New Zealand
Union	New Zealand Rugby Union
Nickname(s)	All Blacks
Emblem(s)	the Silver fern
Coach	Graham Henry[1]
Captain	Richie McCaw
Most caps	Sean Fitzpatrick (92)
Top scorer	Andrew Mehrtens (967)
Most tries	Doug Howlett (49)
Team colours		Change colours
First international
Australia 3 - 22 New Zealand  (15 August 1903)
Largest win
New Zealand 145 - 17 Japan  (4 June 1995)
Worst defeat
Australia 28 - 7 New Zealand  (28 August 1999)
World Cup
Appearances	6 (First in 1987)
Best result	Champions, 1987

The All Blacks are New Zealand's national team in rugby union, which is the country's national sport. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Overview See also Playing rugby union A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes (plus stoppage time with a short A national sport is a Sport or Game that is considered to be a intrinsic part of the culture of a Nation. The All Blacks are a formidable force in international rugby and have a winning record against every international rugby team, including the British and Irish Lions and the World XV. The British and Irish Lions (until 2001 known as the British Isles Rugby Union Team or "British Lions" Rugby union side comprises a pick of the best players from The World Rugby XV is an international rugby union team composed of the best international players selected by a coach The All Blacks compete annually with the Australian rugby team (the Wallabies), and the South African rugby team (the Springboks), in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with Australia. The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in Rugby union. The South Africa national Rugby union team (commonly referred to as the Springboks in English Springbokke in Afrikaans and Amabokoboko The Tri Nations is an annual international Rugby union series held between the national teams of Australia (the Wallabies) New Zealand (the The All Blacks have been Tri-Nations champions eight times in the tournament's eleven-year history, and twice completed a Grand Slam (in 1978 and in 2005), and currently hold the Bledisloe Cup. In Rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition or when a touring side According to the official IRB World Rankings, the All Blacks are ranked second in the world behind current world champions South Africa. Uses of the rankings The rankings are used by the IRB to rank the progression and current ability of the national rugby union teams of its member nations but the data The All Blacks were also named the 2006 International Rugby Board (IRB) Team of the Year. The International Rugby Board (IRB is the world governing and law-making body for the sport of Rugby union, and previously for Rugby football. ^[2][3] Fourteen former All Blacks have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame, and one has been inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame. The International Rugby Hall of Fame (IRHOF is a Hall of fame for Rugby union. The IRB Hall of Fame is a Hall of fame operated by the International Rugby Board (IRB that recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of Rugby

The team first competed internationally in 1884 against Cumberland County, New South Wales, and played their first Test match in 1903, a victory against Australia. Test cricket is the longest form of the Sport of Cricket. It has long been considered the ultimate test of playing ability between cricketing nations The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in Rugby union. This was soon followed by a tour of the northern hemisphere in 1905, during which the team's only loss was to Wales in Cardiff. The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international Cardiff ( 'kɑːdɪf) is the Capital and the largest city and county in Wales.

The All Blacks completed their first series win over arch-rivals South Africa ("The Springboks") in New Zealand in 1956. A decade later, they achieved their longest winning streak by winning seventeen Tests between 1965 and 1970. The British and Irish Lions achieved their only series victory over the All Blacks in 1971, but seven years later the All Blacks completed their first Grand Slam (wins over England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales on the same tour). The British and Irish Lions (until 2001 known as the British Isles Rugby Union Team or "British Lions" Rugby union side comprises a pick of the best players from The England national rugby union team represents England in Rugby union. The Ireland rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in Rugby union, which is a popular sport throughout both the Republic of Ireland and The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international Rugby union.

The 1981 Springbok Tour to New Zealand caused large-scale civil unrest due to protests over South Africa's apartheid policy. In 1987 New Zealand hosted and won the inaugural Rugby World Cup. The Rugby World Cup is the premier international Rugby union competition New Zealand toured post-apartheid South Africa in 1996, and achieved their first series win on South African soil.

Early New Zealand national rugby uniforms consisted of a black jersey with a silver fern and white knickerbockers. By their 1905 tour the All Blacks were wearing all black, except for the silver fern, and their All Black name dates from this time. The All Blacks traditionally perform a haka (Māori posture dance) before each match. A haka is a traditional Dance form of the Māori of New Zealand. This article discusses the Māori people of New Zealand For their language see Māori language, and for other meanings see Māori (disambiguation. Traditionally, the haka performed is Te Rauparaha's Ka Mate, though since 2005, Kapa o Pango, a modified version of the 1924 All Blacks haka, Kia Whaka-ngawari, has occasionally been performed. Te Rauparaha (1760s-1849 was a Māori chief and war leader of the Ngati Toa tribe who took a leading part in the Musket Wars. " Ka Mate " is a Māori Haka composed by Te Rauparaha, war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe of the North Island of New The All Blacks, the international Rugby union Team of New Zealand, perform a Haka ( Māori traditional dance

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 Professional era 2 Jersey 3 Haka 4 Record 4.1 Tri-Nations 4.2 World Cup 4.3 Overall 5 Players 5.1 Current squad 5.2 Notable players 5.3 Individual records 6 Coaches 7 Home grounds 8 See also 9 Notes and references 10 Bibliography 11 External links

History

Introduction of rugby to New Zealand

Rugby Football was introduced to New Zealand by Charles Monro in the late 1860s; Monro discovered the sport while completing his studies at Christ's College Finchley, England. Christ's College is a Secondary school in East Finchley, London, United Kingdom. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland ^[4] The first game in New Zealand took place in May 1870 in Nelson between the Nelson club and Nelson College. The first union, Canterbury, was formed in 1879. The Canterbury Rugby Football Union' (CRFU is the official governing body for Rugby union in a substantial part of the Canterbury region of New ^[5] In 1882, New Zealand's first internationals were played when the Southern Rugby Union (later the New South Wales Rugby Union) toured the country. The New South Wales Rugby Union (NSWRU is the organisation responsible for the sport of Rugby union in most of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The tourists played Auckland provincial clubs twice, Wellington twice and once each against Canterbury, Otago and West Coast, North Island, winning four games and losing three. The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, the other being the South Island. Two years later the first New Zealand team to go overseas toured New South Wales; New Zealand played and won eight games. ^[6]

The first tour by a British team took place in 1888 when a British Isles team toured Australia and New Zealand, although no Test matches were played. The British and Irish Lions (until 2001 known as the British Isles Rugby Union Team or "British Lions" Rugby union side comprises a pick of the best players from The players were drawn mainly from England and the Scottish Borders, although there were representatives from all four home unions. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The Scottish Borders, often referred to simply as the Borders, is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland.

International competition begins

The year 1892 saw the formation of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union representing seven unions not including Canterbury, Otago and Southland. The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU (formerly the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU is the governing body of Rugby union in New Zealand. The Otago Rugby Football Union' (ORFU is the governing body of Rugby union in the region of Otago in the South Island of New The Southland Stags rugby team represents the Southland province in the Air New Zealand Cup also known as the Premier Division of the National Provincial Championship ^[7][8] The first sanctioned New Zealand side toured New South Wales in 1894 and the following year New Zealand played its first home "international" game, losing 8-6 to New South Wales. ^[9] The team's first true international Test match was against Australia on 15 August, 1903 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, resulting in a 22-3 win. Events 778 - The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, at which Roland is killed The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG is a sports Stadium in Sydney. ^[10]

A representative New Zealand team first toured Britain in 1905 (since referred to as the Originals). The Original All Blacks (also known simply as " The Originals " were the first New Zealand national Rugby union team to tour outside Reference to the team by the name "All Blacks" first appeared 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". William Joseph Wallace (born 2 August 1878 in Wellington, New Zealand died 2 March 1972 Wellington, New ^[11] Wallace claimed that due to a typographical error, subsequent references were to "All Blacks". This is likely myth however, as the name also describes their playing uniform of black shirts, shorts and socks. ^[11]

The Originals' only loss on tour was 3-0 to Wales at Cardiff. Cardiff ( 'kɑːdɪf) is the Capital and the largest city and county in Wales. ^[12] The match has entered into the folklore of both countries because of controversy over whether All Black Bob Deans scored a disallowed try (which would have earned the team a 3-3 draw). A team representing the British Isles — known as the Anglo-Welsh since they consisted only of English and Welsh players — undertook a return tour to New Zealand in 1908 and were defeated in the test series 2-0 by the All Blacks.

Development of a legacy

New Zealand's rivalry with South Africa began in 1921, when the Springboks (as the South African team is known) toured New Zealand for a Test series that finished all square. The South Africa national Rugby union team (commonly referred to as the Springboks in English Springbokke in Afrikaans and Amabokoboko The South Africa national Rugby union team (commonly referred to as the Springboks in English Springbokke in Afrikaans and Amabokoboko To tie or draw is to finish a Competition with identical or inconclusive results ^[13] The All Blacks went on to later tour South Africa for the first time in 1928; this series also ended in a draw.

The 1924 All Black tourists to the United Kingdom (UK) were eventually dubbed the Invincibles because they had won every game. The Invincibles was a nickname given to the 1924-25 New Zealand Rugby union team which toured the United Kingdom, Ireland, France However, the team were deprived of the chance to complete a grand slam when Scotland refused to play them because of an argument over expenses. ^[14] The first truly representative British Isles (now known as British and Irish Lions) side 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. New Zealand toured the UK again in 1935–36, losing only three games (including two Tests) during a 30-match tour. ^[15] In one of these losses, Prince Obolensky famously scored two tries to help England to a 13-0 win, their first over the All Blacks. Prince Alexander Sergeevich Obolensky ( Russian: Александр Сергеевич Оболенский 17 February 1916 &mdash 29 March 1940 was a Russian Rurikid ^[16]

In 1937, South Africa won a series against the All Blacks when they toured New Zealand, and this 1937 South African team has subsequently been described as the best team ever to leave New Zealand. ^[17][18] It wasn't until 1949, after the end of the Second World War, that the All Blacks next played the Springboks when they visited South Africa with Fred Allen as captain. Fred Allen (born 9 February 1920 in Oamaru, New Zealand is a former Rugby union footballer and coach The tour witnessed an infamous All Blacks record — the loss of two Test matches on the same day. This was made possible because Australia were touring New Zealand at the same time. On the afternoon of September 3 (New Zealand time), the All Black team captained by J. Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius B. (Johnny) Smith was beaten 11-6 by Australia in Wellington. ^[19] That same afternoon in South Africa (South Africa time), the All Blacks captained by Ron Elvidge (Allen was injured) lost 9-3 to the Springboks in Durban. Durban (eThekwini is the third most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the EThekwini metropolitan municipality. ^[20] The All Blacks in New Zealand also lost their second Test, 16-9, which gave Australia the Bledisloe Cup for the first time. Although each Test was very close, the All Blacks lost the series 4-0.

The two series losses to South Africa made their 1956 tour of New Zealand highly anticipated. The All Blacks were captained by Bob Duff and coached by Bob Stuart, and their 3-1 series win was their first ever over the Springboks as well as being the Springboks' first ever series loss against any opponent. For the Australian dual-code international rugby footballer see Bob Stuart (rugby Robert Charles "Bob" Stuart ( October 28 ^[21][18] During the series, the All Blacks had introduced Don Clarke and brought back Kevin Skinner in the last two Tests to help secure the win. Donald Barry Clarke (10 November 1933&ndash29 December 2002 was a New Zealand Rugby union player who played 89 times (31 of these were test matches as an All Black ^[18] Skinner was brought back after injuries to props Mark Irwin and Frank McAtamney and in the third test having to "sort out" both the South African props whilst Don Clarke would subsequently become known as "The Boot" for his goal kicking. A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 ^[22][23]

The All Blacks' 3-1 series win over the Lions in 1959 proved to be the start of a dominant period in All Blacks rugby. This was followed by the 1963–64 tour to the UK, led by Wilson Whineray, in which the All Blacks came very close to achieving a Grand Slam but were deprived by a scoreless draw with Scotland. ^[24] The only loss on this tour was to Newport RFC who defeated the All Blacks 3-0 at Rodney Parade, Newport on October 30, 1963. Newport Rugby Football Club is a Welsh Rugby union club based in the city of Newport, South Wales Rodney Parade is a Stadium in the city of Newport, Wales in the United Kingdom. Newport (Casnewydd is a city and principal area in Wales, in the United Kingdom. Events 637 - Antioch surrenders to the Muslim forces under Rashidun Caliphate after the Battle of Iron bridge. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[25] Later, the 1967 side won three Tests, but was unable to play Ireland because of a foot-and-mouth scare. Foot-and-mouth disease ( FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease ( Aphtae epizooticae) is a highly contagious and sometimes fatal viral ^[24] This tour formed part of The All Blacks longest ever winning streak between 1965 and 1970, during which they recorded 17 Test victories. ^[26] Although the 1966 Lions were 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 the All Blacks in a Test series which remains the Lions' only series victory in New Zealand to date. In 1971 the British Lions toured New Zealand, also playing two matches in Australia. Sidney John Dawes (born 29 June 1940 in Chapel of Ease part of Abercarn) was a Welsh Rugby union player playing at, and later

The 1972–3 tourists narrowly missed a Grand Slam with a draw against Ireland. ^[24] The tour was also 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. Cardiff ( 'kɑːdɪf) is the Capital and the largest city and county in Wales. ^[27]

In 1978, Graham Mourie captained the All Blacks to their first Grand Slam which was completed with a 13-12 victory over Wales. Graham Neil Kenneth Mourie (born 8 September 1952 in Opunake Taranaki New Zealand is a former New Zealand All Black and coach of the Hurricanes. That game generated great controversy after the All Blacks 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; however the penalty awarded by referee Roger Quittenton was actually against Welsh lock Geoff Wheel for jumping off the shoulder of Frank Oliver. Andrew Maxwell Haden (born September 26, 1950) was a Rugby union lock-forward for the New Zealand All Blacks in the 1970s and 1980s A line-out is the means by which in Rugby union, the ball is put back into play after it has gone into touch. Francis James (Frank Oliver was a New Zealand Rugby union player ^[28] The All Blacks' only loss on the tour was the famous 12-0 defeat by Irish province Munster at Thomond Park. Munster Rugby (more commonly known as Munster) is an Irish professional Rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the Magners Thomond Park is a stadium in Limerick City, Munster Ireland. It is the home of Shannon RFC, UL Bohemian RFC and Munster Rugby ^[29] Later a play which focused on the loss was written by the John Breen called Alone it Stands. John Breen is a playwright from Limerick, Ireland. He is famous for his play Alone it Stands which tells the tale of Munster Rugby Team's Alone It Stands is a play by John Breen that tells the story of the historic Rugby union match in 1978 at Thomond Park between Irish provincial ^[30]

Controversial tours

The 1976 All Blacks tour of South Africa generated much controversy and led to the boycott of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal by thirty-three African nations. The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Montreal, Quebec Montreal, or Montréal in French ( pronounced in French, in English) is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec ^[31] The All Blacks again failed to win the Test series in South Africa (they would not do so until 1996, after the fall of apartheid). The 1976 Tour contributed to the Gleneagles Agreement being adopted by the Commonwealth Heads of State in 1977. The Gleneagles Agreement was unanimously approved by the Commonwealth of Nations at a meeting at Gleneagles, Auchterarder, Scotland. ^[32]

The 1981 South African tour to New Zealand sparked protests against South Africa's apartheid policy^[33] the likes of which had not been seen in New Zealand since the 1951 waterfront dispute. The 1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute is the largest and most widespread industrial dispute in New Zealand history ^[34] The NZRU had invited the Springboks to tour as the Muldoon government refused to involve politics in sport. Sir Robert David ("Rob" Muldoon, GCMG, CH ( 25 September 1921 &ndash 5 August 1992) served as Prime Minister ^[32] Although the All Blacks won the Test series, two of the tour's provincial games were cancelled and the whole tour was marred by violence and protest. ^[35] During the tour the country experienced unrest, and the tour had a significant impact on New Zealand society. ^[35][33][36]

The 1985 All Blacks tour to South Africa was cancelled after legal action argued it would breach the NZRU's constitution. ^[36] In 1986, a rebel tour to South Africa took place which had not been authorised by the NZRU and the team, named the Cavaliers, featured many All Blacks of the time. The Cavaliers was the name given to an unofficial New Zealand Rugby union team which toured South Africa in 1986 ^[37][38] Those that participated in the tour received a ban from the NZRU when they returned to New Zealand. ^[39]

Early World Cups

The inaugural World Cup in 1987 was co-hosted and won by New Zealand, who beat France 29–9 in the 1987 Rugby World Cup Final at Eden Park, Auckland. The First Rugby World Cup was hosted by New Zealand and Australia in 1987 and was won by New Zealand. The France national rugby union team represents France in Rugby union. Eden Park is the main sports ground in Auckland, New Zealand for both Rugby union during winter and Cricket in summer The Auckland metropolitan area or Greater Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country New Zealand conceded only 52 points and scored 43 tries in six games en route to the title, having swept aside the challenges of Italy, Fiji, Argentina, Scotland, Wales and France. For the rugby sevens side see Italian national rugby union team (sevens The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of The Fiji National rugby union team is one of the strongest national rugby union teams of the world and the third from Oceania, even still as a second tier nation The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international Rugby union matches ^[40]

By the 1991 World Cup, the All Blacks were an aging side,^[41] co-coached by Alex Wyllie and John Hart. The 1991 Rugby World Cup was jointly hosted by England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and France. Alex "Grizz" Wyllie (born 30 August 1944 in Christchurch) is a former New Zealand Rugby union footballer and coach John Bernard Hart ONZM was a New Zealand Rugby union coach, mainly for Auckland and the All Blacks. They struggled during pool matches against the United States and Italy, but won their quarter-final against Canada. For the American Rugby league team see United States national rugby league team. For the Canadian Rugby league team see Canada national rugby league team. ^[42] They were then knocked out by eventual winners Australia 16–6 in their semi-final at Lansdowne Road. Location The stadium is situated in the neighbourhood of Ballsbridge in the city's Dublin 4 area In the wake of the tournament, there were many retirements, including coach Wyllie, who had enjoyed an 86% win rate during 29 Tests in charge. ^[43]

Laurie Mains replaced Wyllie in 1992, and was given the job of preparing the side for the 1995 event in South Africa. Laurence William Mains MNZM (born 16 February 1946 in Dunedin, New Zealand) is a former Rugby union footballer and coach The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted by South Africa, and had the distinction of being the first Rugby World Cup in which every match The All Blacks were again favourites to take the championship. ^[44] Their favouritism was confirmed when a young Jonah Lomu scored four tries against England in the All Blacks' 45-29 semi-final win. Jonah Tali Lomu, MNZM (born 12 May 1975 is a New Zealand Rugby union footballer ^[45] However, the New Zealand team suffered an outbreak of food poisoning before the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final (the source of the poisoning is heavily debated). Despite this, they took hosts South Africa to extra time, before losing to Joel Stransky's drop goal. Joel Theodore Stransky (born 16 July 1967) is a former South African Rugby union footballer most notable for scoring the winning drop goal A drop goal, also referred to as a dropped goal or field goal, is a method of scoring points in Rugby union and Rugby league. ^[46][47]

Professional era

The professional era in rugby union began in 1995, marked by creation of the SANZAR group (a combination of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia)^[48] which was formed with the purpose of selling TV rights for two new competitions, the domestic Super 12 competition and the Tri-Nations. SANZAR is an abbreviation of the South African Rugby Union, the New Zealand Rugby Union and the Australian Rugby Union. The Super 14 is the largest Rugby union football club championship in the Southern hemisphere, consisting of four state teams from Australia (Queensland/Reds ^[48] The first Tri-Nations was contested in 1996, with the All Blacks winning all four of their Tests to take the trophy. ^[49]

The 1996 Tri-Nations match in South Africa between the All Blacks and Springboks was also the first in a historic series. Under new coach John Hart and the captaincy of Sean Fitzpatrick, the All Blacks won a Test series in South Africa for the first time. John Hart (c 1713 &ndash May 11 1779 was a Delegate from New Jersey to the Continental Congress and a signer of the United States Declaration Sean Brian Thomas Fitzpatrick (born 4 June 1963 in Auckland) is a former Rugby union footballer who represented New Zealand, and is widely regarded ^[50] Fitzpatrick even rated the series win higher than the 1987 World Cup victory in which he had participated. ^[50]

The next two seasons saw mixed results for the All Blacks, who won the 1997 Tri-Nations before losing it for the first time in 1998. The All Blacks won all their Tri-Nations Tests in 1997. ^[51] However, in 1998, the All Blacks lost all four of their Tests, the first time they had lost four in succession since 1949. ^[52] The following year, they suffered their worst ever Test loss, a 28-7 loss to Australia in Sydney. ^[53]

The All Blacks rebounded in the 1999 World Cup and dominated their pool, handing England a 30-16 defeat at Twickenham. The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup and the first to be held in Rugby union 's professional era. Twickenham is a suburb in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, in south west London. They advanced past Scotland 30-18 in the quarter-finals to play France at Twickenham. The All Blacks finished the first half ahead 17-10. ^[53] France then produced a famous half of rugby to which the All Blacks had no answer, eventually winning 43-31. ^[53] Hart subsequently resigned as coach and was replaced by co-coaches Wayne Smith and Tony Gilbert. Wayne Ross Smith (born 19 April 1957 in Putaruru, New Zealand) is a former Rugby union footballer and currently a rugby union

Under Smith and Gilbert, the All Blacks came second in the 2000 and 2001 Tri-Nations. ( also called Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium in the Aoyama district of central Tokyo is the spiritual home of Japanese rugby union and the headquarters of the Both coaches were replaced by John Mitchell on 3rd October 2001 who went on to coach the All Blacks to victory in both the 2002 and 2003 Tri-Nations, as well as regaining the Bledisloe Cup (which had been held by Australia since 1998) in 2003. John Eric Paul Mitchell, was born on 23 March 1964 in Hawera, New Zealand. After winning the 2003 Tri-Nations, they 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. The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby union world cup and was won by England. The Tonga national rugby union team is nicknamed Ikale Tahi (Sea Eagles. ^[54] They defeated South Africa, a team they had never beaten at the World Cup, 29-9, but lost again to Australia 22-10 in the semi-final in Sydney. Afterwards, Mitchell was fired by the NZRU and replaced by Graham Henry. Graham Henry (born 8 June 1946 in Christchurch) is a New Zealand Rugby Union coach and head coach of the country's national team

Henry's tenure began with a double victory over reigning World Champions England in 2004. The two games had an aggregate score of 72-15, with the All Blacks keeping England try-less. ^[55][56] 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 the All Blacks finished last. ^[57][58] The 2004 season finished on a high however, with the All Blacks winning in Europe, including a record 45-6 victory over France. ^[59]

In 2005, the All Blacks whitewashed the touring British and Irish Lions 3-0 in the Test series, won the Tri-Nations, and achieved a second Grand Slam over the Home Nations. They went on to sweep the major International Rugby Board year-end awards in which the All Blacks were named Team of the Year, Henry was named Coach of the Year, and fly-half (first five) Daniel Carter was Player of the Year. Daniel William "Dan" Carter (born 5 March 1982 in Southbridge, near Christchurch, New Zealand is a New Zealand Rugby union footballer ^[60] The All Blacks were nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year in 2006 for their 2005 performance. List of winners and nominees of the Laureus World Sports Awards: Team of the Year. ^[61]

In 2006, they again took the Tri Nations Series by winning their first five matches, (three against Australia and two against South Africa). However, 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. ^[62] The All Blacks were named 2006 IRB Team of the Year and were nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award for the second time, while flanker Richie McCaw was named IRB Player of the Year. Richard Hugh "Richie" McCaw (born 31 December 1980 in Kurow, Oamaru) is a New Zealand Rugby union player ^[3][61][63]

The 2007 season started off with two mid-year Tests against France. The 2007 mid-year rugby Test series (also known as the Summer tours in the Northern Hemisphere) refers to the Rugby union Test matches played The All Blacks won the Tests; 42 - 11 at Eden Park, and 61 - 10 at Westpac Stadium. A third game between Canada and the All Blacks resulted in a 64-13 scoreline, although the game was more competitive than the scoreline indicated. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page ^[64]

The All Blacks' first Tri-Nations game of 2007 was against the Springboks in Durban, South Africa. The 2007 Tri Nations Series was an annual Rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa Durban (eThekwini is the third most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the EThekwini metropolitan municipality. The All Blacks scored two tries in the final ten minutes of the game to win 26-21. The following week against the Wallabies at the MCG in Melbourne the Wallabies upset the All Blacks to win 20-15; the All Blacks first loss to Australia since 2004. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 The All Blacks won both following home games to successfully defend the Tri-Nations Series for 2007.

The All Blacks entered the 2007 Rugby World Cup as favourites, and trumped their pool beating all their challengers, Scotland, Italy, Romania and Portugal by 40 points or more. The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international Rugby union world championship inaugurated in 1987. However, they then suffered a defeat to hosts France in the first knockout game, the quarterfinals.

Jersey

All Blacks jerseys
	The 1905 jersey The current jersey

The current All Black jersey is entirely black, with the Adidas logo and the NZRU silver fern on the front. WikipediaManual of Style (trademarks, which says "Lowercased trademarks with no internal The 1884 New Zealand tour to Australia was the first overseas New Zealand rugby tour, and featured clothing far different from today's jersey. Back then, the team donned a dark blue jersey, with gold fern on the left of the jumper. ^[65] In 1893 the NZRU stipulated at its annual general meeting that the uniform would be black jersey with a silver fern and white knickerbockers. ^[66] However historic photographs suggest white shorts may have been used instead during these early years. Sometime between 1897 and 1901 there was a change; by 1901 the team met NSW in a black jersey, a canvas top with no collar, and a silver fern. ^[67]

The All Blacks jersey is today considered the most recognisable rugby jersey. ^[68] Recently it has become traditional for the All Blacks to wear an embroidered poppy on their jersey sleeve when playing France during the end of year tours. ^[69] The poppy honours the soldiers who died in the battlefields of Europe. 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. ". ^[70]

Adidas currently pays the NZRFU $200 Million over 9 years, expecting the All Blacks to win around 75% of their matches. ^[71] Nike also looked at sponsoring the All Blacks in 1996, but went with Tiger Woods instead. Nike Inc ('naɪki ( is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. Background and family Woods was born in Cypress, California to Earl (1932-2006 and Kultida (Tida Woods ^[72]

The change kit has traditionally been white with black shorts, however the current kit is a silver/grey jersey (with black trim) and black shorts.

Haka

Main article: Haka of the All Blacks

The All Blacks perform a haka (Māori dance) before each international match. A haka is a traditional Dance form of the Māori of New Zealand. This article discusses the Māori people of New Zealand For their language see Māori language, and for other meanings see Māori (disambiguation. The haka has been closely associated with New Zealand rugby ever since a tour of New South Wales in 1884. The New Zealand native team that toured Britain in 1889/89 used Ake Ake Kia Kaha and the 1903 team in Australia used a mocking haka, Tupoto koe, Kangaru!. The 1905 All Blacks began the tradition of using Ka Mate and by 1914 this was firmly established as part of New Zealand rugby. " Ka Mate " is a Māori Haka composed by Te Rauparaha, war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe of the North Island of New The 1924 All Blacks used a specially composed haka Kia Whaka-ngawari, but later All Blacks reverted back to Ka Mate. ^[73]

In August 2005, before the Tri-Nations Test match between New Zealand and South Africa at Carisbrook stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand, the All Blacks performed a new haka Kapa o Pango, which was specially composed by Derek Lardelli and ". Carisbrook is a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. Dunedin (dəˈneɪdɪn) Ōtepoti in Maori is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the region of The All Blacks, the international Rugby union Team of New Zealand, perform a Haka ( Māori traditional dance . . designed to reflect the multi-cultural make-up of contemporary New Zealand — in particular the influence of Polynesian cultures". Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a Subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over ^[74] Kapa o Pango was to be performed on special occasions and was not intended to replace Ka Mate. ^[74] Kapa o Pango concludes with what has been interpreted as a "throat slitting" gesture that was a source of controversy and led to accusations that Kapa o Pango encourages violence, and sends the wrong message to All Blacks fans. In 2006, " Kapa o Pango " the new Haka of the New Zealand Rugby union team the All Blacks created much controversy when ^[75][76] However, according to Derek Lardelli, the gesture represents "drawing vital energy into the heart and lungs. "^[77]

In November 2006, at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, the All Blacks performed the haka in the dressing room prior to the match — instead of on the field immediately before kick-off — after a disagreement with the Welsh Rugby Union, which had wanted Wales to sing their national anthem after the haka. The Millennium Stadium (Stadiwm y Mileniwm is the National stadium of Wales, located in the capital Cardiff. The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU ( Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the governing body of Rugby union in Wales, recognised by the International Rugby Board ^[78]

Record

Tri-Nations

The All Blacks' only annual tournament is the Tri-Nations played against Australia and South Africa. The All Blacks' record of eight tournament wins (the most recent in 2007) and 35 match wins is well ahead of the other teams' records. The Bledisloe Cup is also contested between New Zealand and Australia as part of the Tri-Nations.

Nation	Games				Points			Bonus points	Table points	Championships
	played	won	drawn	lost	for	against	difference
New Zealand	50	35	0	15	1364	983	+381	23	163	8
Australia	50	20	1	29	1055	1140	-95	25	107	2
South Africa	50	19	1	30	1006	1292	-286	17	95	2

Updated 21 July 2007

World Cup

Main article: All Blacks at the Rugby World Cup

The All Blacks have won the World Cup once in the 1987 inaugural competition held in New Zealand and Australia. The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in Rugby union. The South Africa national Rugby union team (commonly referred to as the Springboks in English Springbokke in Afrikaans and Amabokoboko Events 356 BC - Herostratus sets fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The In 1991, they lost their semi-final to Australia before winning the playoff for third. In 1995, they improved by reaching 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 the All Blacks 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 quarterfinals by the host nation of France;^[79] until this they were the only team to have reached the semifinals of every tournament. ^[80]

The All Blacks hold several World Cup records: most points in one match (145 versus Japan in 1995),^[81] most cumulative points over all World Cups (1,711),^[82] most tries overall (232),^[82] and most conversions (173). For the Japanese Rugby League team see Japan national rugby league team. ^[82] Several individual players also hold World Cup records; Jonah Lomu for most World Cup tries (15 over two World Cups),^[83] most appearances held by Sean Fitzpatrick (17 from 1987 to 1995), Marc Ellis with most tries in a match (6 versus Japan in 1995),^[84] 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). Jonah Tali Lomu, MNZM (born 12 May 1975 is a New Zealand Rugby union footballer Marc Christopher Gwynne Ellis (born October 8, 1971) is a former New Zealand Rugby league and Rugby union player businessman Grant James Fox (born 6 June 1962 in New Plymouth) is former Rugby union player from New Zealand Simon Culhane (born March 10, 1968 in Invercargill, New Zealand) is a rugby player who won 6 caps playing at fly-half for ^[84]

Overall

The All Blacks have a positive win record against every nation they have played, and with the exception of South Africa, have a winning margin of over 65% for every other country. They have won 318 of the 429 matches played, a win percentage of 74. 13% (see table). By this measure, the All Blacks are the most successful international rugby union team in history. When World Rankings were introduced by the IRB in October 2003, the All Blacks were ranked second. Uses of the rankings The rankings are used by the IRB to rank the progression and current ability of the national rugby union teams of its member nations but the data In November 2003 they briefly occupied first and then third before moving back into second by December that year. Between June 2004 and October 2007, the All Blacks were ranked number one in the world. ^[85] The All Blacks are also well known, and feared, by many national teams for the potentially punishing winning margins that the All Blacks are capable of, and many national teams' 'worst defeat' monicker was often a match against the All Blacks. The national teams of France, Ireland, Argentina, Fiji, Tonga, Japan, and Portugal hold this unfortunate distinction at the hands of New Zealand.

Their Test match record against all nations (listed in order of total matches), updated to 4 November 2007, is as follows:^[86]

Opponent	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	% Won
Australia	128	85	38	5	66. Events 1333 - Flood of the Arno River, causing massive damage in Florence as recorded by the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in Rugby union. 4%
South Africa	72	40	29	3	55. The South Africa national Rugby union team (commonly referred to as the Springboks in English Springbokke in Afrikaans and Amabokoboko The All Blacks ( New Zealand) and the Springboks ( South Africa) have been playing Test match Rugby union since 6%
France	46	34	11	1	73. The France national rugby union team represents France in Rugby union. 9%
British & Irish Lions	34	26	6	2	76. The British and Irish Lions (until 2001 known as the British Isles Rugby Union Team or "British Lions" Rugby union side comprises a pick of the best players from 5%
England	29	22	6	1	75. The England national rugby union team represents England in Rugby union. 7%
Scotland	26	24	0	2	92. The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international Rugby union. 3%
Wales	23	20	3	0	87%
Ireland	21	20	0	1	97%
Argentina	13	12	0	1	92. The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international The Ireland rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in Rugby union, which is a popular sport throughout both the Republic of Ireland and The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international Rugby union matches 3%
Italy	9	9	0	0	100%
Samoa	4	4	0	0	100%
Fiji	4	4	0	0	100%
Canada	4	4	0	0	100%
Tonga	3	3	0	0	100%
Anglo-Welsh	3	2	0	1	66. For the rugby sevens side see Italian national rugby union team (sevens The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of The national Rugby union team of Samoa is called Manu Samoa (the name of a famous Samoan chief some 10 generations ago The Fiji National rugby union team is one of the strongest national rugby union teams of the world and the third from Oceania, even still as a second tier nation For the Canadian Rugby league team see Canada national rugby league team. The Tonga national rugby union team is nicknamed Ikale Tahi (Sea Eagles. The British and Irish Lions (until 2001 known as the British Isles Rugby Union Team or "British Lions" Rugby union side comprises a pick of the best players from 7%
World XV	3	2	1	0	66. The World Rugby XV is an international rugby union team composed of the best international players selected by a coach 7%
Romania	2	2	0	0	100%
USA	2	2	0	0	100%
Great Britain	1	1	0	0	100%
Japan	1	1	0	0	100%
Pacific Islanders	1	1	0	0	100%
Portugal	1	1	0	0	100%
Total	430	319	94	17	74. The Romania national rugby union team, nicknamed The Oaks ( Stejarii) have long been one of the stronger European teams outside of the Six Nations For the American Rugby league team see United States national rugby league team. The British and Irish Lions (until 2001 known as the British Isles Rugby Union Team or "British Lions" Rugby union side comprises a pick of the best players from For the Japanese Rugby League team see Japan national rugby league team. The Pacific Islanders rugby union team (usually known as just Pacific Islanders) are an international Rugby union team started in 2004 that represents Fiji The Portugal national rugby union team, nicknamed "Os Lobos" Portuguese for "the wolves" is a third tier Rugby union side representing Portugal 3%

Players

Current squad

The squad for the 2008 mid-year Tests and 2008 Tri Nations:^[87][88]

Backs Player Position Province Daniel Carter First Five-Eighth Canterbury Stephen Donald First Five-Eighth Waikato Andrew Ellis Half-back Canterbury Richard Kahui Centre Waikato Brendon Leonard Half-back Waikato Leon MacDonald Fullback Canterbury Mils Muliaina Fullback, Centre Waikato Ma'a Nonu Centre, Wing Wellington Sitiveni Sivivatu Wing Waikato Conrad Smith Centre Wellington Anthony Tuitavake Centre, Wing North Harbour Rudi Wulf Wing North Harbour

Forwards Player Position Province John Afoa ‡ Prop Auckland Anthony Boric Lock North Harbour Ben Franks ‡ Prop Canterbury Andrew Hore Hooker Taranaki Jerome Kaino Flanker Auckland Sione Lauaki Number eight, Flanker Waikato Richie McCaw (Captain) Flanker Canterbury Keven Mealamu Hooker Auckland Greg Somerville Prop Canterbury Rodney So'oialo Number eight, Flanker Wellington Adam Thomson Flanker Otago Brad Thorn Lock Tasman Neemia Tialata Prop Wellington Ali Williams Lock Tasman Tony Woodcock Prop North Harbour ‡: Afoa was injured in the Test against Ireland on 7 June and Franks was bought into the squad as injury cover. The 2008 mid-year rugby Test series (also known as the Summer Tours in the Northern Hemisphere) refers to the Rugby union Internationals played from The 2008 Tri Nations Series was the thirteenth annual Tri Nations competition between the national Rugby union teams of New Zealand, Australia Daniel William "Dan" Carter (born 5 March 1982 in Southbridge, near Christchurch, New Zealand is a New Zealand Rugby union footballer A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The Canterbury Rugby Football Union' (CRFU is the official governing body for Rugby union in a substantial part of the Canterbury region of New Stephen Donald (born 3 December 1983 in Papakura, New Zealand) A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The Waikato Rugby Union' (WRU is the official governing body of Rugby union in the region of Waikato in the North Island of Andrew "Andy" Ellis (born 1984 is a New Zealand Rugby union player who specializes in the position of half-back which is also known as scrum-half A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The Canterbury Rugby Football Union' (CRFU is the official governing body for Rugby union in a substantial part of the Canterbury region of New Richard Kahui (born 9 June 1985 in Tokoroa, New Zealand) is a New Zealand Rugby union footballer who plays in the position of A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The Waikato Rugby Union' (WRU is the official governing body of Rugby union in the region of Waikato in the North Island of Brendon Leonard (born 16 April, 1985 in Morrinsville New Zealand) is a New Zealand Rugby union footballer A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The Waikato Rugby Union' (WRU is the official governing body of Rugby union in the region of Waikato in the North Island of Leon Raymond MacDonald (born 21 December 1977 in Blenheim) is a New Zealand Rugby union footballer A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The Canterbury Rugby Football Union' (CRFU is the official governing body for Rugby union in a substantial part of the Canterbury region of New Junior Malili Muliaina (born 31 July 1980) better known as Mils Muliana, is an international Rugby union player for the New Zealand All A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The Waikato Rugby Union' (WRU is the official governing body of Rugby union in the region of Waikato in the North Island of Ma'a Allan Nonu (ˈmɑːʔɑ ˈnɒnuː born 21 May 1982 in Wellington, New Zealand) is a professional Rugby union player from A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The Wellington Rugby Football Union' (WRFU is the official governing body of Rugby union in the city of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand Sitiveni Waica Sivivatu (born 19 April 1982 in Suva, Fiji) is a New Zealand Rugby union footballer more specifically A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The Waikato Rugby Union' (WRU is the official governing body of Rugby union in the region of Waikato in the North Island of Conrad Gerard Smith (born 12 October 1981 in Hawera, New Zealand) is a New Zealand Rugby union footballer A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The Wellington Rugby Football Union' (WRFU is the official governing body of Rugby union in the city of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand Anthony Tuitavake (born 12 February, 1982 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The North Harbour Rugby Union ( NHRU) commonly referred to colloquially as North Harbour or simply Harbour, is a provincial rugby team which competes Rudi Wulf (born 2 February 1984 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a Rugby union footballer who plays for North Harbour in the A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The North Harbour Rugby Union ( NHRU) commonly referred to colloquially as North Harbour or simply Harbour, is a provincial rugby team which competes Ioane Fitu "John" Afoa (born September 16 1983) is a New Zealand rugby union player A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The Auckland Rugby Football Union' (ARFU is the governing body of Rugby union in the Auckland Isthmus territorial authority in the Anthony Boric born 27 December, 1983 in Auckland, New Zealand is a Rugby union player for the Blues in the Super 14 A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The North Harbour Rugby Union ( NHRU) commonly referred to colloquially as North Harbour or simply Harbour, is a provincial rugby team which competes Ben Franks born 27 March, 1984 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia is a Rugby union player for the Crusaders in A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The Canterbury Rugby Football Union' (CRFU is the official governing body for Rugby union in a substantial part of the Canterbury region of New Andrew Hore (born 13 September 1978 in Dunedin, New Zealand) is a Rugby union player who plays for Taranaki in the A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 Taranaki Rugby Football Union' (TRFU is the governing body of Rugby in the New Zealand province of Taranaki. Jerome Kaino (born 6 April, 1983) is a professional New Zealand rugby union player Flanker is one of fifteen positions in the sport of Rugby union. The Auckland Rugby Football Union' (ARFU is the governing body of Rugby union in the Auckland Isthmus territorial authority in the Sione Tuitupu Lauaki (born 22 June, 1981 in Tonga) is a New Zealand Rugby union footballer A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 Flanker is one of fifteen positions in the sport of Rugby union. The Waikato Rugby Union' (WRU is the official governing body of Rugby union in the region of Waikato in the North Island of Richard Hugh "Richie" McCaw (born 31 December 1980 in Kurow, Oamaru) is a New Zealand Rugby union player Flanker is one of fifteen positions in the sport of Rugby union. The Canterbury Rugby Football Union' (CRFU is the official governing body for Rugby union in a substantial part of the Canterbury region of New Keven Mealamu (born March 20, 1979 in Tokoroa, Waikato, New Zealand) is a New Zealand Rugby union footballer A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The Auckland Rugby Football Union' (ARFU is the governing body of Rugby union in the Auckland Isthmus territorial authority in the Greg Mardon Somerville is a New Zealand Rugby union player Somerville is currently in the New Zealand national side the All Blacks and is a front rower A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The Canterbury Rugby Football Union' (CRFU is the official governing body for Rugby union in a substantial part of the Canterbury region of New Rodney So'oialo (born 3 October, 1979 in Moto'otua, Samoa) is a New Zealand Rugby union player A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 Flanker is one of fifteen positions in the sport of Rugby union. The Wellington Rugby Football Union' (WRFU is the official governing body of Rugby union in the city of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand Adam Thomson is a New Zealand Rugby union player who plays provincial rugby for Otago, and plays for the Super 14 team Flanker is one of fifteen positions in the sport of Rugby union. The Otago Rugby Football Union' (ORFU is the governing body of Rugby union in the region of Otago in the South Island of New Bradley Carnegie Thorn (born 3 February 1975 in Mosgiel New Zealand) is a professional Rugby union footballer and former Australian A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The Tasman Rugby Union is New Zealand's newest provincial union Neemia Stanley Tialata (born 15 July 1982 in Lower Hutt, New Zealand) is a New Zealand Rugby union footballer that currently A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The Wellington Rugby Football Union' (WRFU is the official governing body of Rugby union in the city of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand Alexander James "Ali" Williams (born 30 April 1981 in Auckland) is a New Zealand Rugby union footballer who plays at A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The Tasman Rugby Union is New Zealand's newest provincial union Tony Dale Woodcock (born 27 January 1981 in Helensville, New Zealand) is a Rugby union player who plays for North Harbour A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The North Harbour Rugby Union ( NHRU) commonly referred to colloquially as North Harbour or simply Harbour, is a provincial rugby team which competes Events 1099 - The First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins

Notable players

Main article: List of All Blacks

Fourteen former All Blacks have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame; Fred Allen, Don Clarke, Sean Fitzpatrick, Grant Fox, Dave Gallaher, Michael Jones, Ian Kirkpatrick, John Kirwan, Sir Brian Lochore, Jonah Lomu, Colin Meads, Graham Mourie, George Nepia and Wilson Whineray. So far 1078 New Zealand Rugby union players have represented the national team the All Blacks. The International Rugby Hall of Fame (IRHOF is a Hall of fame for Rugby union. Fred Allen (born 9 February 1920 in Oamaru, New Zealand is a former Rugby union footballer and coach Donald Barry Clarke (10 November 1933&ndash29 December 2002 was a New Zealand Rugby union player who played 89 times (31 of these were test matches as an All Black Sean Brian Thomas Fitzpatrick (born 4 June 1963 in Auckland) is a former Rugby union footballer who represented New Zealand, and is widely regarded Grant James Fox (born 6 June 1962 in New Plymouth) is former Rugby union player from New Zealand for other people called David/Dave Gallagher/Gallaher see Gallagher David "Dave" Gallaher (30 October 1873 – 4 October Michael Niko Jones (born 8 April 1965 in Auckland, New Zealand is a former Rugby union player and coach Ian Andrew Kirkpatrick (born 24 May 1946 in Gisborne) is a New Zealand Rugby union player who was captain of the All Blacks. John James Patrick Kirwan ONZM MBE (born 16 December 1964 is a New Zealand born Rugby union footballer turned coach Sir Brian James Lochore, ONZ, KNZM, OBE (born 3 September 1940 in Masterton New Zealand) is a former Rugby union footballer and coach Jonah Tali Lomu, MNZM (born 12 May 1975 is a New Zealand Rugby union footballer Colin Earl Meads, DCNZM, MBE (born 3 June 1936 in Cambridge New Zealand) nicknamed "Pinetree" is a former New Zealand Rugby union Graham Neil Kenneth Mourie (born 8 September 1952 in Opunake Taranaki New Zealand is a former New Zealand All Black and coach of the Hurricanes. George Nepia (25 April 1905 &mdash 27 June 1986 was a Māori Rugby union and Rugby league player Sir Wilson James Whineray, KNZM, OBE, (born 10 July 1935 is a former captain of the All Blacks, New Zealand's national Rugby union team ^[89][90] One of them, Whineray, has been inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame. The IRB Hall of Fame is a Hall of fame operated by the International Rugby Board (IRB that recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of Rugby ^[91]

Dave Gallaher played in the All Blacks' first ever Test match in 1903 and also captained the 1905 Originals. Along with Billy Stead, Gallaher authored the famous rugby book The Complete Rugby Footballer. Billy Stead (born John William Stead 18 September 1877 &mdash 21 July 1958) was a New Zealand Rugby union ^[92] At the age of only 19, George Nepia played in all 30 matches on the Invincibles tour of 1924–25. ^[93] Nepia played 37 All Blacks games; his last was against the British Isles in 1930. ^[93]

Fred Allen captained all of his 21 matches for the All Blacks, including six Tests, between 1946 and 1949. ^[94] He eventually moved onto coaching the All Blacks between 1966 and 1968. The All Blacks won all 14 of their Test matches with Allen as coach. ^[94]

Five Hall of Fame inductees, including the first New Zealander named to the IRB 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. ^[95] Clarke famously scored six penalties in one match — a record at the time — to give the All Blacks an 18-17 victory over the British Isles. ^[96][95] Sir Wilson Whineray played 32 Tests, captaining the All Blacks in 30 of them. ^[97] He played prop and also number 8 between 1957 and 1965. A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 The All Blacks lost only four of their 30 Tests with Whineray as captain. ^[97] On October 21, 2007, Whineray became the first New Zealander to earn induction to the IRB Hall of Fame. Events 1512 - Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[91] In 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. Sir Donald George Bradman, AC (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001 often referred to as The Don, was an Australian Cricketer widely George Herman Ruth Jr (February 6 1895 &ndash August 16 1948 also popularly known as " Babe " " The Bambino " and " The Sultan of "^[98] Meads, nicknamed Pinetree, played 133 games for the All Blacks, including 55 Tests. ^[98] In 1999 the New Zealand Rugby Monthly magazine named Meads the New Zealand player of the century. ^[98] Ian Kirkpatrick played 39 Tests, including 9 as captain, between 1967 and 1977. ^[99] He scored 16 tries in his Test career, a record at the time. ^[99]

The only All Blacks Hall of Famer to debut in the 1970s 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. In Rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition or when a touring side "Home nation" (common noun redirects here home nation is also used to refer to the host country of Multi-sport events (eg ^[100]

The 1987 World Cup champions were coached by Sir Brian Lochore who had represented the All Blacks in 25 Tests between 1964 and 1971, including 17 as captain. ^[101] Lochore was knighted in 1999 for his lifetime services to rugby. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. Four of the 1987 World Cup squad that he had coached are also inductees in the Hall of Fame. John Kirwan played a total of 63 Tests between 1984 and 1994, scoring 35 tries, an All Blacks record at the time. ^[102] In the 1987 World Cup opener against Italy, Kirwan raced 90 meters to score one of the tries of the tournament. ^[102][103] An All Black from 1984 to 1993, Grant Fox was one of the All Blacks' greatest point-scorers with 1067 points, including 645 Test points. ^[104] 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. ^[105] Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Jones first played international rugby for Samoa, then for the All Blacks, playing 55 Tests between 1987 and 1998. The national Rugby union team of Samoa is called Manu Samoa (the name of a famous Samoan chief some 10 generations ago ^[105] 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. ^[105][106]

The most capped Test All Black is Sean Fitzpatrick with 92 appearances. ^[107] Fitzpatrick played in the 1987 World Cup after an injury to incumbent Andy Dalton and was appointed All Blacks captain in 1992, continuing in the role until his retirement in 1997. ^[107] He played a total of 346 first class rugby matches, including 92 Tests. ^[108]

Jonah Lomu is generally regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union. ^[109][110] 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. A Rugby union team is made up of 15 players eight forwards numbered from 1 to 8 and seven backs numbered from 9 to 15 96 m (6'5") and weighed 119 kg (262 lb), making him both the tallest^[111] and heaviest^[112] back ever to play for the All Blacks, 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. The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted by South Africa, and had the distinction of being the first Rugby World Cup in which every match Four of those tries came in the All Blacks' semifinal win over England, including an iconic try in which he bulldozed England's Mike Catt on his way to the try line. Michael John Catt MBE (born 17 September 1971 in Port Elizabeth) is a South African born English Rugby union He would add eight more tries in the 1999 Rugby World Cup. The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup and the first to be held in Rugby union 's professional era. 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. Not to be confused with Nephritic syndrome Nephrotic syndrome is a nonspecific disorder in which the Kidneys are damaged to leak large Kidney transplantation or renal transplantation is the Organ transplant of a Kidney in a patient with End-stage renal disease. Even with his career hampered and eventually shortened by his health issues, he scored 37 tries in 63 Tests. ^[113]

Individual records

The record for most All Black Test points is held by Andrew Mehrtens with 967 points from 70 Tests^[114], and the All Black's greatest Test try scorer is Doug Howlett with 49 tries, who overtook Christian Cullen's 46 during the 2007 World Cup. Andrew Philip Mehrtens MNZM (born 28 April 1973 in Durban, South Africa) is a Douglas Charles Howlett is a professional New Zealand Rugby union player of Tongan descent Christian Mathias Cullen (born 12 February 1976 in Paraparaumu) is a former Rugby union footballer who played most of his rugby at fullback ^[115] 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. Josevata Taliga "Joe" Rokocoko (ROCK-o-THO-ko (rɒkɒˈðɒkɒ born 6 June 1983 in Nadi, Fiji) is a professional ^[116] In Test matches, the most capped All Black is Sean Fitzpatrick with 92 appearances, a record 51 of which were as captain. ^[107] 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. Ned Hughes ( 1881-04-26 &ndash 1928-05-01) born Edward Hughes was a New Zealand Rugby union and Rugby league player who played 9 times ^{[113][117][118]}

Coaches

Due to the definition and role of All Blacks coach varying so much prior to the 1949 All Blacks tour of South Africa, the following table only includes coaches appointed since. ^[43]

Name	Years	Tests	Won	Drew	Lost	Win percentage
Alex McDonald	1949	4	0	0	4	0%
Tom Morrison	1950, 5, 55–56	12	8	1	3	66. 7%
Len Clode	1951	3	3	0	0	100%
Arthur Marslin	1953–1954	5	3	0	2	60%
Dick Everest	1957	2	2	0	0	100%
Jack Sullivan	1958–1960	11	6	1	4	54. 5%
Neil McPhail	1961–1965	20	16	2	2	80%
Ron Bush	1962	2	2	0	0	100%
Fred Allen	1966–1968	14	14	0	0	100%
Ivan Vodanovich	1969–1971	10	4	1	5	40%
Bob Duff	1972–1973	8	6	1	1	75%
John Stewart	1974–1976	11	6	1	4	54. Fred Allen (born 9 February 1920 in Oamaru, New Zealand is a former Rugby union footballer and coach 5%
Jack Gleeson	1977–1978	13	10	0	3	76. 9%
Eric Watson	1979–1980	9	5	0	4	55. 5%
Peter Burke	1981–1982	11	9	0	2	81. 8%
Bryce Rope	1983–1984	12	9	1	2	75%
Sir Brian Lochore	1985–1987	18	14	1	3	77. Sir Brian James Lochore, ONZ, KNZM, OBE (born 3 September 1940 in Masterton New Zealand) is a former Rugby union footballer and coach 7%
Alex Wyllie	1988–1991	29	25	1	3	86. Alex "Grizz" Wyllie (born 30 August 1944 in Christchurch) is a former New Zealand Rugby union footballer and coach 2%
Laurie Mains	1992–1995	34	23	1	10	67. Laurence William Mains MNZM (born 16 February 1946 in Dunedin, New Zealand) is a former Rugby union footballer and coach 6%
John Hart	1996–1999	41	31	1	9	75. John Bernard Hart ONZM was a New Zealand Rugby union coach, mainly for Auckland and the All Blacks. 6%
Wayne Smith	2000–2001	17	12	0	5	70. Wayne Ross Smith (born 19 April 1957 in Putaruru, New Zealand) is a former Rugby union footballer and currently a rugby union 5%
John Mitchell[119]	2002–2003	28	23	1	4	82. John Eric Paul Mitchell, was born on 23 March 1964 in Hawera, New Zealand. 1%
Graham Henry[120]	2004–	49	43	0	6	87. Graham Henry (born 8 June 1946 in Christchurch) is a New Zealand Rugby Union coach and head coach of the country's national team 7%

Home grounds

Like the other two countries in the Tri Nations, New Zealand does not have an official stadium for its national team. AMI Stadium, formerly Jade Stadium and Lancaster Park, is a sports stadium situated in Christchurch, New Zealand. Westpac Stadium, previously known as WestpacTrust Stadium, is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. Waikato Stadium is a major Rugby union and soccer venue in Hamilton, New Zealand, with a total capacity seated and standing of 25800 with Eden Park is the main sports ground in Auckland, New Zealand for both Rugby union during winter and Cricket in summer North Harbour Stadium is a Stadium situated in Albany on Auckland 's North Shore in New Zealand. Carisbrook is a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. Instead, the All Blacks play their Test matches at a variety of venues throughout New Zealand. In 2005 and 2006 the All Blacks played matches at: Eden Park, Auckland; North Harbour Stadium, Albany; Westpac Stadium, Wellington; AMI Stadium (formerly called Lancaster Park and Jade Stadium), Christchurch; Waikato Stadium, Hamilton; and Carisbrook, Dunedin. Eden Park is the main sports ground in Auckland, New Zealand for both Rugby union during winter and Cricket in summer The Auckland metropolitan area or Greater Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country North Harbour Stadium is a Stadium situated in Albany on Auckland 's North Shore in New Zealand. For the electorate see Albany (NZ electorate Albany is a northern suburb of North Shore City, one of several cities in the Westpac Stadium, previously known as WestpacTrust Stadium, is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. Wellington (ˈwælɪŋtən is the Capital of New Zealand, the country's second largest urban area, the AMI Stadium, formerly Jade Stadium and Lancaster Park, is a sports stadium situated in Christchurch, New Zealand. Christchurch (Ōtautahi The largest City in the South Island, it is also the second largest city and third largest urban area of New Zealand Waikato Stadium is a major Rugby union and soccer venue in Hamilton, New Zealand, with a total capacity seated and standing of 25800 with Hamilton ( Kirikiriroa in Māori) is the centre of New Zealand 's fourth largest Urban area, and is the country's seventh largest City Carisbrook is a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. Dunedin (dəˈneɪdɪn) Ōtepoti in Maori is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the region of

Prior to the construction of Westpac Stadium in 1999, Wellington's Test venue was Athletic Park. Athletic Park was a well-known ground used mostly for rugby matches in Wellington, New Zealand. Athletic Park was the venue for the first All Blacks Test match in New Zealand against Great Britain in 1904. ^[121] The first home Test match played outside the main centres of Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin or Wellington was in 1996 at McLean Park in Napier. McLean Park is a chiefly a Cricket ground in Napier, New Zealand, though rugby is also played here Napier ( Ahuriri in Māori) is a port city in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. ^[122] The 1987 Rugby World Cup final was played at Eden Park.

Eden Park and AMI Stadium are being upgraded in preparation for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. In 2006, the New Zealand Government proposed the construction of a waterfront National Stadium in Auckland as an alternative to Eden Park's upgrade; this proposal was rejected by the Auckland Regional Council. The politics of New Zealand takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic Monarchy. Stadium New Zealand, often called the Waterfront Stadium, was the provisional name for a national stadium proposed for Auckland's waterfront to host the 2011 The Auckland Regional Council ( ARC) is the regional council (one of the Local government authorities of the Auckland Region. ^[123] The NZRU no longer considers Carisbrook as a suitable Test venue; a covered sports stadium has been proposed as a replacement. ^[124]

See also

• All Blacks vs Springboks
• All Blacks at the Rugby World Cup
• All Blacks versus France at rugby union

Notes and references

Bibliography

• Gifford, Phil (2004). The Passion - The Stories Behind 125 years of Canterbury Rugby. Wilson Scott Publishing. ISBN 0-9582535-1-X.  
• Howitt, Bob (2005). SANZAR Saga - Ten Years of Super 12 and Tri-Nations Rugby. Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 1-86950-566-2.  
• Palenski, Ron (2003). Century in Black - 100 Years of All Black Test Rugby. Hodder Moa Beckett Publishers Limited. ISBN 1-86958-937-8.  

External links

• All Blacks official website
• Official IRB World Rankings

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic