All Blacks

The international rugby union team of New Zealand are known as the All Blacks, a name derived from their playing strip of black shirts, shorts and socks. The usage apparently dates from the first tour of Britain by a New Zealand national rugby team (known as The Originals), in 1905/1906. According to Billy Wallace, one of the members of the Originals, the name derived from a London newspaper's description of the New Zealand team playing as if they were all backs! However it is much more likely that the name came from the black strip worn by the team. See:(New Zealand Rugby Museum on this topic).

Rugby union is New Zealand's premier sport and selection for the All Blacks is considered the highest honour that a Kiwi rugby union sportsman can achieve. The All Blacks have always been a formidable power in international rugby union. As well as winning the Rugby World Cup in 1987 they have been Tri Nations champions six times and have twice (in 1978 and in 2005) completed the Grand Slam (wins over England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland) in tours of the Home nations as well as being current holders of the Bledisloe Cup which is the trophy in an annual series against Australia. They are currently the number one ranked team in the world.^*

History

Introduction of rugby to New Zealand

Rugby was introduced to New Zealand by Charles Monro in the late 1860s, Monro having discovered the game while completing his studies at Christ's College Finchley in England. The first game took place in May 1870 and the first union, Canterbury, was formed in 1879. As early as 1882 New Zealand played host to New South Wales. The tourists played Auckland provincial clubs twice, Wellington twice, and had one game against Canterbury, Otago and West Coast, North Island. New South Wales won four games and lost three.

The first tour by a British team took place in 1888 when a British Isles team toured the Australian colonies and New Zealand, though no test matches were played. The players were drawn mainly from England and the Scottish borders, though there were representatives from all four home unions. This tour was not sanctioned by the Rugby Football Union as it was organised by entrepreneurs and thus contravened the strict regulations the union had pertaining to professionalism.

The NZRFU was formed in 1892. Seven unions were represented but with the significant absence of Canterbury, Otago and Southland. The first full New Zealand side went to New South Wales in 1893. The captain was Tom Ellison, who suggested that the team should wear 'Black Jersey with Silver Fern Leaf, Black Cap with Silver Monogram, White knickerbockers and Black Stockings.' Only the knickerbockers have since changed.

International competition begins

New Zealand played its first home game against New South Wales in 1894 in Christchurch, winning 8-6. Its first full international match was against Australia on 15 August, 1903 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, New Zealand were again victorious 22-3.

In 1905 New Zealand made their first tour of Britain. The team were known as the 'Originals', this was the first time the team were referred to as the All Blacks. The side thrashed most opposition, but lost to Wales, 3-0 in Cardiff, a match that has become part of the folklore of both countries because of the controversy surrounding the try not awarded to All Black Bob Deans.

New Zealand began their great rivalry with South Africa in 1921, the Springboks' tour of New Zealand was tense and competitive, the test series finishing all square. The All Blacks first toured South Africa in 1928, the test series again finishing level. In 1937, South Africa broke the deadlock with a series win in New Zealand. It was not until 1956 under the captaincy of Bob Duff and through the surprise selection of Waikato player Don Clarke (nicknamed 'the Boot') who kicked the decisive penalties in the final games, that New Zealand won its first ever series over the Springboks. Not until 40 years later in 1996, under Sean Fitzpatrick's captaincy, did New Zealand finally win its first series in the Republic.

Development of a Legacy

The British Lions first visited New Zealand in 1888, returning in 1908 with a team consisting only of English and Welsh players, the All Blacks won the test series 2-0. The 1924 All Black tourists to the UK were dubbed 'the Invincibles', although Scotland refused to play them in an argument over expenses. The first truly representative British Lions side toured New Zealand in 1930, the Lions won the first test after some tough provincial games in New Zealand, but the home side regrouped and won the series 3-1.

The 1935-36 New Zealand tourists lost only four games in the UK, but two of these were tests, including the game against England when Prince Obolensky scored his famous two tries. The 1950 Lions could only draw the first test, the 1959 Lions lost the series 1-3, the 1966 side 0-4 and it was not until 1971, under the captaincy of Welshman John Dawes, that the Lions finally beat the All Blacks on home soil. That remains the Lions' only series victory in New Zealand.

New Zealand touring sides to the UK from the 1960s on were powerful forces, dominated by the legendary names of Meads, Clarke and Whineray. The 1963-64 team, led by Wilson Whineray, failed to achieve a Grand Slam only because of a scoreless draw with Scotland. The 1967 side won three tests, but was unable to play Ireland because of a foot-and-mouth scare. The 1972-3 tourists narrowly missed a Grand Slam with a draw against Ireland, but the tour achieved notoriety after the sending home of prop Keith Murdoch. He was alleged to have been involved in a brawl in a Cardiff hotel while celebrating the defeat of the Welsh. Graham Mourie's 1978 All Blacks finally achieved a Grand Slam, at the sixth attempt, but there was further bitter controversy during and after the Welsh test in Cardiff when an enduring myth was born. Some sections of the media alleged the All Blacks cheated, saying lock Haden dived out of a line-out claiming he had been fouled. In fact, referee Roger Quittenton actually penalised Welsh lock Geoff Wheel for jumping off the shoulder of Frank Oliver, and New Zealand won by kicking the resulting penalty. Quittenton has often unsuccessfully tried to give the lie to the Haden diving myth. ^*.

It was on this tour that the All Blacks were famously defeated by 12-0 in Thomond Park by Irish province Munster. The match has been made famous by the John Breen play Alone it Stands.

The 1980s left deep scars on New Zealand rugby union and society in general. In 1981 two South African tour matches in New Zealand were cancelled on police advice amid anti-Apartheid protests; the 1985 All Blacks tour to South Africa was cancelled after legal action, and in 1986 an unauthorised tour party of South Africa, the New Zealand Cavaliers, included All Blacks.

The early World Cups

The inaugural World Cup in 1987 was co-hosted and won by New Zealand, beating France 29-9 in the final at Eden Park, Auckland. 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.

By the 1991 World Cup the All Blacks were an aging side, co-coached by Alex Wyllie and John Hart. They had looked vulnerable during pool matches and were knocked out by eventual winners Australia 16-6 in the semi-final at Lansdowne Road. In the wake of the tournament there were many retirements including coach Wyllie, who had enjoyed an 86.2% win rate during 29 tests in charge.

Laurie Mains was given the job for preparing the side for the 1995 event in South Africa. When the All Blacks arrived in the Republic for the tournament, they seemed to be a strong side capable of regaining the trophy. A young Jonah Lomu made a huge impact upon the World Cup, especially in the 45-29 win over England where he scored four tries. The New Zealand team suffered an outbreak of food poisoning before the final but took hosts South Africa to extra time before losing to Joel Stransky’s drop goal.

The Professional Era

In 1995 the professional era in rugby union began. Australia, South Africa and New Zealand combined to sell TV rights for all southern hemisphere test matches, a new inter-provincial competition, the Super 12, and domestic provincial competitions in each of the three countries. The test match between New Zealand and Italy in late 1995 was the first of the professional era.

At the 1999 World Cup the All Blacks again dominated their pool, including a 30-16 defeat of England at Twickenham, but they looked less dominant in getting past Scotland 30-18 in the quarter-finals. Having been comfortably on top against France in the semi-final at Twickenham, they went out as the French produced an amazing half hour of rugby to which the All Blacks had no answer. John Hart subsequently resigned as coach and was replaced by co-coaches Wayne Smith and Tony Gilbert.

New Zealand qualified automatically for Rugby World Cup 2003 by virtue of reaching the semi final stage four years previously. The All Blacks entered the 2003 event with high expectations after an unbeaten Tri Nations campaign that included the return of the Bledisloe Cup to New Zealand for the first time since 1998. As expected they dominated their pool, running up big wins against Italy, Canada and Tonga before winning one of the games of the tournament against Wales. They then beat South Africa, a team they had never beaten at the World Cup, 29-9. They lost out again to Australia 22-10 in the semi final in Sydney. Mitchell was then fired by the NZRU and replaced by Graham Henry.

Henry's tenure started with an impressive double victory over an understrength and out of form England, but his insistence on playing a flat backline tested the patience of an expectant public and saw the All Blacks finish bottom in the 2004 Tri-Nations.

In 2005 the All Blacks whitewashed the touring British and Irish Lions 3-0 in the test series, won the Tri-Nations and won the Grand Slam over the Home Nations. They went on to sweep the major International Rugby Board year-end awards. 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.

The Haka

The All Blacks perform a haka (Māori war dance) before each international match. See Haka of the All Blacks.

Until 2005, the haka performed by the All Blacks had always been Ka Mate. Before the August 2005 Tri Nations test match between New Zealand and South Africa at Carisbrook stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand, the All Blacks, led by Tana Umaga, performed a new haka, Kapa o Pango, which was designed to reflect the multi-cultural makeup of contemporary New Zealand, in particular the influence of South Pacific Polynesian cultures. This is to be performed on "special occasions" (it has since been performed against England) and is not intended to replace Ka Mate.

Kapa o Pango has been a source of controversy, specifically the throat-slitting motion at the conclusion of the haka. However, opposing teams have had fewer issues with this haka than some media outlets, John Smit stating the Springboks were honored to be the first to meet the new challenge.

For videos of the Haka, see the All Blacks official site.

Record

Tri Nations

The All Blacks' main annual competition is the Tri Nations Series played against South Africa and Australia where their record of six series wins (the most recent in 2005) and 27 match wins is well ahead of the other two teams:

Rugby World Cup

Although entering the World Cup as favourites on most occasions, the All Blacks have had less success than their supporters would expect, winning it only once — the inaugural competition held in New Zealand and Australia in 1987. Nevertheless, they are the only team to have reached the semifinals in every World Cup tournament. Full results:

1987 Winners
1991 Third
1995 Second
1999 Fourth
2003 Third

Overall

The All Blacks are currently the only team to have a positive win record against every nation they have played in over 100 years of competition. They have won 300 of the 408 matches played, a win percentage of 73.52% (see table). By this measure the All Blacks are the most successful international rugby union team in history.

Their Test match record against all nations (listed in order of total matches), updated to 8 July 2006, is as follows:

Against	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn
Australia	124	82	37	5
South Africa	67	36	28	3
France	41	30	10	1
British & Irish Lions	34	26	6	2
England	28	21	6	1
Scotland	25	23	0	2
Wales	22	19	3	0
Ireland	20	19	0	1
Argentina	13	12	0	1
Italy	8	8	0	0
Samoa	4	4	0	0
Fiji	4	4	0	0
Tonga	3	3	0	0
Canada	3	3	0	0
Anglo-Welsh	3	2	0	1
World XV	3	2	1	0
USA	2	2	0	0
Great Britain	1	1	0	0
Romania	1	1	0	0
Pacific Islanders	1	1	0	0
Total	408	300	91	17

For the latest official statistics see: ^*

The NZRU won the right to host the Rugby World Cup in 2011 over other bidders South Africa and Japan on 17 November 2005.

Oddity - two tests lost on same day

An unusual record held by the All Blacks and one unlikely to ever be repeated was the loss of two test matches on the same day, September 3 1949. The All Blacks captained by Fred Allen were touring South Africa at the same time as Australia were touring New Zealand.

On the afternoon of September 3 (New Zealand time), the All Black team captained by J. B. (Johnny) Smith was beaten 11-6 by the Wallabies at Wellington 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 at Durban [http://stats.allblacks.com/teamsheet.asp?MT_ID=1363.

Those All Blacks in NZ also lost their second test, 16-9, which gave the Wallabies the Bledisloe Cup for the first time.

2006 All Blacks

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth	Caps	Points	Super 14	Province
1033	Centre	Malili "Mils" Muliaina	31 July 1980	37	70	Chiefs	Waikato
1067	Wing	Scott Hamilton	4 March 1980	1	5	Crusaders	Canterbury
		Joe Rokocoko				Blues	Auckland
		Doug Howlett				Blues	Auckland
		Ma'a Nonu				Hurricanes	Wellington
		Casey Laulala				Crusaders	Canterbury
		Aaron Mauger				Crusaders	Canterbury
		Luke McAlister				Blues	North Harbour
		David Hill				Chiefs	Waikato
		Byron Kelleher				Chiefs	Waikato
		Jimmy Cowan				Highlanders	Southland
		Rodney So'oialo				Hurricanes	Wellington
		Craig Newby				Highlanders	Otago
		Richie McCaw				Crusaders	Canterbury
		Marty Holah				Chiefs	Waikato
		Jerome Kaino
		Troy Flavell				Blues	Auckland
		Ali Williams				Blues	Auckland
		Greg Rawlinson
1000	Prop	Carl Hayman	14 November 1979	26	0	Highlanders	Otago
		Neemia Tialata				Hurricanes	Wellington
		Clarke Dermody				Highlanders	Southland
		Anton Oliver				Highlanders	Otago
		Keven Mealamu				Blues	Auckland
		Andrew Hore				Hurricanes	Taranaki
		Leon MacDonald				Crusaders	Canterbury
		Rico Gear				Crusaders	Tasman
		Isaia Toeava				Hurricanes	Auckland
		Sam Tuitupou
		Sitiveni Sivivatu				Chiefs	Waikato
1034	1st Five-Eighth	Daniel Carter	5 March 1982	25	221	Crusaders	Canterbury
		Piri Weepu				Hurricanes	Wellington
		Mose Tuiali'l
		Chris Masoe				Hurricanes	Wellington
		Jerry Collins				Hurricanes	Wellington
		Jason Eaton				Hurricanes	Taranaki
		Chris Jack				Crusaders	Tasman
		Greg Somerville				Crusaders	Canterbury
		Tony Woodcock
		Reuben Thorne				Crusaders	Canterbury

Captain is Richie McCaw, vice-captain is Jerry Collins.

Some notable All Blacks

Profiles and statistics for every All Black are available on the official All Blacks site.

* Inductees to the International Rugby Hall of Fame

References and External links

All Blacks official website
All Blacks official match and player statistics
unofficial NZ All Blacks
Official IRB World Rankings retrieved 6 May, 2006
Google video of Haka

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