All Blacks Rugby

The All Blacks rugby team are New Zealand's men's representative team and are widely considered to be one of the most successful teams in sport. The New Zealand All Blacks first played in 1884. Since then they have only been beaten by five teams and maintain a 75% winning record in rugby fixtures. They are also the only international rugby union team to have a winning record against every test nation they have played. Since the IRB introduced world rankings in 2003 the All Blacks have held the number one position longer than all the other teams combined. Their playing kit is a distinctive black jersey with a silver fern on the chest, a New Zealand national emblem. They also wear black shorts and socks. Before games they perform the haka, a traditional Maori dance, often used as a war dance.

Winners of the International Rugby Board (IRB) Team of the Year for 2010, the All Blacks rugby team are hot favourites to win the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand. Being favourites in Rugby World Cup years is nothing new to the All Blacks. They were virtually unbackable favourites leading into the 2007 World Cup, before being eliminated in the quarter final by France. They were also one of the favourites to win the 2003 and 1999 World Cups, but were stopped short both times. In fact, despite consistently being one of the leading teams in world rugby, the All Blacks have been unable to win the highly coveted World Cup since the inaugural tournament New Zealand co-hosted with Australia in 1987. The All Blacks will be hoping to put their notorious reputation of peaking between Rugby World Cups behind them in front of their home fans at the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

Every year the All Blacks contest the Tri-Nations against the Australian Wallabies and South African Springboks. Because the three international teams usually occupy the top three positions of the IRB world rankings, the Tri-Nations is often considered to be toughest tournaments in rugby. Since its inception in 1996, the All Blacks have won the Tri-Nations ten times; the Springboks have won it three times and the Wallabies twice.

At the end of each year the All Blacks tour Europe on their end of year tour. One of the most prestigious feats on a northern tour is the achievement of a Grand Slam. This is where a touring nation defeats the home nations, England Ireland, Scotland and Wales on one tour. The All Blacks have achieved this feat four times, making a habit of it lately with three successful attempts since 2005.

Despite all their success, the All Blacks rugby team continue to be judged on their inability to win a Rugby World Cup. They will be hoping to put this unwelcome statistic behind them at this year's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

I am based in New Zealand and I enjoy writing about rugby, movies and music and am also interested in property investment and travel. I operate a rugby blog and a site dedicated to Tarantino movies and merchandise and contribute to a Property Investment Tips site