The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for their international success, the All Blacks have often been regarded as one of the most successful sports teams in history.
Zinzan Valentine Brooke is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer who played at number eight.
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.
Sean Brian Thomas Fitzpatrick is a New Zealand former rugby union player.
"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.
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.
Sidney Milton Going was a New Zealand rugby union footballer. Dubbed Super Sid by his fans, he played 86 matches, including 29 tests, for the All Blacks between 1967 and 1977. He represented North Auckland domestically.
The New Zealand women's rugby union team, called the Black Ferns, represents New Zealand in women's international rugby union, which is regarded as the country's national sport. The team has won six out of nine Women's Rugby World Cup tournaments.
Keven Filipo Mealamu is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer. He played at hooker for the Blues in Super Rugby, Auckland in the National Provincial Championship, and the New Zealand national team. He was part of the Blues team that won the 2003 Super 12 title, the third for the franchise. He was a key member of 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup winning teams, becoming one of only 21 players who have won the Rugby World Cup on multiple occasions.
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.
The Cavaliers was an unofficial New Zealand rugby union team which toured South Africa in 1986. Because of the Apartheid policies of the South African government, the official New Zealand Rugby Union tour scheduled for 1985 was cancelled, and the Cavaliers tour was very controversial in New Zealand.
Alan Whetton also known as AJ is a former rugby union footballer who played for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks. Whetton first played representative rugby for Auckland in 1981. He played alongside his twin brother Gary for both Auckland, and later the All Blacks. He played a variety of positions early in his career, playing at number eight and lock before playing most often as a flanker. He first played for the All Blacks in 1984 on their tour of Australia, and played his first Test match on 21 July against Australia.
Adrian Tremain Shelford was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played at representative level for New Zealand, and at club level for Wigan and Wakefield Trinity in the Championship as well as the Newcastle Knights and Manly Sea Eagles in the NSWRL Premiership, as a prop.
Munster Rugby has a strong tradition of competitiveness against touring rugby teams. They have played the All Blacks, the national team of New Zealand, 8 times since 1905. In 1978, they became the first Irish team, including the Irish national team, to win a match in the history of competition between the countries, and remained the only Irish team to beat the All Blacks until the Irish national team defeated New Zealand in November 2016.
Aaron Luke Smith is a New Zealand professional rugby union player. A scrum half, Smith played for the Highlanders in Super Rugby where upon retirement in 2023 was the club's all time leader in caps, and for Manawatu in the ITM Cup. He has won 124 caps for New Zealand and is their 2nd most-capped back after Beauden Barrett.
Huw David Richards is a former Welsh and Neath RFC rugby union player. He played in the 1987 Rugby World Cup as a lock and became the first player to receive a red card in a Rugby World Cup tournament.
John Burns Smith was a New Zealand rugby union player, soldier, sportsman and baker. He was an All Black captain, and despite only playing nine matches is recognised as a great. His 26 appearances for the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force rugby team, which toured the UK in 1946–47, earned him high praise. He also played for the New Zealand Māori, being of Ngāpuhi descent.
In rugby union, the Tom French Cup is an honour awarded by New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) to the Tom French Memorial Māori player of the year. The cup has been awarded annually since 1949, when it was donated to the New Zealand Māori coach Tom French while the team was on tour in Australia. French had represented Buller provincially, and was selected for New Zealand Maori in 1911. After the First World War, where he lost an arm at Passchendaele, French continued his involvement in rugby by serving as both a selector and administrator. In 1957 he was made a life member of the NZRU.
The 1986 New Zealand Rugby Union tour of France was a series of eight matches played by the New Zealand national rugby union team in France in October and November 1986. The All Blacks won seven of their eight games, losing only the second of the two internationals against France.
