the end of the Ian Foster era for the All Blacks Robertson Era edit After the conclusion of the 2023 Rugby World Cup tournament Scott Robertson commenced the role of head coach from November 1 2023 152 Robertson s first game as head coach will take place against England in 2024 153 Uniform editAll Blacks historic jerseys nbsp The 1905 Originals jersey nbsp The Adidas July 2003 to August 2005 jersey nbsp The 2012 jersey sponsored by AIG nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Zealand national rugby union team kits The current New Zealand jersey features a figure hugging jersey and is entirely black except for sponsors logos and the NZRU silver fern on the chest However black wasn t always New Zealand s colours During the 1884 tour of Australia which was the first overseas New Zealand rugby tour the team donned a dark blue jersey with a gold fern insignia on the left of the jumper 154 155 156 In 1893 when the New Zealand Rugby Union was established they stipulated that the uniform would be a black jersey with silver fern and white knickerbockers 157 although historic photographs suggest white shorts may have been used instead during these early years There was a change some time after 1897 and in 1901 the team met New South Wales wearing an all black uniform for the first time black jersey a canvas top with no collar and a silver fern and black shorts 158 In 2006 New Zealand wore an embroidered remembrance poppy on their jersey sleeve when playing France during the end of year tour 159 The poppy honours the ANZAC soldiers who died on the beaches of Gallipoli Captain Richie McCaw said We want to honour the overseas service of New Zealanders It is an important part of our history as a country and a team 160 During the 2011 Rugby World Cup there was an image of the Webb Ellis Cup embroidered on the sleeve of the All Blacks jerseys with the year 1987 below it to signify the team s previous world title Each of the four teams that had won the cup in previous years sported the same detailing on their jerseys 161 Kit suppliers edit Canterbury were kit suppliers to New Zealand from 1924 until 1999 162 when Adidas paid 70 million to clothe and shoe the All Blacks for five years 163 Nike also looked at sponsoring New Zealand at this time but elected to sponsor Tiger Woods instead 164 In 2003 Adidas renewed this contract and paid the team US 200 million over nine years expecting New Zealand to win around 75 per cent of their matches 165 In 2008 this deal was extended to 2019 for an undisclosed amount 166 In 2017 this was again extended to 2023 in a deal estimated to be worth about 10 million a year 167 Period Kit manufacturer 1924 1999 Canterbury 1999 present Adidas Kit sponsors edit Steinlager was the first sponsor to appear on the All Blacks jersey in the left breast of the jersey on the opposite side to the silver fern lasting from 1994 to 1999 when Adidas took over as supplier In 2012 AIG became the first to sponsor on the centre front of the All Black jersey in a deal estimated to be worth approximately 80 million over five years 168 AIG extended this sponsorship to 2021 in a deal thought to be worth about 15m a year 167 After AIG decided not to renew their sponsorship deal with the team it was announced that the Altrad Group fr would be the new main sponsor of the All Blacks from 2022 with a 6 year deal reportedly worth more than 120 million 169 Haka editMain article Haka in sports nbsp The New Zealand team performing Ka Mate led by Richie McCaw before a match against France in November 2006 The All Blacks perform a haka a Maori challenge before every international match The tradition has been closely associated with New Zealand rugby ever since a tour of Australia and the United Kingdom by the New Zealand Natives in 1888 and 1889 170 171 although it is likely that the New Zealand team that toured New South Wales in 1884 may also have performed a haka 172 The 1888 89 New Zealand native team used Ake Ake Kia Kaha and a mocking haka Tupoto koe Kangaru was used by the 1903 team that visited Australia In 1905 the All Blacks began the tradition of using Ka Mate a haka composed in the 19th century by Te Rauparaha leader of the Ngati Toa tribe The 1924 All Blacks used a specially composed haka Ko Niu Tireni but later All Blacks reverted to using Ka Mate 173 174 175 In August 2005 before the Tri Nations test match between New Zealand and South Africa at Carisbrook stadium in Dunedin the All Blacks performed a new haka Kapa o Pango specially composed for the occasion by Derek Lardelli and intended to reflect the Polynesian influenced multicultural make up of contemporary New Zealand 176 Lardelli s haka was not designed to replace Ka Mate as it was only meant to be used for special occasions 176 Kapa o Pango concludes with a move that has been interpreted as a throat slitting gesture which has led to accusations that the haka encourages violence and sends the wrong message to All Blacks fans 177 However according to Lardelli the gesture is meant to represent drawing vital energy into the heart and lungs 178 In November 2006 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff Wales the All Blacks performed the haka in the dressing room prior to the match instead of on the field immediately before kick off following a disagreement with the Welsh Rugby Union who had wanted Wales to sing their national anthem immediately after the haka 179 In 2008 New Zealand played Munster at Thomond Park before the match Munster s four New Zealand players challenged their opponents by performing their own haka before the All Blacks started theirs 180 On the same tour Wales responded to New Zealand s haka by silently refusing to move afterwards and the two teams simply stared at each other until the referee forced them to start the game 181 Record editOverall edit Men s World Rugby Rankingsvte Top 20 as of 18 March 2024 182 Rank Change Team Points 1 nbsp nbsp South Africa 0 94 54 2 nbsp nbsp Ireland 0 90 69 3 nbsp nbsp New Zealand 0 89 80 4 nbsp nbsp France 0 87 92 5 nbsp nbsp England 0 85 75 6 nbsp nbsp Scotland 0 82 82 7 nbsp nbsp Argentina 0 80 68 8 nbsp 1 nbsp Italy 0 79 41 9 nbsp 1 nbsp Australia 0 77 48 10 nbsp 2 nbsp Wales 0 77 26 11 nbsp nbsp Fiji 0 76 38 12 nbsp nbsp Japan 0 74 27 13 nbsp nbsp Georgia 0 74 02 14 nbsp nbsp Samoa 0 72 23 15 nbsp 1 nbsp Tonga 0 71 57 16 nbsp 1 nbsp Portugal 0 70 28 17 nbsp nbsp United States 0 67 94 18 nbsp nbsp Uruguay 0 67 39 19 nbsp nbsp Spain 0 64 37 20 nbsp nbsp Romania 0 61 66 21 nbsp nbsp Canada 0 60 90 22 nbsp nbsp Namibia 0 60 56 23 nbsp nbsp Chile 0 60 49 24 nbsp nbsp Hong Kong 0 59 80 25 nbsp nbsp Russia 0 58 06 26 nbsp nbsp Switzerland 0 57 44 27 nbsp nbsp Netherlands 0 57 29 28 nbsp 1 nbsp Belgium 0 55 89 29 nbsp 1 nbsp Brazil 0 55 37 30 nbsp 1 nbsp Korea 0 53 46 Change from the previous week New Zealand s historical rankings Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki org See or edit source data Source World Rugby 182 Graph updated to 4 March 2024 See also List of All Blacks tours and series See also List of New Zealand rugby union test matches New Zealand have only ever been beaten by seven test nations and drawing to an additional nation in Scotland and two combined teams the British amp Irish Lions and a World XV and they are the only international team to have a winning record against every nation they have played They have won 489 of their 637 test matches 76 77 Percent see table below and have lost at home only 43 times Since World Rankings were introduced by World Rugby in October 2003 New Zealand have occupied the number one ranking the majority of the time 7 In the decade from 2000 to 2009 New Zealand won 100 tests 92 per cent of their total games played New Zealand s longest winning streak is 18 test victories a Tier 1 joint world record achieved between 2015 and 2016 In 2013 they won every test they played during a calendar year The All Blacks hold the record for most consecutive test wins at home a 47 match winning streak achieved between 2009 and 2017 183 Their longest unbeaten streak is 23 tests from 1987 to 1990 with one game being drawn 184 Their all time points record for tests stands at 18 195 points for and 8 704 points against updated 28 October 2023 Many national rugby union teams have suffered their heaviest defeats when playing against New Zealand these being Argentina 91 8 Fiji 91 0 France 61 10 Ireland 60 0 Japan 145 17 Portugal 108 13 Samoa 101 14 South Africa 57 0 Tonga 102 0 twice and the British and Irish Lions 38 6 The All Blacks largest test win was 145 17 against Japan in 1995 185 while their heaviest loss was a 7 35 defeat to the Springboks in 2023 Below is a summary of New Zealand test results updated 28 October 2023 186 Opponent Played Won Lost Drawn Win For Aga Diff nbsp Argentina 37 34 2 1 91 89 1434 506 928 nbsp Australia 177 124 45 8 70 06 3928 2563 1365 nbsp British amp Irish Lions 41 30 7 4 73 17 700 399 301 nbsp Canada 6 6 0 0 100 00 376 54 322 nbsp England 43 33 8 2 76 74 1017 619 398 nbsp Fiji 7 7 0 0 100 00 481 86 395 nbsp France 63 48 14 1 76 19 1634 868 766 nbsp Georgia 1 1 0 0 100 00 43 10 33 nbsp Ireland 37 31 5 1 83 78 1041 516 525 nbsp Italy 16 16 0 0 100 00 963 157 806 nbsp Japan 5 5 0 0 100 00 389 92 297 nbsp Namibia 3 3 0 0 100 00 200 26 174 nbsp Pacific Islanders 1 1 0 0 100 00 41 26 15 nbsp Portugal 1 1 0 0 100 00 108 13 95 nbsp Romania 2 2 0 0 100 00 99 14 85 nbsp Samoa 7 7 0 0 100 00 411 72 339 nbsp Scotland 32 30 0 2 93 75 953 372 581 nbsp South Africa 106 62 40 4 58 49 2196 1741 455 nbsp Tonga 7 7 0 0 100 00 520 42 478 nbsp United States 4 4 0 0 100 00 275 29 246 nbsp Uruguay 1 1 0 0 100 00 73 0 73 nbsp Wales 37 34 3 0 91 89 1219 430 789 World XV 3 2 1 0 66 67 94 69 25 Total 637 489 125 23 76 77 18195 8704 9491 Rugby World Cup edit Main article New Zealand at the Rugby World Cup Rugby World Cup Year Round Pld W D L PF PA Squad nbsp nbsp 1987 Champions 6 6 0 0 298 52 Squad nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 1991 Third place 6 5 0 1 143 74 Squad nbsp 1995 Runners up 6 5 0 1 327 119 Squad nbsp 1999 Fourth place 6 4 0 2 255 111 Squad nbsp 2003 Third place 7 6 0 1 361 101 Squad nbsp 2007 Quarter finals 5 4 0 1 327 55 Squad nbsp 2011 Champions 7 7 0 0 301 72 Squad nbsp 2015 Champions 7 7 0 0 290 97 Squad nbsp 2019 Third place 6 5 0 1 250 72 Squad nbsp 2023 Runners up 7 5 0 2 336 89 Squad Total Champions 63 54 0 9 2888 842 Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place Home venue New Zealand have won the World Cup three times They beat France in the final of the 1987 inaugural competition held in New Zealand and Australia defeated France again in the final of the 2011 tournament also hosted in New Zealand and most recently defeated Australia in England in 2015 making them the first team to win the World Cup in consecutive tournaments In 1991 they lost their semi final to Australia before winning the playoff for third In 1995 they reached the final before losing in extra time to hosts South Africa They finished in fourth place in 1999 after losing their semi final and then the third place playoff game In 2003 New Zealand were knocked out by hosts Australia in their semi final before finishing third The 2007 World Cup saw their worst tournament being knocked out in the quarter finals by the host nation France 187 until this they were the only team to have reached the semi finals of every tournament 188 As a result of the poor performance in the 2007 World Cup the NZRU commissioned a 47 page report to detail the causes of the failure In 2019 they lost in the semi finals against England in a 7 19 defeat and then finishing in third place after beating Wales in the 3rd spot playoff game 40 17 In 2023 the All Blacks were defeated by the Springboks 11 12 in the final The All Blacks had won every World Cup pool match they had played in until 8 September 2023 when they lost their first ever pool match in the opening match of the 2023 Rugby World Cup against the host nation France and have finished top of their pool in 9 out of the 10 tournaments New Zealand holds several World Cup records most World Cup matches 63 most points in one match 145 versus Japan in 1995 most cumulative points over all World Cups 2 888 most tries overall 396 most conversions 289 and also the record for the most points scored in the first half of a knockout game at the Rugby World Cup 29 against France 2015 along with the largest knockout margin 49 in the same match 189 They currently hold the record for the most consecutive wins at a World Cup with 18 straight wins spanning from 2011 to 2019 Several individual players also hold World Cup records Jonah Lomu for most World Cup tries 15 over two World Cups tied with South Africa s Bryan Habana Marc Ellis with most tries in a match 6 versus Japan in 1995 Grant Fox with most points in one tournament 126 in 1987 and Simon Culhane with most points in a single game 45 versus Japan in 1995 189 Tri Nations and The Rugby Championship edit New Zealand s only annual tournament is a competition involving the Southern Hemisphere s top national teams From 1996 through 2011 they competed in the Tri Nations against Australia and South Africa In 2012 Argentina joined the competition which was renamed The Rugby Championship New Zealand s record of 20 tournament wins the most recent in 2023 and 100 match wins is well ahead of the other teams records The Bledisloe Cup is contested between New Zealand and Australia and the Freedom Cup between New Zealand and South Africa as part of the Tri Nations and The Rugby Championship Tri Nations 1996 2011 2020 Nation Matches Points Bonuspoints Tablepoints Titleswon P W D L PF PA PD nbsp New Zealand 76 52 0 24 2 054 1 449 605 35 243 11 nbsp Australia 76 30 3 43 1 591 1 817 226 34 160 3 nbsp South Africa 72 28 1 43 1 480 1 831 351 24 138 3 nbsp Argentina 4 1 2 1 56 84 28 0 8 0 Source lassen co nz Tri Nations Australia New Zealand South Africa Bonus points given by T 4W 2D for T table points W games won and D games drawn Rugby Championship since 2012 Nation Matches Points Bonuspoints Tablepoints Titleswon P W D L PF PA PD nbsp New Zealand 57 48 2 7 1 979 1 059 920 36 233 9 nbsp South Africa 57 28 4 25 1 449 1 289 160 26 146 1 nbsp Australia 57 25 3 29 1 304 1 553 249 13 126 1 nbsp Argentina 57 8 1 48 1 036 1 868 832 12 46 0 Updated 29 July 2023 Source lassen co nz TRC Argentina Australia New Zealand South AfricaBonus points given by T 4W 2D for T table points W games won and D games drawn All time Tri Nations and Rugby Championship Table since 1996 Nation Matches Points Bonuspoints Tablepoints Titleswon P W D L PF PA PD nbsp New Zealand 133 100 2 31 4 033 2 508 1 525 71 476 20 nbsp Australia 133 55 6 72 2 895 3 370 475 47 286 4 nbsp South Africa 129 56 5 68 2 929 3 120 191 51 284 4 nbsp Argentina 61 9 3 49 1 092 1 952 860 12 54 0 Updated 29 July 2023 Bonus points given by T 4W 2D for T table points W games won and D games drawn Players editCurrent squad edit New Zealand announced their 33 player squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup on 7 August 2023 190 On 9 September Ethan Blackadder was called into the squad as a replacement for Emoni Narawa who was ruled out of the World Cup due to a back injury Head coach nbsp Ian Foster Caps updated to 28 October 2023 Player Position Date of birth age Caps Franchise province Dane Coles Hooker 1986 12 10 10 December 1986 age 37 90 nbsp Hurricanes Wellington Samisoni Taukei aho Hooker 1997 08 08 8 August 1997 age 26 30 nbsp Chiefs Waikato Codie Taylor Hooker 1991 03 31 31 March 1991 age 33 86 nbsp Crusaders Canterbury Ethan de Groot Prop 1998 07 22 22 July 1998 age 25 22 nbsp Highlanders Southland Nepo Laulala Prop 1991 11 06 6 November 1991 age 32 53 nbsp Toulouse Tyrel Lomax Prop 1996 03 16 16 March 1996 age 28 32 nbsp Hurricanes Tasman Fletcher Newell Prop 2000 03 01 1 March 2000 age 24 13 nbsp Crusaders Canterbury Ofa Tuʻungafasi Prop 1992 04 19 19 April 1992 age 32 57 nbsp Blues Northland Tamaiti Williams Prop 2000 08 10 10 August 2000 age 23 8 nbsp Crusaders Canterbury Scott Barrett Lock 1993 11 20 20 November 1993 age 30 70 nbsp Crusaders Taranaki Brodie Retallick Lock 1991 05 31 31 May 1991 age 32 109 nbsp Kobelco Kobe Steelers Tupou Vaa i Lock 2000 01 27 27 January 2000 age 24 26 nbsp Chiefs Taranaki Sam Whitelock Lock 1988 10 12 12 October 1988 age 35 153 nbsp Pau Sam Cane c Loose forward 1992 01 13 13 January 1992 age 32 95 nbsp Chiefs Bay of Plenty Shannon Frizell Loose forward 1994 02 11 11 February 1994 age 30 33 nbsp Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo Luke Jacobson Loose forward 1997 04 20 20 April 1997 age 27 18 nbsp Chiefs Waikato Dalton Papalii Loose forward 1997 10 11 11 October 1997 age 26 32 nbsp Blues Counties Manukau Ardie Savea Loose forward 1993 10 14 14 October 1993 age 30 81 nbsp Kobelco Kobe Steelers Ethan Blackadder Loose forward 1995 03 22 22 March 1995 age 29 10 nbsp Crusaders Tasman Finlay Christie Half back 1995 09 19 19 September 1995 age 28 21 nbsp Blues Tasman Cam Roigard Half back 2000 11 16 16 November 2000 age 23 5 nbsp Hurricanes Counties Manukau Aaron Smith Half back 1988 11 21 21 November 1988 age 35 125 nbsp Toyota Verblitz Beauden Barrett First five eighth 1991 05 27 27 May 1991 age 32 124 nbsp Toyota Verblitz Damian McKenzie First five eighth 1995 04 20 20 April 1995 age 29 47 nbsp Chiefs Waikato Richie Mo unga First five eighth 1994 05 25 25 May 1994 age 29 57 nbsp Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo Jordie Barrett Centre 1997 02 17 17 February 1997 age 27 57 nbsp Hurricanes Taranaki David Havili Centre 1994 12 23 23 December 1994 age 29 27 nbsp Crusaders Tasman Rieko Ioane Centre 1997 03 18 18 March 1997 age 27 69 nbsp Blues Auckland Anton Lienert Brown Centre 1995 04 15 15 April 1995 age 29 70 nbsp Chiefs Waikato Caleb Clarke Wing 1999 03 29 29 March 1999 age 25 20 nbsp Blues Auckland Leicester Fainga anuku Wing 1999 10 11 11 October 1999 age 24 7 nbsp RC Toulon Emoni Narawa Wing 1999 07 13 13 July 1999 age 24 1 nbsp Chiefs Bay of Plenty Mark Telea Wing 1996 12 06 6 December 1996 age 27 9 nbsp Blues North Harbour Will Jordan Fullback 1998 02 24 24 February 1998 age 26 31 nbsp Crusaders Tasman Notable players edit Main article List of New Zealand national rugby union players nbsp Captain of the Original All Blacks that toured the United Kingdom in 1905 Dave Gallaher is an inductee into the World Rugby Hall of Fame Nineteen former All Blacks have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame Sir Fred Allen Dan Carter Don Clarke Sean Fitzpatrick Grant Fox Dave Gallaher Sir Michael Jones Ian Kirkpatrick Sir John Kirwan Sir Brian Lochore Jonah Lomu Richie McCaw Sir Colin Meads Graham Mourie George Nepia Joe Warbrick Sir Bryan Williams Sir Wilson Whineray and Joe Warbrick 191 192 Joe Warbrick represented New Zealand on their historic 1884 tour to Australia but is better known for selecting and captaining the 1888 89 New Zealand Native football team that embarked on a 107 match tour of New Zealand Australia and the British Isles 193 The New Zealand Natives were the first New Zealand team to wear black uniforms and the first to perform a haka 194 Dave Gallaher played in New Zealand s first ever test match in 1903 and also captained the 1905 Originals Along with Billy Stead Gallaher wrote the famous rugby book The Complete Rugby Footballer 195 At the age of only 19 George Nepia played in all 30 matches on the Invincibles tour of 1924 25 196 Nepia played 37 All Blacks games his last was against the British Isles in 1930 196 Sir Fred Allen captained all of his 21 matches for New Zealand including six tests between 1946 and 1949 197 He eventually moved on to coaching New Zealand between 1966 and 1968 New Zealand won all 14 of their test matches with Allen as coach 197 nbsp Colin Meads here pictured in 1956 New Zealand s player of the century Five hall of Fame inductees including the first New Zealander named to the World Rugby Hall of Fame played during the 1960s Don Clarke was an All Black between 1956 and 1964 and during this period he broke the record at the time for All Black test points 198 Clarke famously scored six penalties in one match a record at the time to give New Zealand an 18 17 victory over the British Isles at Dunedin in 1959 198 199 Sir Wilson Whineray played 32 tests captaining New Zealand in 30 of them 200 He played prop and also number 8 between 1957 and 1965 New Zealand lost only four of their 30 tests with Whineray as captain 200 On 21 October 2007 Whineray became the first New Zealander to earn induction to the World Rugby Hall of Fame 201 In Sir Colin Meads New Zealand Rugby Museum profile he is described as New Zealand s equivalent of Australia s Sir Donald Bradman or the United States of America s Babe Ruth 202 Meads nicknamed Pinetree played 133 games for New Zealand including 55 tests 202 In 1999 the New Zealand Rugby Monthly magazine named Meads the New Zealand player of the century 202 Ian Kirkpatrick played 39 tests including nine as captain between 1967 and 1977 203 He scored 16 tries in his test career a record at the time 203 There were two players in the Hall of Fame to debut in the 1970s one was flanker Graham Mourie He captained 19 of his 21 tests and 57 of his 61 overall All Blacks matches between 1976 and 1982 Most notably in 1978 he was captain of the first All Blacks side to complete a Grand Slam over the four Home Nations sides 204 The 1987 World Cup champions were coached by Sir Brian Lochore who had represented New Zealand in 25 tests between 1964 and 1971 including 17 as captain 205 He was knighted in 1999 for his lifetime services to rugby 206 Four of the 1987 World Cup squad that he had coached are also inductees in the Hall of Fame Sir John Kirwan played a total of 63 tests between 1984 and 1994 scoring 35 tries an All Blacks record at the time 207 In the 1987 World Cup opener against Italy Kirwan raced 90 meters to score one of the tries of the tournament 207 208 An All Black from 1984 to 1993 Grant Fox was one of New Zealand s greatest point scorers with 1067 points including 645 test points 209 Fox played 46 tests including the 1987 World Cup final against France Known as The Iceman Michael Jones was one of the greatest open side flankers of all time 210 Born in Auckland New Zealand Jones first played international rugby for Samoa then for New Zealand playing 55 tests between 1987 and 1998 210 Due to his Christian faith Jones never played rugby on Sundays resulting in him not playing in the 1991 World Cup semi final against Australia and also in him not being picked for the 1995 World Cup squad 210 211 nbsp Jonah Lomu debuted with New Zealand at 19 years old He is generally regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union For many years the most capped test All Black was Sean Fitzpatrick with 92 appearances 212 He played in the 1987 World Cup after incumbent Andy Dalton was injured and was appointed All Blacks captain in 1992 continuing in the role until his retirement in 1997 212 He played 346 first class rugby matches 213 Jonah Lomu is generally regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union 214 He was the youngest player ever to appear in a test as an All Black making his debut at age 19 years 45 days in 1994 Lomu a wing had unique physical gifts even though he stood 1 96 m 6 ft 5 in and weighed 119 kg 262 lb making him both the tallest 215 and heaviest 216 back ever to play for New Zealand he could run 100 metres in under 11 seconds He burst on the international scene in the 1995 Rugby World Cup scoring seven tries in the competition Four of those tries came in New Zealand s semi final win over England including an iconic try in which he bulldozed England s Mike Catt on his way to the try line He added eight more tries in the 1999 Rugby World Cup Perhaps most remarkably Lomu played virtually his entire top level career in the shadow of a serious kidney disorder which ended his test career in 2002 and ultimately led to a transplant in 2004 Even with his career hampered and eventually shortened by his health issues he scored 37 tries in 63 tests 217 Player records edit nbsp Richie McCaw is the third most capped rugby player of all time after Alun Wyn Jones and Sam Whitelock and was the first New Zealander to play 100 test matches Main article List of New Zealand national rugby union team player records The record for most test points for not only New Zealand but any nation is held by Dan Carter with 1 598 from 112 tests 218 He surpassed Andrew Mehrtens All Black record total of 967 points from 70 tests 219 in the All Blacks win over England on 21 November 2009 220 On 27 November 2010 Dan Carter scored a penalty against Wales to pass Jonny Wilkinson s previous world record of 1 178 points 221 Carter also holds the record for points against Australia with 366 The All Blacks record test try scorer is Doug Howlett with 49 tries who overtook Christian Cullen s 46 during the 2007 World Cup 222 The world record for tries in a calendar year is held by Joe Rokocoko with 17 tries in 2003 he also became the first All Black to score ten tries in his first five tests as well as the first All Black to score at least two tries in each of four consecutive tests 223 In test matches the most capped All Black is Sam Whitelock with 153 caps 224 The record for most tests as captain is held by Richie McCaw with 110 225 The youngest All Black in a test match was Jonah Lomu capped at age 19 years 45 days whilst the oldest test player was Ned Hughes at 40 years 123 days 217 226 j Award winners edit The following New Zealand players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001 8 World Rugby Player of the Year 2001 12 Year Nominees Winners 2002 Richie McCaw 2003 Richie McCaw 2 2005 Dan Carter Dan Carter Richie McCaw 3 Tana Umaga 2006 Dan Carter 2 Richie McCaw Richie McCaw 4 2007 Richie McCaw 5 2008 Dan Carter 3 2009 Richie McCaw 6 Richie McCaw 2 2010 Richie McCaw 7 Richie McCaw 3 Mils Muliaina 2011 Jerome Kaino Ma a Nonu Piri Weepu 2012 Dan Carter 4 Dan Carter 2 Richie McCaw 8 World Rugby Player of the Year 2013 23 Year Nominees Winners 2013 Kieran Read Kieran Read Ben Smith 2014 Brodie Retallick Brodie Retallick Julian Savea 2015 Dan Carter 5 Dan Carter 3 Julian Savea 2 2016 Beauden Barrett Beauden Barrett Dane Coles 2017 Beauden Barrett 2 Beauden Barrett 2 Rieko Ioane 2018 Beauden Barrett 3 Rieko Ioane 2 2019 Ardie Savea 2023 Ardie Savea 2 Ardie Savea World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year Year Nominees Winners 2015 Nehe Milner Skudder Nehe Milner Skudder 2016 Anton Lienert Brown Ardie Savea 2017 Rieko Ioane Rieko Ioane 2018 Karl Tu inukuafe 2021 Will Jordan Will Jordan 2023 Mark Telea Mark Telea Tamaiti Williams World Rugby Dream Team of the Year Year No Players 2021 8 Ardie Savea 10 Beauden Barrett 14 Will Jordan 2022 5 Sam Whitelock 14 Will Jordan 2 2023 5 Scott Barrett 8 Ardie Savea 2 10 Richie Mo unga 11 Will Jordan 3 World Rugby Try of the Year Year Date Scorer Match Tournament 2013 15 June Beauden Barrett vs France Summer Test Series 2015 17 October Julian Savea vs France Rugby World Cup 2018 18 August Brodie Retallick vs Australia Rugby Championship 2019 6 October TJ Perenara vs Namibia Rugby World CupCoaches editAll Head Coaches of the All Blacks 1949 Present Every All Black coach has been a New Zealander From 2024 onwards Scott Robertson will replace Ian Foster as Head Coach Name Years Tests Won Lost Draw Win All Black No Alex McDonald 1949 4 0 4 0 0 00 128 Tom Morrison 1950 55 56 12 8 3 1 66 7 441 Len Clode 1951 3 3 0 0 100 Arthur Marslin 1953 1954 5 3 2 0 60 0 Dick Everest 1957 2 2 0 0 100 Jack Sullivan 1958 1960 11 6 4 1 54 5 428 Neil McPhail 1961 1965 20 16 2 2 80 0 Ron Bush 1962 2 2 0 0 100 Fred Allen 1966 1968 14 14 0 0 100 449 Ivan Vodanovich 1969 1971 10 4 5 1 40 0 568 Bob Duff 1972 1973 8 6 1 1 75 0 523 JJ Stewart 1974 1976 11 6 4 1 54 5 Jack Gleeson 1977 1978 13 10 3 0 76 9 Eric Watson 1979 1980 9 5 4 0 55 6 Peter Burke 1981 1982 11 9 2 0 81 8 534 Bryce Rope 1983 1984 12 9 2 1 75 0 Brian Lochore 1985 1987 18 14 3 1 77 8 637 Alex Wyllie 1988 1991 29 25 3 1 86 2 688 Laurie Mains 1992 1995 34 23 10 1 67 6 697 John Hart 1996 1999 41 31 9 1 75 6 Wayne Smith 2000 2001 17 12 5 0 70 6 806 John Mitchell 227 2002 2003 28 23 4 1 82 1 940 Graham Henry 228 2004 2011 103 88 15 0 85 4 Steve Hansen 2012 2019 107 93 10 4 86 9 Ian Foster 2020 2023 46 32 12 2 69 5 Scott Robertson 229 2024 974Home grounds edit nbsp nbsp Eden Park nbsp North Harbour Stadium nbsp Waikato Stadium nbsp Sky Stadium nbsp Forsyth Barr Stadium nbsp Christchurch Stadium nbsp Taranaki Stadium nbsp McLean Park nbsp Trafalgar Parkclass notpageimage Map showing locations of current home grounds in New Zealand Like other major rugby nations Argentina Australia France and South Africa New Zealand does not have an official stadium for its national team Instead the All Blacks play their test matches at a variety of venues throughout New Zealand Prior to the construction of Westpac Stadium in 1999 Wellington s test venue was Athletic Park which had served as the venue for the first All Blacks test match in New Zealand against Great Britain in 1904 230 The first home test match played outside the main centres of Auckland Christchurch Dunedin or Wellington was in 1996 at McLean Park in Napier 231 Eden Park and AMI Stadium were upgraded in preparation for the 2011 Rugby World Cup By that time the NZRU no longer considered Carisbrook a suitable test venue and a covered sports stadium was proposed as a replacement 232 Dunedin City Council approved the new stadium in March 2008 233 land acquisition proceeded from August to October of that year 234 Ground First Test Last Test Tests Held Win Last Loss Athletic Park Wellington North Island 1904v British Lions 1999v France 42 69 25 July 1998 Tahuna Park Dunedin South Island 1905v Australia 1905 1 100 N A Potter s Park Auckland North Island 1908v British Lions 1908 1 100 N A Carisbrook Dunedin South Island 1908v British Lions 2011v Fiji 38 84 13 June 2009 AMI Stadium Christchurch South Island 1913v Australia 2010v Australia 48 81 1 August 1998 Christchurch Stadium Christchurch South Island 2012v Ireland 2022 v Argentina 5 90 27 August 2022 Eden Park Auckland North Island 1921v South Africa 2022v Australia 91 85 3 July 1994 Epsom Showgrounds Auckland North Island 1958v Australia 1958 1 100 N A Forsyth Barr Stadium Dunedin South Island 2012v South Africa 2023 v Australia 9 88 9 July 2022 McLean Park Napier North Island 1996v Western Samoa 2014v Argentina 2 100 N A Mt Smart Stadium Auckland North Island 2021v Tonga 2023v South Africa 2 100 N A North Harbour Stadium Auckland North Island 1997v Fiji 2017v South Africa 7 100 N A Rugby Park Hamilton North Island 235 1997v Argentina 1997 1 100 N A Sky Stadium Wellington North Island 2000v Australia 2022 v Ireland 27 77 16 July 2022 Waikato Stadium Hamilton North Island 235 2002v Italy 2022 v Argentina 15 93 12 October 2009 Taranaki Stadium New Plymouth North Island 2008v Samoa 2017v Argentina 4 100 N A Trafalgar Park Nelson South Island 2018v Argentina 2018 1 100 N A TOTAL 17 17 295 84 24 8See also edit nbsp Sports portal New Zealand women s national rugby union team 1888 89 New Zealand Native football team Junior All Blacks List of New Zealand rugby union Test matches Maori All Blacks New Zealand Heartland XV New Zealand national team nomenclature based on the All Blacks Racism in New Zealand rugby union Ka Mate haka Kapa o Pango hakaNotes edit The British Isles side subsequently became known as the British amp Irish Lions Canterbury Otago and Southland objected to the requirement that NZRFU executive committee members needed to live in Wellington They eventually all joined the NZRFU but the residency rule did not change until 1986 18 Six of the New South Welshmen were New Zealanders living in Sydney 20 Tries were worth three points at the time Amateurism was not just about not playing for money Many in the traditional rugby establishment believed that Excessive striving for victory introduced an unhealthy spirit of competition transforming a character building mock fight into serious fighting Training and specialization degraded sport to the level of work 29 The Anglo Welsh are officially acknowledged as a British amp Irish Lions side despite Ireland and Scotland refusing to contribute any players 30 This restriction on non White players representing New Zealand in South Africa lasted until the 1970 tour when four players of Maori or Samoan ancestry were allowed into the country as honorary whites 52 Unlike South Africa and New Zealand Lithuania did not have to play any Tier 1 or Tier 2 national teams Bonus points could be earned via two means by scoring four tries or more in one match or through losing a match by seven points or less The next oldest test player was Frank Bunce aged 35 years 305 days over four years younger than Hughes References edit Ōpango allblacks com in Maori Retrieved 8 April 2022 He kakahu whutupōro Maori tawhito e hoko atu ana i uropi Te Ao Maori News in Maori Maori Television 26 November 2015 Retrieved 8 April 2022 Sport Fitness and Leisure New Zealand Official Yearbook Statistics New Zealand 2000 Archived from the original on 7 June 2011 Retrieved 21 July 2008 Traditionally New Zealanders have excelled in rugby union which is regarded as the national sport and track and field athletics The 10 greatest sports teams of all time Sports Mole amp sportsmole co uk Retrieved 12 November 2022 Pandaram Jamie 21 October 2016 Are the All Blacks the greatest team ever dailytelegraph Retrieved 17 August 2023 From the files of the DIB The Ramelton rover History Ireland 21 February 2013 Retrieved 26 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