All Blacks Rugby

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The All Blacks Rugby Team

The All Blacks rugby team are widely considered to be one of the most successful teams in sport. Since their inception in 1884 they have maintained a 75% winning record and have only ever been beaten by five teams.

Representing New Zealand since 1884

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.

All Blacks Rugby Video

2010 was a vintage year for the All Blacks, winning fifteen out of sixteen tests and coming agonisingly close to breaking the record for the longest winning streak in rugby fixtures.
Tribute to All Blacks 2010
by guettebaRV | video info

680 ratings | 157,952 views
curated content from YouTube

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All Black Rugby Tournaments and Competitions

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.

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The All Blacks Rugby Jersey and Kit

The All Blacks Rugby Jersey and Kit

The All Blacks are known for their distinctive all black playing strip. They have been wearing the black jersey since 1893 and switched from white shorts to black shorts at the beginning of the 1900's. Until 1999, when Adidas began sponsoring them, the All Black jersey also had a white collar. This was removed and ever since they have used a Chinese style collar. Since then that collar has become standard on most professional rugby team Jerseys.

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All Blacks Haka

Another feature of the All Blacks rugby team is their use of the Haka before games. The haka is a Maori dance, often used as a war dance. The All Blacks predominantly use the Haka, Ka Mate which has since become the most famous form of Haka. The All Blacks also wrote their own haka in 2005, Kapo o Pango. However, since the 2007 Rugby World Cup this has only been rarely used.
All Black's Haka + Translation
by Steve181 | video info

12,194 ratings | 10,547,171 views
curated content from YouTube

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All Blacks Rugby
The All Blacks rugby union team are the New Zealand men's national 1st 15. The New Zealand All Blacks are one of the most successful sporting teams of all time.

About the Author

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

Reader Feedback

  • camshaw007 Sep 12, 2011 @ 2:01 am | delete
    AB`s will finally win the WC this year!!!
  • PocketfulofParis Aug 26, 2011 @ 9:27 am | delete
    go AB!!!!!
  • hakamike Aug 13, 2011 @ 10:51 am | delete
    Go the AB's! Great to see a Rugby fan here ;-)
  • Mike_W Jul 15, 2011 @ 12:12 am | delete
    Watch the All Blacks from next week for the 2011 Tri Nations!

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