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The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. The team's colours are black and white, with the dominant colour being black, and the players perform a haka before every match they play as a challenge to their opponents. The New Zealand Kiwis are currently second in the IRL World Rankings. Since the 1980s, most New Zealand representatives have been based overseas, in the professional National Rugby League and Super League competitions. Before that, players were selected entirely from clubs in domestic New Zealand leagues.
New Zealand Māori rugby league team is a rugby league representative side made up of New Zealand Māori players. The side represents the New Zealand Māori Rugby league. Like its union counterpart, the rugby league team previously competed in international competitions.
"Ka Mate" is a Māori haka composed by Te Rauparaha, the historic leader of the iwi of Ngāti Toa of the North Island of New Zealand during the Musket Wars.
The Tonga national rugby league team represents Tonga in rugby league football. They are currently the fifth ranked team in the world. The team was formed to compete in the 1986 Pacific Cup, and have competed at six Rugby League World Cups, starting in 1995 and continuing consecutively until the most recent tournament. Their best result was at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, where they were semi-finalists.
Piri Awahou Tihou Weepu is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. Weepu played most recently for Wairarapa Bush in the Heartland Championship. Generally Weepu played as a half-back but also played at first five-eighth on occasion. He has represented the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, between 2004 and 2013. He first won national honours against Wales in 2004. In 2005 was called back into the All Blacks squad for the first Tri Nations test against South Africa, having missed selection for the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour. He represented the Hurricanes and Blues in Super Rugby, and Wellington and Auckland in the Mitre 10 Cup. He also had brief spells with several clubs in Europe. In October 2017, Weepu announced his retirement as a rugby player.
Ruben James Wiki is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A New Zealand international representative centre-turned-prop forward, he retired with the record for most international appearances of any rugby league player in history. As of 2023, he is still the highest capped Kiwi player ever. At club level Wiki played for the Canberra Raiders, winning the 1994 NSWRL Premiership with them before finishing his career with the New Zealand Warriors. He currently works as the NZRL's High Performance Manager and a High Performance Assistant with the New Zealand Warriors.
Winston John McCarthy was a rugby union radio commentator during the 1940s through to the 1960s who became known as the "Voice of New Zealand Rugby". He is particular remembered for his broadcasts of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force "Kiwis" during the Second World War and later for All Blacks matches.
The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Maori, New Zealand Maoris and New Zealand Natives, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing is that the player has Māori whakapapa (genealogy). In the past this rule was not strictly applied; non–Māori players who looked Māori were often selected in the team. These included a few Pacific island players and a couple of African descent. Today all players have their ancestry verified before selection in the team.
Haka, traditional dances of the Māori people, have been used in sports in New Zealand and overseas. Haka are performed to challenge opponents before matches. The dance form has been adopted by the New Zealand national rugby union team, the "All Blacks", the Māori All Blacks, New Zealand women's national rugby union team, the "Black Ferns" and a number of other New Zealand national teams perform before their international matches; some non-New Zealand sports teams have also adopted haka.
Hugh Joseph McGahan is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer, and coach who represented New Zealand. He retired as the New Zealand national team's all-time top try scorer, with 16. Since retirement McGahan has worked as a rugby league newspaper columnist and a football manager.
Manuera Benjamin Rīwai Couch was a New Zealand politician and rugby union player. He was a team-member of the All Blacks and the New Zealand Māori rugby union team in the 1940s.
Jason Nightingale is a former New Zealand international rugby league footballer who played as a winger and fullback for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL.
Kevin Proctor is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for AS Carcassonne in the Elite One Championship, and the New Zealand Māori and New Zealand at international level.
1949 saw the second full tour of South Africa by a representative New Zealand rugby union team. The All Blacks achieved a record of 13 wins, 7 losses and 4 draws, and they lost the test series 4–0.
Frano Michael Botica is a New Zealand-Croatian rugby union and rugby league coach and former player in both codes, who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He is the head coach of the Philippines sevens team.
Tawera Nuieia Nikau is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A New Zealand international representative forward, he played club football at a number of different clubs in New Zealand, England and Australia during his career, including the Melbourne Storm's victory in the 1999 NRL season Grand Final.
James Tamou is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop for the Townsville Blackhawks on the Queensland Cup
Gerard Beale is a New Zealand international rugby league professional footballer who last played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL.
James Joseph Mill was a New Zealand rugby union player. A halfback, Mill represented East Coast, Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1923 to 1930. He played 33 matches for the All Blacks including four internationals. Of Ngāti Porou descent, Mill played for New Zealand Māori in 1922 and 1923.
Blake Gibson is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a loose forward for Auckland in the ITM Cup and the Blues in Super Rugby.
References
- ↑ Wairarapa Electoral District: main roll of persons entitled to vote for Members of Parliament of New Zealand. 1972. p. 23.
- 1 2 Knight, Lindsay. "Kiwi Blake". New Zealand Rugby Museum. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ↑ "Death of former All Black Kiwi Blake". Radio New Zealand News. 3 November 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ↑ "Alan Walter Blake". Online Cenotaph. Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
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