The country which holds the 1st ranking in World Rugby for the longest time is no other than New Zealand. The National Men Rugby Union, also known as All Blacks, snatched away the Rugby World Cup 3 times.
It seems every one of this country has love and passion for their national sport ‘Rugby’.
Even our website the www.casinoblacks.com is created from the love and passion for All Blacks, that is why we have created this special dedication page for all fans of New Zealand rugby and All Blacks.
From the start to the present, everything about the New Zealand Rugby is here.
History of New Zealand Rugby and All Blacks
The game of rugby has a long history in this country, dating back to the 13th century. As soon as humans started playing games, ball games became popular soon in the ancient world.
The Māori tribes were playing a ball game called ki-o-Rahi, which mostly resembled rugby football. Various codes of ki-o-Rahi were followed in New Zealand in the years till the Europeans came.
Established in 1863, the Christchurch Football Club is the country’s oldest rugby club.
Charles John Monro, son of David Monro, first introduced rugby football in New Zealand in the year 1870. He encountered this game while studying at Christ College, London.
On 14th May 1870, he played the first rugby union match ever played in New Zealand against Nelson Club at Nelson College. Soon this game was taken up by Wellington, Auckland & Wanganui.
Unions were formed in both Canterbury and Wellington in 1879. In 1882 New South Wales Visited both the islands of New Zealand & it was the first international side tour in this country.
And the New Zealand Rugby team won their all matches. New Zealand Natives were the first team from New Zealand to visit England in 1888-89.
In the year 1892, the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) was formed to act as the national governing body of the sport. The 1st NZRFU national sanctioned tour was against Australia in 1893.
The fifth Earl of Ranfurly, governor of New Zealand, presented The Ranfurly Shield in 1902 (New Zealand’s most prized provincial rugby challenge trophy).
Originals
It was first given to Auckland in 1902 as the union with the best record of that season. The New Zealand team that toured the Northern Hemisphere in 1905-06, later to become known as the ‘Originals’, Won 34 of the 35 matches they played.
All Black George Smith and Albert Baskerville made the All Gold team & organised a ‘rebel’ league tour to Australia and Britain in 1907. In 1921 The Springboks (the South African team) played against New Zealand in a Test series that ended as a tie.
In 1976, the first-ever season of the National Provincial Championship (changed in 2006 by the Air New Zealand Cup and Heartland Championship) played between 11 teams.
It was the NZRFU that first sought permission from the International Rugby Football Board to host a Rugby World Cup. A final decision was made that both New Zealand and Australia would be given the 1987 World Cup.
‘The All Blacks’ made it to the final, where they met France. Having won the inaugural World Championship, the All Blacks became the first team to achieve this feat.
All Blacks jerseys
The current jersey is entirely black, and the NZRFU silver fern is on the chest. In the past, it was not black always. In the first overseas New Zealand rugby tour against Australia in 1884, the team wore a dark blue jersey with a gold fern badge on the left.
In 1893, when the NZRFU was established, they decided that the uniform would be a black jersey with a silver fern. In 1901 the team played against New South Wales, wearing a black uniform for the first time.
In 2006, when playing against France, New Zealand wore an embroidered remembrance poppy on their jersey sleeve to show honour to ANZAC soldiers who died on the beaches of Gallipoli.
The jerseys had a picture of the Webb Ellis Cup on the sleeve during the 2011 Rugby World Cup. It was printed with the year ‘1987’ below it to signify highlight the team’s previous world title.
All Blacks stats and records
New Zealand is holding the World rank two just below South Africa. New Zealand Rugby Union has won 458 of their 594 test matches (77.10%).
| Opponent | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 31 | 29 | 1 | 1 | 93.55 |
| Australia | 170 | 117 | 45 | 8 | 68.83 |
| British & Irish Lions | 41 | 30 | 7 | 4 | 73.17 |
| Canada | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| England | 42 | 33 | 8 | 1 | 78.57 |
| Fiji | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| France | 61 | 48 | 12 | 1 | 78.69 |
| Georgia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Ireland | 32 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 90.63 |
| Italy | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Japan | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Namibia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Pacific Islanders | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Portugal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Romania | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Samoa | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Scotland | 31 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 93.55 |
| South Africa | 99 | 59 | 36 | 4 | 59.60 |
| Tonga | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Wales | 35 | 32 | 3 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Total | 594 | 458 | 114 | 22 | 77.10 |
They have lost at home only 39 times.
New Zealand has won the World Cup three times. They won against France in the final of the 1987 inaugural World Cup. They defeated France again in the final of the 2011 tournament.
They most recently defeated Australia in 2015. Their all-time points record for tests stands at 16,374 points for and 7,850 points against. They hold the number one ranking the majority of the time.
All Blacks current squad 2021
There are 38 main players in the current New Zealand Rugby Team.
- Hooker: Asafo Aumua, Dane Coles, Codie Taylor
- Prop: George Bower, Alex Hodgman, Nepo Laulala, Tyrel Lomax, Karl Tu’inukuafe, Ofa Tu’ungafasi
- Lock: Mitchell Dunshea, Patrick Tuipulotu, Scott Barrett, Tupou Vaa’i, Sam Whitelock
- Loose Forward: Sam Cane (captain), Shannon Frizell, Cullen Grace, Akira Ioane, Du’Plessis Kirifi, Dalton Papalii, Ardie Savea, Hoskins Sotutu
- Half Back: TJ Perenara, Aaron Smith, Brad Weber
- First Five-eight: Beauden Barrett, Richie Mo’unga
- Centre: Jack Goodhue, Rieko Ioane, Ngani Laumape, Anton Lienert-Brown, Peter Umaga-Jensen
- Wing: Caleb Clarke, Sevu Reece
- Fullback: Jordie Barrett, Will Jordan, Damian McKenzie
Notable All Blacks players
There are 17 players of All Black who is is awarded World Rugby Hall of Fame are:
- Sir Fred Allen
- Don Clarke
- Sean Fitzpatrick
- Grant Fox
- Dave McCaw
- Sir Colin Meads
- Graham Maurie
- George Nepia
- Joe Warbrick
- Sir Bryan Williams
- Sir Wilson Whineray
- Gallaher
- Sir Michael Jones
- Ian Kirkpatrick
- Sir John Kirwan
- Jonah Lomu
- Richie
Joe Warbrick represented New Zealand on their first outside tour to Australia in 1884. Dave Gallaher played in All Black’s first-ever test match in 1903 and also led the team as a captain in the 1905 Originals.
Sir Colin Meads, described as New Zealand’s player of the century, played 133 games for New Zealand.
Jonah Lomu is regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union because he is the youngest player ever of All Blacks, making his debut in only 198 years.
Best players records
Dan Carter collected 1598 points from 112 tests which are the highest collected point in the world in rugby.
Doug Howlett, with 49 tries, became the highest test try scorer for All Blacks.
Richie McCaw is the most capped All Blacks in the test with 148 caps.
Current All Blacks coaches
- Head Coach: Ian Foster
- Assistant Coach: Steve Hansen
Notable coaches
Alex McDonald was the first coach of the New Zealand Rugby Team in 1949.
Fred Allen is the most successful coach of All Blacks.
Steve Hansen coached for 107 matches which is the highest for any coach.
All Black’s home stadiums
The national rugby team of New Zealand does not have an official stadium.
There are 21 stadiums in New Zealand for playing rugby.
Important Stadiums are:
- Athletic Park, Wellington, North Island
- Eden Park, Auckland, North Island
- AMI Stadium, Christchurch, South Island
- Carisbrook, Dunedin, South Island
- Sky Stadium, Wellington, North Island
Haka dance
Haka is a challenge taking social culture by Māori tribes. It is often performed by a group of people, with continuous dancing and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment.
A haka is performed before every international match by the All Blacks.
This tradition started in 1888 on a tour of Australia. “Ka mate, Ka mate” – the original All Black’s haka – was composed in 1820 by famous Māori warrior chief Te Rauparaha of the Ngāti Toa Rangatira tribe.
No other nation performed haka.
Interesting facts about All Blacks
- There are 47 sets of brothers to play for the All Blacks.
- Neemia Tialata is the heaviest player for the All Blacks at 136 kilograms (300lbs).
- The All Blacks have played Test matches on every day of the week, with the most played on a Saturday (531) and the least played on a Tuesday (1).
- Dominic Bird is the tallest All Black of all time at 6 foot 8 inches (2.06 metres) tall.
- Alan Ponty Reid is the shortest player to r play for the All Blacks at just 5 foot 2inches (1.60 metres) tall.
Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_national_rugby_union_team
- http://rugbymuseum.co.nz/article-all-blacks-the-name/
- https://nzhistory.govt.nz/keyword/all-blacks
- https://partner.allblacks.com/about/key-moments/