Sir Colin Earl Meads was a New Zealand rugby union player. He played 55 test matches, most frequently in the lock forward position, for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks, from 1957 until 1971.
Woodville, previously known as The Junction, is a small town in the southern North Island of New Zealand, 75 km north of Masterton and 25 km east of Palmerston North. The 2013 census showed that 1401 people reside in Woodville.
Michael James Bowie Hobbs, generally known as Jock Hobbs, was a New Zealand rugby union player and administrator. A flanker, he played for Canterbury and won 21 caps for the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, between 1983 and 1986, with four tests as captain.
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.
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.
Graham Neil Kenneth Mourie is a former New Zealand All Black flanker and coach of the Hurricanes. He was one of the great All Black captains in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was first selected for the All Blacks in 1976, captaining a second-string New Zealand team that toured South America. He was selected again for the All Blacks against the touring British Lions in 1977, and captained the side to France later that year, replacing Tane Norton as captain.
Sir Brian James Lochore was a New Zealand rugby union player and coach who represented and captained the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. He played at number 8 and lock, as well as captaining the side 46 times. In 1999, Lochore was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame.
Liam Justin Messam is a retired New Zealand rugby union player who played in the TOP14 for RC Toulonnais. In Super Rugby, he previously played for the Chiefs, and for Waikato in the ITM Cup. Messam predominantly plays as a blindside flanker but can fill in at Number 8 as well as openside flanker. After the retirement of then Chiefs captain Mils Muliaina, Messam was named the team's new co-captain from 2012 onwards, alongside Aaron Cruden.
Norman Jason Hewitt was a New Zealand rugby union player who played as a hooker. He won nine caps for the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. Hewitt participated in, and won, season one of Dancing with the Stars in 2005.
In 1977 the British Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand. The Lions played 26 matches, including four internationals against the All Blacks. They lost the series against the All Blacks by three matches to one. The team played as the British Isles in their internationals against the All Blacks and the British Lions for the non-international games. Unlike all previous tours to New Zealand, the Lions did not play any matches in Australia, though one game was also played at Buckhurst Park, Suva, against Fiji.
Dame Farah Rangikoepa Palmer is a professor at Massey University and a former captain of New Zealand's women's rugby union team, the Black Ferns.
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.
Quentin Joseph Reuben William Jordan MacDonald is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays for Tasman in the Bunnings NPC and the Crusaders in Super Rugby. His position is hooker. He has played Super Rugby for the Crusaders, Blues and the Chiefs.
Matthew Phillip Proctor is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a utility back for the Western Force in Super Rugby. He has previously played for the Northampton Saints in the Premiership Rugby and for the Melbourne Rebels and Hurricanes in Super Rugby.
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.
William Kingita Te Pohe Bush is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A prop, Bush represented Canterbury at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1974 to 1979. He played 37 matches for the All Blacks including 12 internationals. He also represented, coached and selected for Māori All Blacks.
The following lists events that happened during 2018 in New Zealand.
Moana Pasifika is a rugby union team made up of players from various Pacific Island nations as well as New Zealand or Australian born players of Pasifika heritage, including Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands who play in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. Many of its players represent Tonga and Samoa at the international level, while it also includes current and former All Blacks such as Ardie Savea and Julian Savea.
The following lists events that happened during 2021 in New Zealand.
Shiray Kaka is a New Zealand rugby sevens player. She won a gold medal with the Black Ferns sevens team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
