Sir Edmund Percival Hillary was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt. From 1985 to 1988 he served as New Zealand's High Commissioner to India and Bangladesh and concurrently as Ambassador to Nepal.
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.
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.
The 2007 All Golds Tour was a tour by the New Zealand national rugby league team, the Kiwis, of Great Britain and France. Conducted as part of the celebrations of a century of rugby league in New Zealand, it was a re-creation of the original New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain in 1907. The Kiwis played four test matches, winning one against France, but losing the series against Great Britain 3–0, failing to win the Baskerville Shield. A special game was played between the "All Golds" and the "Northern Union", a New Zealand vs Great Britain veterans game for internationally retired players. The tour also involved a reception with HM Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for the squad.
The Invincibles was a nickname given to the 1924–25 New Zealand national team which toured the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Canada. The team was captained by Cliff Porter, and numbered among its top players George Nēpia and brothers Cyril and Maurice Brownlie. During the test against England Cyril Brownlie was sent off by the Welsh referee Albert Freethy, the first player to be sent off from a test.
Maurice Joseph Brownlie was an international New Zealand rugby union player. A loose forward, Brownlie represented Hawke's Bay at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, from 1922 until 1928. He played 61 matches for New Zealand—a record for All Black appearances that stood until surpassed by Kevin Skinner in 1956—and scored 21 tries. These matches included eight Tests. He captained the All Blacks on 19 occasions, including for the 1928 tour of South Africa.
Cyril James Brownlie was a New Zealand rugby union player. He was educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland, unlike his brothers, Maurice and Laurie, who attended St Patrick's College, Wellington.
The Dave Gallaher Trophy is a rugby union perpetual trophy contested between France and New Zealand. It is named after Dave Gallaher, the 1905–06 All Black captain who was killed in Belgium during World War I.
Rugby union has been played in New Zealand since 1870 and is the most popular sport in the country as well as being its national sport. In a 2023 survey, 75% of respondents said they followed the sport.
Sir Stephen William Hansen and High Chief of Vaiala, is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He is also the father of Black Ferns assistant coach, Whitney Hansen.
The National Rugby Union teams of France and New Zealand have been playing each other for over a century. The first encounter, during the historic 1905–1906 All Blacks tour of Europe and North America, which was also France's first test, took place in Paris in January 1906 and was won by New Zealand 38–8. It was not until their third meeting, in 1954, that France secured their first win over New Zealand 3-0.
Adam Thomson is a New Zealand rugby union player. He represented the New Zealand All Blacks between 2008 and 2012, playing a total of 29 tests including two during the victorious 2011 Rugby World Cup campaign. He played for the Melbourne Rebels in 2016, having also played Super Rugby with the Queensland Reds (2015) and Highlanders (2006-2012). He has also represented the Canon Eagles in Japan's Top League and New Zealand province Otago.
The Hillary Shield is contested between England and New Zealand at rugby union. The first match was played on 29 November 2008 at Twickenham Stadium, London.
Benjamin Robert Smith is a retired New Zealand rugby union player, currently working for Super Rugby side Highlanders' management team. He formerly played for the Highlanders in the Super Rugby competition, Otago in the ITM Cup, Pau in the Top 14 and Kobelco Steelers in the Japan Rugby League One.
The 2002 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain and France was a tour by the New Zealand national rugby league team. The New Zealand national rugby league team drew the series 1.5-1.5 against Great Britain and also defeated Wales and France.
Brodie Allan Retallick is a New Zealand rugby union footballer, who currently plays as a lock for Kobelco Kobe Steelers in the Japan Rugby League One competition. He previously played for the Chiefs in Super Rugby and Hawke's Bay in New Zealand's National Provincial Championship.
In June 2014, England played a three test series against New Zealand as part of the 2014 mid-year rugby union tests. They played the All Blacks across the three weeks that the June International window is allocated to; 7 June–21 June, and contested the Hillary Shield, in which England has won once to New Zealand's four. The series was part of the second year of the global rugby calendar established by the International Rugby Board, which runs through to 2019. In addition to the test series, England also played Super Rugby side Crusaders, in a mid-week uncapped match ahead of the third test in Hamilton. They also played the Barbarians at Twickenham, for their annual meeting at the stadium before the tour.
William Cunningham was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented New Zealand—known as the All Blacks—between 1901 and 1908. Most notably he toured with the Original All Blacks on their 1905–06 tour of the British Isles, France and North America. They were the first New Zealand representative team to visit the British Isles, and of their 32 matches there Cunningham played in 23. He played mainly at lock, and was added to the touring party due to his strong scrummaging ability. He played in three Test matches during the trip: against Scotland, Ireland and France, but did not play in the loss to Wales due to injury, the All Blacks' only defeat on tour.
Jordan Matthew Barrett is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a utility back internationally for New Zealand's All Blacks, and for the Hurricanes in the Super Rugby competition. Having previously been an apprentice for the All Black squad in 2016, Barrett was first selected for New Zealand in 2017, making his debut against Samoa in a warm-up test prior to the British & Irish Lions series. He is widely regarded as one of the best centres in world rugby.
Edmund Reginald Edwards was a Welsh-born English international rugby union player.
