Related Research Articles
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. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, 2011 and 2015. They were the first country to win the Rugby World Cup 3 times.
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to the International Rugby Football Board, now known as World Rugby, the governing body of rugby union for the world. It dropped the word "Football" from its name in 2006. The brand name New Zealand Rugby was adopted in 2013. Officially, it is an incorporated society with the name New Zealand Rugby Union Incorporated.
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 first 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.
David Gallaher was an Irish-born New Zealand rugby union footballer best remembered as the captain of the "Original All Blacks"—the 1905–06 New Zealand national team, the first representative New Zealand side to tour the British Isles. Under Gallaher's leadership the Originals won 34 out of 35 matches over the course of tour, including legs in France and North America; the New Zealanders scored 976 points and conceded only 59. Before returning home he co-wrote the classic rugby text The Complete Rugby Footballer with his vice-captain Billy Stead. Gallaher retired as a player after the 1905–06 tour and took up coaching and selecting; he was a selector for both Auckland and New Zealand for most of the following decade.
The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Māori, 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.
The haka, a traditional dance of the Māori people, has been used in sports in New Zealand and overseas. The challenge has been adopted by the New Zealand national rugby union team, the "All Blacks", and a number of other New Zealand national teams perform before their international matches; some non-New Zealand sports teams have also adopted the haka.
The Original All Blacks were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. They toured the British Isles, France and the United States of America during 1905–1906. Their opening game, on 16 September 1905, was against Devon whom they defeated 55–4. They defeated every English side that they faced, including a 16–3 victory over English county champions Durham, and a 32–0 victory over Blackheath. They defeated Scotland, Ireland, and England with the closest of the three matches their 12–7 victory over Scotland. The team's only loss of the tour was a 3–0 defeat by Wales at Cardiff Arms Park. A try claimed by winger Bob Deans was not awarded by the referee and later became a subject of controversy. However, Wales were generally considered the better team with the All Blacks playing particularly poorly in the first half of the game. They managed narrow wins against four Welsh club teams and went on to play France in France's first-ever test match. They returned to New Zealand via North America where they played two matches against Canadian teams. Overall they played a total of thirty-five matches, which included five Tests, and only lost once—the defeat by Wales.
Duncan McGregor, was a New Zealand rugby union and rugby league footballer. He was a member of the legendary 1905 Original All Blacks and later converted to rugby league when he went on the 1907 New Zealand league tour of Britain and Australia. He stayed in Britain following the 1907–08 tour, and opened a sport store as well as playing for Merthyr Tydfil RLFC. He returned to New Zealand after five years and continued to be involved in rugby league as an administrator and official.
Patrick Bernard "Nimmo" Walsh was a pioneer Australian representative rugby union and rugby league footballer, a dual-code international, who saw active duty with the Australian Imperial Force in the first World War. He represented the Wallabies in three Tests in 1904 and the Kangaroos in three Tests on the first tour of Great Britain in 1908–09.
George Arthur Gillett was a New Zealand multi-code footballer of the early 20th century and a dual-code rugby international. Gillett died in 1956 in Onehunga.
Billy Stead, born John William Stead, was a rugby union player born in Invercargill who played for New Zealand, the All Blacks, on their 1905–06 tour. Stead also played provincially for Southland, and later coached various teams, including Southland and the New Zealand Māori. A bootmaker by trade, he also co-authored The Complete Rugby Footballer with Dave Gallaher, and was a columnist for the Southland Times, and New Zealand Truth.
James Hunter was a rugby union footballer who played for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks. He played mainly at second five-eighth, although he could play any position in the backline. He played for Hawera Club before being selected for Taranaki in 1898 and the North Island in 1904 before his first All Blacks selection in 1905. He toured with the 1905 All Blacks that travelled to Great Britain, France and North America. After returning he continued to be selected for the All Blacks until retiring after the 1908 season.
Arthur Flowers Harding was an English-born international rugby union player who played for and captained the Wales national team. Often called 'Boxer' Harding, he was a member of the Wales team for the famous Match of the Century, who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in a game considered one of the greatest in the history of rugby union. He played club rugby for Cardiff and London Welsh and county rugby for Middlesex.
The 1907–1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Australia and Great Britain was made by a group of New Zealand rugby footballers who played matches in Australia, Ceylon, England and Wales between 1907 and 1908. Most of the matches were played under the rules of the Northern Union, a sport that is today known as rugby league. As such, the team were the immediate predecessors of the New Zealand national rugby league team. The tour had a large role in establishing rugby league in both Australia and New Zealand, and also gave birth to international rugby league. The tour party has come to be known as the professional All Blacks or All Golds, although at the time they were commonly referred to as the All Blacks—a named popularised by the New Zealand rugby union team that toured the Northern Hemisphere in 1905.
William Henry Clifton Mackrell was a New Zealand rugby footballer who represented New Zealand in both rugby union and rugby league. He was part of the 1905 The Original All Blacks tour and the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain.
Rugby union has a long history in New Zealand. Today, New Zealand holds tier one status with World Rugby.
George Nicholson was a New Zealand rugby union footballer who played for New Zealand – the All Blacks – between 1903 and 1907. He played club rugby in Auckland for the City club, before making his provincial debut for Auckland in 1901. After playing for the North Island in 1902, he was selected for New Zealand's tour of Australia in 1903 where he played in the All Blacks' first ever Test match – against Australia in Sydney. The following year he was selected for New Zealand when they played a one-off Test against the British Isles who were touring New Zealand; New Zealand's first home international. In 1905 and 1906 he was selected for the All Blacks tour of Europe and North America. This was the first New Zealand national team to tour the Northern Hemisphere, and played 20 matches during the trip, but did not appear in any internationals. After returning to New Zealand he switched clubs to Ponsonby in 1907, and that year played two Tests for New Zealand against Australia – his last matches representing his country. After retiring from rugby he was involved in the sport as a referee, selector and administrator. He was one of the last surviving members of the Original All Blacks, as the 1905 team was called, and was present at the 75th jubilee celebrating for the formation of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union in 1967.
George Alfred Tyler was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented New Zealand – the All Blacks – between 1903 and 1906. He played in New Zealand's first seven Test matches, including all five Tests on the pioneering Original All Blacks 1905–06 tour of the British Isles and France. He played club rugby for City in Auckland, and was selected for his province between 1899 and 1911. His brother Bill Tyler also played rugby for City and Auckland before switching codes and representing New Zealand at rugby league.
Frederick Roberts was a rugby union footballer who played for the New Zealand national team, commonly called the All Blacks. Playing at halfback, he played for the 1905 Original All Blacks, the first New Zealand representative team to tour the British Isles. He was the only halfback taken on the tour, and played in 28 of their 32 matches in the British Isles. New Zealand rugby historian Winston McCarthy wrote of Roberts that he was "a superb passer, a judicious runner from the scrum, and excellent two-foot kicker and a giant on defence." Roberts continued to be selected by the All Blacks until 1910, when he captained the New Zealand team on their tour of Australia.
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.
References
- ↑ The 1905 All Blacks: A New Zealand Perspective Archived 27 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine by Greg Ryan, Lincoln University, New Zealand
- ↑ Match centre - In Australia and New Zealand 1905 on AllBlacks.com
Rugby union tours of Australia | |
|---|---|
| British & Irish Lions | |
New Zealand  | |
| NZ Maori | |
South Africa  | |
Argentina  | |
England  | |
France  | |
Ireland  | |
Italy  | |
Scotland  | |
Wales  | |
Fiji  | |
Western Samoa  | |
Tonga  | |
Pacific Islanders  | |
| North American teams | |
| Asian teams | |
