All Blacks

Friday, 14 December 2012

All Blacks Movember challenge - the candidates

All Blacks in the Shed at Millennium Stadium

Highlights - All Blacks v Springboks in Johannesburg

All Blacks vs England - 2012 Final Rugby Test

Rodney So'oialo costs All Blacks match vs South Africa

adidas All Blacks | The All Blacks choose their miTeam kit

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Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area ( /ˈɔːklənd/, AWK-lənd), in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with 1,377,200 residents, 31 percent of the country's population. Auckland has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world. In Māori Auckland's names are Tāmaki Makaurau, and the transliterated version of Auckland, Ākarana.
The 2011 Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranked Auckland 3rd equal place in the world on its list, while the Economist's World's Most Livable Cities index of 2011 ranked Auckland in 9th place. In 2010, Auckland was classified as a Beta World City in the World Cities Study Group’s inventory by Loughborough University.
Auckland lies between the Hauraki Gulf of the Pacific Ocean to the east, the low Hunua Ranges to the south-east, the Manukau Harbour to the south-west, and the Waitakere Ranges and smaller ranges to the west and north-west. The central part of the urban area occupies a narrow isthmus between the Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitemata Harbour on the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the few cities in the world to have harbours on two separate major bodies of water.

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Australia
Australia ( /əˈstreɪljə/), officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent as well as the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.
For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of roughly 250 language groups. After discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing Crown Colonies were established.

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Brisbane
Brisbane ( /ˈbrɪzbən/) is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of approximately 2.1 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of more than 3 million. The Brisbane central business district stands on the original European settlement and is situated inside a bend of the Brisbane River, approximately 23 km (14 mi) from its mouth at Moreton Bay. The metropolitan area extends in all directions along the floodplain of the Brisbane River valley between the bay and the Great Dividing Range. While the metropolitan area is governed by several municipalities, a large portion of central Brisbane is governed by the Brisbane City Council, which is by far Australia's largest Local Government Area by population. The demonym of Brisbane is Brisbanite.
Brisbane is named after the river on which it sits, which, in turn, was named after Scotsman Sir Thomas Brisbane, the Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825. The first European settlement in Queensland was a penal colony at Redcliffe, 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of the Brisbane central business district, in 1824. That settlement was soon abandoned and moved to North Quay in 1825. Free settlers were permitted from 1842. Brisbane was chosen as the capital when Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales in 1859.

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Cardiff
Cardiff (ⁱ/ˈkɑrdɪf/; Welsh: Caerdydd (info) Welsh pronunciation: [kairˈdiːð, kaˑɨrˈdɨːð]) is the capital and largest city in Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales. The unitary authority area's mid 2010 population was estimated to be 341,054, while the population of the Larger Urban Zone was estimated at 861,400 in 2009. Cardiff is a significant tourism centre and the most popular visitor destination in Wales with 18.3 million visitors in 2010. In 2011, Cardiff was ranked 6th in the world in National Geographic's alternative tourist destinations.
The city of Cardiff is the county town of the historic county of Glamorgan (and later South Glamorgan). Cardiff is part of the Eurocities network of the largest European cities. The Cardiff Urban Area covers a slightly larger area outside of the county boundary, and includes the towns of Dinas Powys and Penarth. A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a major port for the transport of coal following the arrival of industry in the region contributed to its rise as a major city.

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Durban
Durban (Zulu: eThekwini, from itheku meaning 'bay / lagoon') is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism because of the city's warm subtropical climate and extensive beaches. The municipality, which includes neighbouring towns, has a population of almost 3.5 million, making the combined municipality the biggest city on the east coast of the African continent. The metropolitan land area of 2,292 square kilometres (885 sq mi) is comparatively larger than other South African cities, resulting in a somewhat lower population density of 1,513 /km² (3,920 /sq mi).
Archaeological evidence from the Drakensberg mountains suggests that the Durban area has been inhabited by communities of hunter-gatherers since 100,000 BC. These people lived throughout the area of present day KwaZulu-Natal until the expansion of Bantu farmers and pastoralists from the north saw their gradual displacement,incorporation or extermination.

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Forsyth Barr Stadium
The Forsyth Barr Stadium (officially Forsyth Barr Stadium at University Plaza) is a multi-purpose stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand. At various stages of development it was also known as Dunedin Stadium, Awatea Street Stadium, New Carisbrook, or its non-commercial official name during the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Otago Stadium.
The stadium was opened by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key on 5 August 2011, replacing Carisbrook as the home stadium of the Highlanders team in Super Rugby and the Otago Rugby Football Union in the domestic ITM Cup. The stadium hosted four matches of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Forsyth Barr Stadium is known colloquially as 'The Glasshouse' due to its resemblance to a horticultural hot house.
The stadium is located in Dunedin North, close to the outflow of the Water of Leith into Otago Harbour (and directly over the outflow of Opoho Stream). Its site is close to several other major sports venues. Logan Park lies immediately to the north, and the University Oval and the Caledonian Ground are also nearby to the north of the stadium. Also to the north of the stadium is Logan Point quarry, at the foot of Signal Hill.

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Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road (Irish: Bóthar Lansdúin, IPA: [ˈbˠoːhəɾˠ ˈl̪ˠan̪ˠsˠd̪ˠuːn̪ˠ]) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for the construction of the Aviva Stadium, which opened in 2010.
Lansdowne Road took its name from the adjacent street.
The stadium was situated in the neighbourhood of Ballsbridge in the city's Dublin 4 area. The stadium had convenient public transport links as the Lansdowne Road station of the Dublin Area Rapid Transit rail system is adjacent to the site and passed directly underneath the West Stand.
The stadium was named after the nearby road, which in turn was named after William Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne. The Marquis was also the Earl of Shelburne, and nearby Shelbourne Road is also named after him.
The stadium had a total capacity of 49,250, with 25,000 seats. However, competitive international football matches could not use the entire capacity because the stands at both ends of the ground (North and South) were standing-only terraces. FIFA and UEFA both mandate that international matches be played in all-seated venues. A temporary capacity of 36,000 was the result for competitive soccer. The International Rugby Board does not impose this restriction on international rugby venues. For non-competitive international football matches (friendly matches), the FIFA/UEFA all-seated mandate does not apply.

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Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium (Welsh: Stadiwm y Mileniwm) is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital city, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage of Wales Rally Great Britain, Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain, boxing and many music concerts, including Tina Turner, Madonna, The Rolling Stones, U2, Stereophonics, Paul McCartney, and the Tsunami Relief concert. It was built to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup.
The Millennium Stadium is owned by Millennium Stadium plc which is a subsidiary company of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). The stadium was designed by a team led by architects Bligh Lobb Sports Architecture, who merged to become HOK Sport Venue Event, which would be renamed Populous in early 2009. WS Atkins were the structural engineers, and the building contractor was Laing. The total construction cost of the stadium was £121 million, of which the Millennium Commission funded £46 million.

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Montreal
Montreal (ⁱ/ˌmʌntriːˈɒl/;French: Montréal; pronounced [mɔ̃ʁeal] ( listen)) is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the fifteenth largest in North America. Originally called Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary", the city takes its present name from Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, or Mont Réal as it was spelled in Middle French (Mont Royal in present French). The city is located on the Island of Montreal, which took its name from the same source as the city, and a few much smaller peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard.
As of May 10, 2011, Statistics Canada identifies Montreal's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) (land area 4,259 square kilometres (1,644 sq mi)) as Canada's second most populous with an estimated metropolitan area population of 3,824,221 and a population of 1,886,481 in the urban agglomeration of Montreal, which includes all of the municipalities on the Island of Montreal. The city of Montreal proper had a population of 1,649,519.

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New Zealand
New Zealand (Māori: Aotearoa) is an island country located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses ‒ that of the North and South Islands ‒ as well as numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans.
During its long isolation, New Zealand developed a distinctive biodiversity of both animal and plant life. Most notable are the large number of unique bird species, many of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and introduced mammals. With a mild maritime climate, the land was mostly covered in forest. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions caused by the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates clashing beneath the earth's surface.

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Newport
Newport (Welsh: Casnewydd) is a city and unitary authority in south east Wales. It is located on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn estuary, about 12 miles (19 km) east of Cardiff. It is the third largest city in Wales, with a population of 141,300 (2007 estimate).
Newport has been a port since medieval times, when a castle was built by the Normans. The town outgrew the earlier Roman town of Caerleon, immediately upstream, and gained its first charter in 1314. It grew significantly in the 19th century, when its port became the focus of coal exports from the eastern valleys of South Wales. Until the rise of Cardiff from the 1850s, Newport was Wales' largest coal-exporting port. It was the site of the last large-scale armed insurrection in Britain, the Newport Rising of 1839 led by the Chartists.
During the 20th century, the docks declined in importance, but Newport remained an important manufacturing and engineering centre. It was granted city status in 2002. It is the home of the University of Wales, Newport, and the Newport Gwent Dragons rugby union regional team, and hosted the Ryder Cup in 2010.

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Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. ( /ˈnaɪkiː/; NYSE: NKE) is a major publicly traded clothing, footwear, sportswear, and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area. It is the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, with revenue in excess of US$18.6 billion in its fiscal year 2008 (ending May 31, 2008). As of 2008, it employed more than 30,000 people worldwide. Nike and Precision Castparts are the only Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state of Oregon, according to The Oregonian.
The company was founded on January 25, 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, and officially became Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1978. The company takes its name from Nike (Greek Νίκη, pronounced [nǐːkɛː]), the Greek goddess of victory. Nike markets its products under its own brand, as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike Skateboarding, and subsidiaries including Cole Haan, Hurley International, Umbro and Converse. Nike also owned Bauer Hockey (later renamed Nike Bauer) between 1995 and 2008. In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment, the company operates retail stores under the Niketown name. Nike sponsors many high profile athletes and sports teams around the world, with the highly recognized trademarks of "Just do it" and the Swoosh logo.

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North Island
The North Island (Māori: Te Ika-a-Māui) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the slightly larger but much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is 113,729 square kilometres (43,911 sq mi) in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island. It has a population of 3,366,100 (June 2011 estimate).
Twelve cities are in the North Island: Auckland, New Plymouth, Tauranga, Gisborne, Napier, Hamilton, Hastings, Palmerston North, Rotorua, Wanganui, Whangarei and Wellington, the capital, located at the southern extremity of the island. Approximately 76% of New Zealand's population lives in the North Island.
Although the island has been known as the North Island for many years, the New Zealand Geographic Board has found that, along with the South Island, it has no official name. The board intends to make North Island the island's official name, along with an alternative Māori name. Although several Māori names have been used, Maori Language Commissioner Erima Henare sees Te Ika-a-Māui as the most likely choice.

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North Shore City
North Shore City is a former territorial authority district in the Auckland region of New Zealand, which was governed by the North Shore City Council from 1989 until 2010. The city had a population of 229,000 at the June 2011 estimate, making it the fourth most populous city in New Zealand prior to November 2010. The former city was also the country's fourth largest city in land, with an area of 129.81 square kilometres and a coastline of 141 kilometres. It was also the most densely populated city in the country because, unlike other New Zealand cities, most of the city's area is urban or suburban in character.
The North Shore comprises a large suburban area to the north of downtown Auckland; linked to the rest of the greater Auckland metropolitan area by two harbour bridges - the Auckland Harbour Bridge crosses the inner Waitemata Harbour to Auckland City, while the Upper Harbour Bridge provides a connection to Auckland's western suburbs Waitakere across the northern stretches of the harbour.

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Northern Hemisphere
Coordinates: 45°0′0″N 0°0′0″E / 45°N 0°E / 45; 0
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator. Earth's northern hemisphere contains most of the planet's land, and roughly 90% of its human population. See also Arctic, Temperate zone, Tropics, Seasons and Climate
Due to the Earth's axial tilt, winter lasts from the winter solstice (typically December 22) to the vernal equinox (typically March 20), while summer lasts from the summer solstice (typically June 21) through to the autumnal equinox (typically September 21).
The Arctic is the region north of the Arctic Circle. Its climate is characterized by cold winters and cool summers. Precipitation mostly comes in the form of snow. The Arctic experiences some days in summer when the Sun never sets, and some days during the winter when it never rises. The duration of these phases varies from one day for locations right on the Arctic Circle to several months near the North Pole.

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Thomond Park
Thomond Park is a stadium located in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and count Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. The capacity of the stadium is 26,500 following its large scale redevelopment in 2008.
The stadium holds a special place in rugby due to its own unique history and atmosphere. The stadium is famed for its noise during play and the complete silence while home and away players are kicking for goal. Munster also retained an intimidating 12 year unbeaten run at Thomond in the Heineken Cup – running from the competition's start in 1995 until 2007 when the Leicester Tigers broke the streak with a 13–6 win. It is at Thomond park that Munster celebrated their 12–0 victory over the All Blacks in 1978.
Thomond Park originally consisted of two pitches, the main pitch and a training pitch. The main pitch was bounded on all sides by terracing with a stand located above the west terrace. The training pitch was located behind the west stand with the Shannon R.F.C. pavilion located in the southwest corner of the ground. The UL Bohemian R.F.C. pavilion was located within the west stand.

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Wellington
Wellington ( /ˈwɛlɪŋtən/) is the capital city and second most populous urban area of New Zealand. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. It is home to 393,400 residents.
The Wellington urban area is the major population centre of the southern North Island, and is the seat of the Wellington Region – which in addition to the urban area covers the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa. The urban area includes four cities: Wellington, on the peninsula between Cook Strait and Wellington Harbour, contains the central business district and about half of Wellington's population; Porirua on Porirua Harbour to the north is notable for its large Māori and Pacific Island communities; Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt are largely suburban areas to the northeast, together known as the Hutt Valley. Wellington also holds the distinction of being the world's southernmost capital city.
In 2008, Wellington was classified as a Gamma World City in the World Cities Study Group’s inventory by Loughborough University. The 2010 Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranked Wellington 12th in the world. In 2011 Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2011 named Wellington as fourth in its Top 10 Cities to Visit in 2011, referring to the New Zealand capital as the "coolest little capital in the world".

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Aaron Cruden
Aaron Cruden (born 8 January 1989) is a Rugby World Cup-winning New Zealand rugby union player, who plays for Manawatu Turbos in the ITM Cup, Chiefs in Super Rugby, and the All Blacks. He made his debut for the All Blacks in 2010. Cruden's usual position is fly-half.
Cruden was born in Palmerston North and attended Palmerston North Boys' High School. He captained the 2006 Palmerston North Boys' High School 1st XV which included the likes of Kurt Baker and Andre Taylor.
He was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 19, which necessitated the removal of one of his testicles. The cancer has since gone into remission.
In 2008 Cruden attended the High Performance Player's Course at the International Rugby Academy NZ (IRANZ). Cruden's Positional Coach was former All Black Grant Fox and Course Facilitator former All Black Jeff Wilson.
Cruden made his provincial debut for Manawatu Turbos in 2008 and captained New Zealand to the 2009 IRB Junior World Championship title in 2009 in Japan, as well as being named IRB Junior Player of the Year 2009.

wn.com/Aaron_Cruden
Alex Wyllie
Alex "Grizz" Wyllie (born 30 August 1944 in Christchurch) is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer and coach.
Wyllie began his first-class career with Canterbury in 1964 and played 210 matches for the province until 1979, serving as captain on over one hundred occasions. During this time, he was an integral part of such exploits for the province as the lifting of the Ranfurly Shield in 1969 from Hawke's Bay and then in 1972 from Auckland as well as captaining the province to wins over international touring sides such as England in 1973, Scotland in 1975 and Ireland in 1976.
Wyllie finally became an All Black in 1970 when he was selected to tour South Africa where he played in the second and third Tests. In the next three years, he played forty matches for the All Blacks, including eleven Tests, and was captain on three occasions. Although he was discarded as an All Black after 1973, Wyllie remained a prominent player for Canterbury until 1979.
In 1982, Wyllie became coach of Canterbury and immediately enjoyed success when Canterbury won the Ranfurly Shield from Wellington and went on to hold this trophy for a record-equalling three years. Under his coaching, Canterbury won the National Provincial Championship (NPC) in 1983, and also recorded victories against international teams such as the British Lions in 1983 and the Wallabies in 1986.

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Alexander Obolensky
Prince Alexander Sergeevich Obolensky (Russian: Александр Сергеевич Оболенский; 17 February 1916 — 29 March 1940) was a Russian Rurikid prince and an international rugby union footballer who played for England. He was popularly known simply as "The Prince" by many sports fans.
A member of the Rurik Dynasty, he was born in Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg) on 17 February 1916 and was the son of Prince Serge Obolensky, an officer in the Czar's Imperial Horse Guards, and his wife Princess Lubov' (née Naryshkina). Their name derived from the Russian town of Obolensk. They fled Russia after the Russian Revolution of 1917, settling in Muswell Hill, London.
Obolensky was educated at The Ashe boys' preparatory school, Etwall, and Trent College, Long Eaton, both in Derbyshire, before going to Brasenose College, Oxford in Michaelmas 1934, where he held a College Exhibition and studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics. He gained a Fourth Class degree in 1938. At Oxford he earned two rugby blues representing Oxford University RFC as a wing/three-quarter. Having previously played for Chesterfield RUFC whilst still at school, he played for Leicester Football Club between 1934 and 1939, as well as Rosslyn Park F.C.. His selection for England caused a stir because he was not a British citizen, but he gained British Citizenship in 1936.

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Ali Williams
Alexander James "Ali" Williams (born 30 April 1981 in Auckland) is a New Zealand rugby union player at the position of lock. He represented Auckland and plays for the Blues in the Super 14, when he signed for the Tasman provincial side. In 2008, he played for the Crusaders in the Super 14 and in 2010 signed on loan for Nottingham Rugby in the Championship. He has played for the All Blacks since 2002 and was in the All Blacks squad for the 2003, 2007 and 2011 World Cups. In 2005, NZ Rugby Almanack chose him as one of its five players of the year.
An advert he commentated for a product his company sells, "Water for Everyone", was found by the Chairman of the Advertising Standards Authority New Zealand to have potentially broken some Codes of Advertising including the codes of advertising to children. The advert was discontinued so did not go before the full ASA board, thus the case was considered settled.
Williams did not begin playing rugby until 1998 when, aged 17, he played for the King's College Second XV. He had already represented Auckland at junior level in soccer, tennis and cricket. In 1999, he was a member of the King's College First XV and at this stage he decided to concentrate on rugby. He began a business studies course at Auckland University of Technology, but after playing club rugby and spending time at the Auckland Rugby Academy, he was selected to make his provincial debut for Auckland in an National Provincial Championship (NPC) match against Taranaki on 24 August 2001. The following year he was named in the Blues squad for the Super 12 and made his debut against the Hurricanes in the opening game of the tournament, on 22 February 2002. Later that year, he was selected for the All Blacks' year-end tour to England, France and Wales; he played in all three Test matches, making his international debut against England at Twickenham on 9 November 2002.

wn.com/Ali_Williams
Andrew Ellis
Andrew "Andy" Ellis (born 21 February 1984 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a New Zealand rugby union player who specialises in the position of scrum-half. He currently plays for the Crusaders in the Super Rugby league and Canterbury in provincial rugby.
In 2005 Ellis played in the New Zealand under-21 side. His Super 14 rookie year saw him oust All Black Kevin Senio from the Crusaders starting line-up. Ellis missed the 2006 Super 14 Final after sustaining a knee injury in the semi-final against the Bulls.
Although injury meant Ellis was unavailable for the 2006 All Blacks tests against Ireland and Argentina, he was later named to make his All Black debut against England at Twickenham. For the 2007 Rugby World Cup Ellis was selected ahead of Wellington halfback Piri Weepu.^{[citation needed]}
Ellis attended Burnside High School.
He is the eldest of three children to Sue and Greg Ellis. He has 2 siblings, Amanda and Simon.
Ellis married his wife, Emma Bainbridge in 2007, after a seven year relationship. In December 2009 they had a daughter, Scarlett.

wn.com/Andrew_Ellis
Andrew Hore
For the rugby union coach from New Zealand see Andrew Hore (rugby coach)
Andrew Hore (born 13 September 1978 in Dunedin, New Zealand) is a rugby union player who plays for Taranaki in the ITM Cup. He has played for the All Blacks since 2002, in which time he has played 48 tests. His position is hooker. In June 2011 he was let go from the Hurricanes Super Rugby team after spending ten seasons with the capital side. He will join the Highlanders for the 2012 season.
Hore debuted for Otago in 1998, and in 2001 shifted to Taranaki, with whom he has remained til present.
Hore made his Super Rugby debut for the Crusaders in 2001. In 2002 he shifted to the Hurricanes, with whom he made 92 appearances. In 2011 he was controversially released by coach Mark Hammett and in 2012 will join the Highlanders.
Most recently he was selected for the All Blacks 2011 Rugby World Cup squad. In the final pool match of the tornament, he was selected to captain the side against Canada when both Richie McCaw and Dan Carter were injured and unable to play.

wn.com/Andrew_Hore
Andrew Mehrtens
Andrew Philip Mehrtens MNZM (born 28 April 1973 in Durban, South Africa) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer, currently playing in France for Béziers, a club in the third-level Fédérale 1 league. He has been one of the top first five-eighths in the world since the advent of the sport's professional era in the mid-1990s, having retired from international play as the all-time leading point scorer for the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks (a record since surpassed by Dan Carter). He played first for Canterbury in 1993, before being selected for the All Blacks (New Zealand's national team) in 1995 when he played in the 1995 World Cup. With the advent of professionalism he joined the Canterbury Crusaders in 1996 for the new Super 12 competition. He continued to play for Canterbury, the Crusaders, and the All Blacks until moving to England in 2005.
Since his move to England, and later to France, he helped his first three clubs to promotion into their country's top flight. He first joined Harlequins in England, where in his first season he played a major factor in leading the freshly relegated club to an immediate return to the top-level Guinness Premiership. After seeing Harlequins successfully through their first season back in the Premiership, he went to the ambitious Pro D2 club Toulon for the 2007–08 season. After Toulon won the title to secure an immediate return to the Top 14, he remained in Pro D2, moving to another ambitious side, Racing Métro. For the second straight season, his team won the Pro D2 crown and a spot in the Top 14. After two seasons with the Paris club, his contract was not renewed for the 2010–11 season, but he remained in France, signing with Béziers.

wn.com/Andrew_Mehrtens
Andy Haden
Andrew Maxwell Haden (born 26 September 1950) is a former New Zealand rugby union player, who was a lock-forward for Auckland and New Zealand in the 1970s and 1980s.
Born in Wanganui, New Zealand, he made his All Black debut in 1972, and his Test debut against the British Lions in 1977 – going on to make 41 appearances and scoring 2 tries. He played club rugby for Auckland, Harlequins in London and Algida in Italy.
Haden was a controversial player, who was accused of cheating and unsporting conduct by opposing players. The most infamous occurrence of this happened in a match against Wales at Cardiff Arms Park in 1978. The score was 12–10 in Wales's favour, when Haden and another New Zealand player, Frank Oliver, suddenly fell to the ground as if pushed. The referee awarded a penalty in the dying moments of the match, which Brian McKechnie kicked, winning the game for New Zealand. Later, Welsh legend JPR Williams wrote that Haden should have been sent off. Despite the controversy however, the referee subsequently stated that the penalty had actually been awarded for an actual infringement against Oliver and not the Haden 'dive' as was thought. Haden doesn't however deny that the attempts to cheat the referee were pre planned, something also confirmed by his captain Graham Mourie. The match happened on the same day as the annual 'Miss World' competition, which prompted Welsh cartoonist Grens to create a picture of the 'Miss World' event, but with Miss New Zealand lying on the floor, pretending to have been pushed. Haden made his last Test appearance in 1985 against Argentina.

wn.com/Andy_Haden
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948), best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American baseball player who spent 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) playing for three teams (1914–1935). Known for his hitting brilliance, Ruth set career records for home runs (714), slugging percentage (.690), runs batted in (RBI) (2,217), and on-base plus slugging (OPS) (1.164). Ruth originally entered the major leagues with the Boston Red Sox as a starting pitcher, but after he was sold to the New York Yankees in 1919, he converted to a full time right fielder. He subsequently became one of the league's most prolific hitters and with his home run hitting prowess, he helped the Yankees win seven pennants and four World Series titles. Ruth retired in 1935 after a short stint with the Boston Braves, and the following year, he became one of the first five players to be elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ruth was the first player to hit 60 home runs in one season (1927), a mark first eclipsed by Roger Maris in 1961 with 61. Ruth's lifetime record of 714 home runs stood until 1974 when it was surpassed by Hank Aaron. Unlike many power hitters, Ruth also hit for a high batting average: his .342 lifetime average is the tenth highest in baseball history, and in one season (1923) he batted .393, a Yankee record. Ruth dominated the era in which he played. He led the league in home runs during a season twelve times, slugging percentage and OPS thirteen times each, runs scored eight times, and RBIs six times. Each of those totals represents a modern record.

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Ben Franks
Ben Franks (born 27 March 1984 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) is a rugby union player for the Crusaders in the Super Rugby competition and All Blacks. He plays as a prop.
Franks made his provincial debut for Canterbury against Otago in 2005. He has since played for both Canterbury and the Tasman Makos in the Air New Zealand Cup, securing 42 caps (16 for Canterbury, 26 for Tasman).
He plays for the Crusaders in the elite Super Rugby competition, making his debut against the Chiefs in 2006. He currently has 35 appearances (at the end of the 2009 season).
Ben is the older brother of Owen also an All Black prop, and both represent the Linwood Rugby club in Christchurch. Both brothers were selected for the 2010 All Blacks squad to face Ireland and Wales in the home series thus being the first brothers to represent New Zealand since Robin and Zinzan Brooke.
On 26 October 2008, Franks was selected for the All Blacks end of year tour squad to travel to Hong Kong, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. He became Aranui High School's first ever All Black when he played against Munster at Thomond Park.

wn.com/Ben_Franks
Billy Wallace
William Joseph Wallace (born 2 August 1878 in Wellington, New Zealand died 2 March 1972 Wellington, New Zealand), usually known as Billy Wallace, was a New Zealand rugby union footballer and foundryman. He was a member of the legendary 1905 Original All Blacks. Wallace won his first Test cap for New Zealand on 15 August 1903 against Australia. In total he played 11 Tests over a period of 1903 to 1908.

wn.com/Billy_Wallace
Bob Stuart
Robert Charles "Bob" Stuart (28 October 1920, Dunedin – 11 May 2005) was one of the most well known and admired sportsman in New Zealand. He was given a lifetime service award by the International Rugby Board immediately after the World Cup in 2003.
Bob Stuart was educated at St. Kevin's College, Oamaru and at Massey University in Manawatu, New Zealand, where he honed his rugby skills and became an agricultural economist.
As a Fleet Air Arm lieutenant, he spent much of WWII on patrol on corvettes in the Atlantic as commander of naval vessels in and around the United Kingdom.
In 1953 he was All Black captain for the tour of the British Isles. In 1956 he was manager of the All Blacks in the South African tour. During the 1970s, he was a member of the New Zealand Rugby Union board.

wn.com/Bob_Stuart
Brian Lochore
Sir Brian James Lochore, ONZ, KNZM, OBE (born 3 September 1940 in Masterton, New Zealand) is a former rugby union footballer 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 (18 of those tests). In 1999, Lochore was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame.
Lochore played senior rugby for the Masterton club and representative rugby for Wairarapa-Bush, debuting for both in 1959. After playing six tests, including all four tests of the 1965 South African tour of New Zealand, he was selected as captain by coach Fred Allen for the Lions tour in 1966. He continued as captain until his retirement from playing in 1970 (although at the selectors request he returned to play one game in 1971 for an injury-hit All Black side).
His involvement in the game did not end with his playing days. He coached the Masterton club before moving on to coach Wairarapa-Bush in 1980. Lochore became an All Black selector in 1983 before taking the side to victory in the inaugural World Cup during his coaching tenure from 1985 to 1987. Lochore continues to be involved in All Black rugby, firstly managing the team in the 1995 World Cup and now again as one of the All Black selectors.

wn.com/Brian_Lochore
Charles John Monro
Charles John Monro (sometimes, erroneously, Munro) is credited with bringing Rugby union to New Zealand. Charles was the 4th son of New Zealand politician Sir David Monro and his wife Dinah.
Monro became familiar with the sport at Christ's College Finchley near London, which he attended 1867-69, playing in its 2nd XV.
He introduced the game under the 1868 rules of Rugby and with the new Gilbert oval ball to the Nelson Football club in 1870. The first game was played between Nelson College "The Gown" and Monro's Club "The Town" at the Botanics ground at 2pm on 14 May 1870.
Four months later Monro's commitment to establishing Rugby in New Zealand was such that he organised, selected, coached the Wellington team, played for Nelson and also refereed the first game on the North Island at Petone on 12 September 1870.

wn.com/Charles_John_Monro
Christian Cullen
Christian Mathias Cullen (born 12 February 1976 in Paraparaumu, New Zealand) is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer. He played most of his rugby at fullback for New Zealand (the All Blacks), for the Hurricanes in the Super 12, and for Manawatu, Wellington and later Munster at provincial level. He was nicknamed the Paekakariki Express. With 46 tries in 58 tests, Cullen is currently the 6th-highest international try scorer in rugby union history. He is generally regarded as one of the best full backs of all time, and one of the greatest All Blacks of his generation.
Christian Cullen is the youngest of 3 children with an elder twin brother (Shane) and sister (Anita) and was born and grew up in Paekakariki, a small town north of Wellington. He emerged as a young talent throughout his high school earning him a representative position for the New Zealand secondary schools team in 1993 and 1994.
He continued to dazzle his opponents throughout 1995, representing Manawatu and becoming their second top point scorer with 70 points from 12 tries, 2 conversions and 2 penalty goals. This form earned him a position in the New Zealand sevens team in tournaments in Fiji and Hong Kong.

wn.com/Christian_Cullen
Colin Meads
Sir Colin Earl Meads, KNZM, MBE (born 3 June 1936), is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer. He played 55 test matches (133 total games), most frequently in the lock forward position, for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks, from 1957 until 1971.
Meads is widely considered one of the greatest players in history. Nicknamed 'Pinetree', he is an icon within New Zealand rugby, and was named the country's Player of the Century at the NZRFU Awards in 1999.
Colin Earl Meads was born to Vere Meads and Ida Meads (née Gray) on 3 June 1936, in the village of Cambridge in the Waikato region. His father Vere was a descendant of early settlers Joseph Meads and Ann Meads (née Coates), who emigrated to New Zealand from England in 1842. Vere’s grandfather Zachariah Meads was among the first British children to be born in Te Aro, Wellington, in 1843, and his grandmother Elizabeth Meads (née Lazare) was the daughter of an Irish minister who had educated freed slaves on the island of Mauritius before emigrating to Wanganui.

wn.com/Colin_Meads
Conrad Smith
Conrad Gerard Smith (born 12 October 1981 in Hawera, New Zealand) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He is a midfield back and plays outside centre (13). He had been in many Taranaki age group teams. He moved to Wellington where he completed an LLB(Hons) at Victoria University of Wellington. Smith has also been admitted as a barrister and solicitor in the High Court of New Zealand
He plays for the Hurricanes in Super Rugby and for Wellington in the Air New Zealand Cup. He was named captain of the Hurricanes for the 2007 Super 14 campaign as regular captain Rodney So'oialo was rested ahead of the Rugby World Cup.
Smith attended Francis Douglas Memorial College and was a resident of Weir House whilst at Victoria University. He made his All Black debut age 22, versus Italy in 2004. In the 50 tests he has played he has scored a total of 105 test points (21 tries). He is affiliated with Old Boys University in the Wellington club rugby competition.
Smith's elusive running, die-hard tackling, deceptive turn of pace, as well as his guile and accuracy in his distribution, make him very handy at centre to provide a link between the inside backs and the back three (11, 14, 15).

wn.com/Conrad_Smith
Cory Jane
Cory Steven Jane (born 8 February 1983) is a New Zealand international rugby union player.
He first played for the All Blacks in 2008 and plays as a winger. In 2011 Jane was selected into the Tri Nations team as injury cover. A few weeks later he made the Rugby World cup squad of 30 after tight competition in the back 3.
Born in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, Jane plays for Wellington in the Air New Zealand Cup and for the Wellington Hurricanes in the Super Rugby (formerly Super 12/14) competition. He has previously played for Hawke's Bay and was in the New Zealand team that won the Rugby Sevens gold medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. He represented the New Zealand Maori rugby union team in 2006.
Jane was 3rd-equal on the 2006 Air New Zealand Cup leading try scorer list with 6 tries, behind Richard Kahui (8 tries) and Sitiveni Sivivatu (7 tries), both from Waikato.
He won the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup with the All Blacks.

wn.com/Cory_Jane
Dave Gallaher
David "Dave" Gallaher (30 October 1873 – 4 October 1917) was a New Zealand rugby union footballer, best known as the captain of "The Originals", the first New Zealand national rugby union team to be known as the All Blacks.
Born in Ramelton, County Donegal, Ireland, Gallaher's family emigrated to New Zealand in 1878. Originally settling in Katikati in the Bay of Plenty, they moved to Auckland in the 1890s and it was there that Gallaher played his provincial rugby.
Gallaher played 26 representative matches for Auckland, including the first ever Ranfurly Shield defence, and 36 for the All Blacks, including 6 tests. Gallaher's All Black career spanned from 1903 to 1906, the highlight being the captaincy of the "Originals" tour in which he played 26 matches including 4 tests. Gallaher proved to be an outstanding leader and one of the deepest thinkers of the game in his era.
Gallaher fought in the Boer War serving as a corporal in the 6th and 10th New Zealand Contingents of Mounted Rifles. Although exempt from conscription due to his age, Gallaher also volunteered to fight in World War I, and apparently altered his date of birth to 31 October 1876 (see link to NZEF form below). He saw action at Ypres, and was killed during the Passchendaele offensive on 4 October 1917. He is buried at Nine Elms Cemetery, Poperinge, where his gravestone bears the silver fern. Two of Gallagher's brothers were also killed in France.

wn.com/Dave_Gallaher
Don Clarke
Donald Barry Clarke (10 November 1933 – 29 December 2002) was a New Zealand rugby union player who played 89 times (31 of these were test matches) as a New Zealand international from 1956 until 1964. He was best known for his phenomenal goal kicking ability that earned him the nickname "The Boot".
Clarke was first selected to play rugby for the Waikato rugby team at the age of 17 in 1951. In 1956 he helped the Waikato side to a 14–10 victory over the touring South African Springbok side. This helped his cause in being selected to play in the third All Black test match of the Springbok tour. Over his entire All Black career Clarke scored 781 points, a record that stood for 24 years until it was broken by Grant Fox in 1988.
Clarke had four brothers, Ian, Douglas, Brian and Graeme all of whom also represented Waikato. Only once did they all appear for Waikato in the same match, at Te Aroha in 1961.
A highlight of his career was to play for the Eastwood Rugby Club (Sydney, Australia) in an exhibition match. "One of the best days of my life..." Clarke commented at the after match function.

wn.com/Don_Clarke
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 is often cited as statistically the greatest achievement by any sportsman in any major sport.
The story that the young Bradman practised alone with a cricket stump and a golf ball is part of Australian folklore. Bradman's meteoric rise from bush cricket to the Australian Test team took just over two years. Before his 22nd birthday, he had set many records for high scoring, some of which still stand, and became Australia's sporting idol at the height of the Great Depression.
During a 20-year playing career, Bradman consistently scored at a level that made him, in the words of former Australia captain Bill Woodfull, "worth three batsmen to Australia". A controversial set of tactics, known as Bodyline, was specifically devised by the England team to curb his scoring. As a captain and administrator, Bradman was committed to attacking, entertaining cricket; he drew spectators in record numbers. He hated the constant adulation, however, and it affected how he dealt with others. The focus of attention on his individual performances strained relationships with some team-mates, administrators and journalists, who thought him aloof and wary. Following an enforced hiatus due to the Second World War, he made a dramatic comeback, captaining an Australian team known as "The Invincibles" on a record-breaking unbeaten tour of England.

wn.com/Donald_Bradman
Doug Howlett
Douglas Charles Howlett (born 21 September 1978) is a professional New Zealand rugby union player of Tongan descent. He is primarily a wing but he has also covered fullback at national and international levels. He currently plays in Ireland with Munster. He is the brother of former Tongan rugby league international Phil. With an outstanding 49 tries in 62 tests, Howlett is currently the 5th-highest try scorer in Rugby Union history and 1st on the all time highest try scorers for the All Blacks.
Born 21 September 1978 in Auckland, Howlett attended May Road School, and Mt Roskill Intermediate School. He started playing rugby at Auckland Grammar School, where he was also a star sprinter, captain of athletics and, during his final year in 1996, Head Prefect. He calls upon his speed as a sprinter (he once clocked a personal best 10.68 seconds for the 100 metres in an under 20 athletics championship in 1998) to great effect in his rugby career. He is of Tongan and German descent.
Howlett made his first-class debut at the age of 18 for Auckland in the NPC. He has played with 3 Super Rugby teams, the Highlanders, the Hurricanes and the Blues. It was at hometown club the Blues he set established himself as one of the finest back players in the world.

wn.com/Doug_Howlett
Frank Bunce
Frank Eneri Bunce (born 4 February 1962) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player and current coach. He played international rugby for both Western Samoa and New Zealand in the 1990s, appearing in the 1991 and 1995 World Cups. He played in four international matches for Samoa and 55 for New Zealand (the All Blacks).
Bunce was born in Auckland, New Zealand and attended Mangere College. He has two daughters, Samantha and Victoria, and three sons, Chance, Jordan and Joshua. He is the great nephew of Sir Robert Rex, the premier of Niue, and a direct descendent of King George III.
He wrote an autobiography, Frank Confessions, published in 1998, and contributed to the book Rugby Skills, Tactics and Rules with Tony Williams, published in 2008.
Bunce began his representative career at the Manukau club, and progressed to Auckland B in 1984 and then Auckland in 1986, the same year he was selected for the North Island team. He remained with Auckland until 1990, not usually a first choice player, although he did play in the trial for the All Blacks in 1988. In 1991 he moved to North Harbour.

wn.com/Frank_Bunce
Geoff Wheel
Geoff Wheel (born 30 June 1951, Swansea) is a former Wales international rugby union player who attained 32 international caps. A lock-forward, he played club rugby for Swansea RFC.
Wheel made his international debut on 2 February 1974 versus Ireland and between 1974 and 1982 he formed a formidable second-row partnership for Wales with Allan Martin during the second 'golden-age' of the Wales international team.
A large uncompromising figure, Wheel had a noticeable twitch which only served to make him more intimidating. In 1977 Wheel, along with Willie Duggan of Ireland, became the first players to be sent off in a Five Nations international match.
Wheel is the organist for All Saint's Church, Kilvey in Swansea. In 2011 he agreed to become the president of a Welsh male voice choir, the Swansea-based Gwalia Singers

wn.com/Geoff_Wheel
George Bridgewater
George Bridgewater, MNZM, (born 18 January 1983 in Wellington) is a New Zealand rower who currently competes in the pair at international level with Nathan Twaddle. The pair won bronze medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. They have been together representing New Zealand since 2004, and that year they finished fourth in the final at the Athens Olympics.
The pair won a gold medal at the World Rowing Championships in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, in 2005, in the Magic 45 minutes where four New Zealand crews won gold medals. The pair finished second in the 2006 and 2007 World Rowing Championships.
Bridgewater rows for the Canaviron club based in Cambridge, and has won several titles at New Zealand Rowing Championships since 2002.
In 2008, straight after the Beijing Olympics, Bridgewater matriculated at Oriel College, Oxford, where he won the 155th University Boat Race on March 29, 2009 rowing at seven. Whilst at Oxford, Bridgewater stroked the Oriel College 1st Eight in Summer Eights, bumping Balliol College to finish 3rd on the river.

wn.com/George_Bridgewater
George Nepia
George Nepia (25 April 1905 – 27 June 1986) was a Māori rugby union and rugby league player. He is remembered as an exceptional full-back and one of the most famous Māori rugby players. He was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. In 2004 he was selected as number 65 by the panel of the New Zealand's Top 100 History Makers television show. Nepia was featured in a set of postage stamps from the New Zealand post office in 1990. Historian Philippa Mein Smith described him as "New Zealand rugby's first superstar".
Nepia was born in Wairoa in Hawkes Bay. While his birth certificate stated that Nepia was born 1905 he later claimed he had been born in 1908. After finishing primary school in Nuhaka, Nepia was to attend Te Aute College but went to the nearby Māori Agricultural College instead. In 1926 Nepia married Huinga Kohere. They had four children, three sons and a daughter. Nepia and his family settled on a dairy farm on the East Coast.
Nepia was selected for the Hawkes Bay provincial rugby team in 1922. At that time Hawkes Bay had one of the strongest teams in New Zealand and held the Ranfurly Shield. Nepia initially played on the wing but was later shifted to second-five eighth.

wn.com/George_Nepia
Graham Mourie
Graham Neil Kenneth Mourie (born 8 September 1952 in Opunake, Taranaki, New Zealand) 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 Argentina at the same time that the All Blacks were touring South Africa. 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.
He played a total of 61 matches (57 as captain) for the All Blacks until 1982. He captained the All Blacks on their historic Grand Slam tour of Britain and Ireland in 1978. In 1981, Mourie made himself unavailable for selection during the controversial tour of New Zealand by the Springboks. He returned as captain later that year for the tour of Romania and France.
Born in Taranaki, he captained his province. He attended Opunake High School and was in the 1st XV before he attended New Plymouth Boys' High School which he also got into the 1st XV but never captained it. He currently lives in New Zealand with his partner and four children.

wn.com/Graham_Mourie
Grant Fox
Grant James Fox (born 6 June 1962) is a former rugby union player from New Zealand. He was born in New Plymouth. He attended Auckland Grammar school.
During his time with the All Blacks from 1985 to 1993, he wore the number 10 jersey (first five-eighth or fly-half), and was the main goalkicker for the All Blacks. He amassed 645 points from 46 All Black Test Matches (1 try, 118 conversions, 128 penalties, 7 drop goals). He is considered a true pioneer of the modern art of goal kicking, in particular the technicalities of leaning the ball forward, which has been adopted by world class kickers since; many believe he is one of the greatest first five eights in All Black history. Even though he was not a great runner with the ball in hand. Despite his relatively short height, he made-up for this with fantastic distribution skills reinforced by his long-term colleague John Kirwan's then-world-record career statistics playing outside him for Auckland and the All Blacks. His inability to score tries was often a joking point in the team – his cause not helped by an overruled attempt against Ireland in 1989 (due to a prior technical infringement by a teammate).
The highlight of Fox's career was winning the inaugural Rugby World Cup with New Zealand in 1987; a victory based in part on his accurate kicking.

wn.com/Grant_Fox
Hosea Gear
Hosea Gear (born 16 March 1984) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays for the Highlanders in Super Rugby as a wing. He has played eight international matches for New Zealand and scored five tries. His two most recent tries came against Wales in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium helping the All Blacks to their fourth ever Grand Slam tour of the Northern Hemisphere in 2010.
The younger brother of New Zealand wing Rico Gear, he was born in Gisborne, New Zealand. He attended Gisborne Boys' High School and he plays for the Hutt Old Boys-Marist rugby club. He is of the Ngati Porou Iwi.
He has played 25 Super 12/14 matches and has scored 7 tries. He also used to play for Massey Rugby Club in 2004. He currently holds the record for most tries in a provincial season with 14 in the 2008 Air New Zealand Cup. He has played for the New Zealand Maori. After his outstanding performance for Wellington in the 2008 Air New Zealand Cup, he was chosen for the All Blacks to tour Hong Kong and Europe on 26 October 2008 and made his debut against Australia in the Bledisloe Cup on 1 November. In 2010 Gear made his Rugby Sevens debut in the 2010 Commonwealth Games for New Zealand and was chosen for the All Blacks end of year tour. After an injury to Cory Jane, Gear was given a starting spot against England, a game in which he scored the first try. The following week vs Scotland Gear once again scored the first try and then went on later to score another in the All Blacks 49–3 win. Again Gear scored the first Try in the All Blacks vs Wales game, also going on to score another to top off a great international year.

wn.com/Hosea_Gear
Ian Kirkpatrick
Ian Andrew Kirkpatrick (born 24 May 1946 in Gisborne) is a former New Zealand rugby union player, who was captain of the All Blacks.
Kirkpatrick began his first-class career in 1966 at the age of 20 playing for Poverty Bay. One year later in he moved to Canterbury and established himself in the local provincial team. Later that year, he made his international debut for the All Blacks against France in Paris.
In the next ten years, Kirkpatrick would appear for the All Blacks in 39 International Tests (9 as captain) scoring 16 tries which would remain a national record until Stu Wilson surpassed this total in 1983.
In his extensive provincial career, he scored 115 tries in his 289 first class games, becoming one of the few forwards to reach the century. He was also the only man to have captained both islands: the South in 1969 in his last season with Canterbury and then the North (in 1972-73) when he had returned home to Poverty Bay. He also appeared in 33 Ranfurly Shield matches for Canterbury.

wn.com/Ian_Kirkpatrick
Israel Dagg
Israel Dagg (born 6 June 1988) is a World Cup winning New Zealand Rugby union player who plays for the Crusaders in the Super 15 and the All Blacks. He has also played for the New Zealand Sevens team.
Israel Dagg was born in Marton, New Zealand and attended Lindisfarne College in Hastings, Hawke's Bay.
Israel Dagg attended the Advanced Course at the International Rugby Academy (IRANZ) in April 2006. His Course Facilitator was present Chiefs Coach Dave Rennie and Positional Coach former All Black Jeff Wilson. He became the first secondary school player to be selected for Hawke’s Bay since Danny Lee the same year. The 2006 New Zealand Rugby Almanack named him one of its five promising players for 2006. Dagg has represented Hawke's Bay at Under 16 and Under 19 level.
Dagg made his All Blacks debut against Ireland in New Plymouth on 12 June 2010. He was again capped against Wales the following week but was injured at half time.^{[citation needed]}
Coach Graham Henry decided to rest him for the second test against Wales, giving veteran Mils Muliaina an opportunity. Muliaina was awarded the 15 jersey for the opening Tri Nations test against South Africa. A strong performance by the veteran, in the 32–12 result for the All Blacks, led to his being selected again for the rematch against the Springboks. Dagg was awarded a bench spot from which he emerged to score his first international try for the All Blacks. Dagg swerved between Schalk Burger and Pierre Spies before dancing his way to the try line. This try gave New Zealand the try bonus-point in the Investic Tri Nations as the All Blacks won 31–17.^{[citation needed]}

wn.com/Israel_Dagg
Joel Stransky
Joel Theodore Stransky (born 16 July 1967) is a former South African rugby union rugby player, most notable for scoring all of South Africa's points, including the famous dramatic winning drop goal, against New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. He played as a fly-half.
Stransky was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. He is of English and Czech descent and Jewish on his father's side. He was educated at Maritzburg College where he was coached under Skonk Nicholson, a well-known figure in schoolboy rugby. After his military conscription in Pretoria, he returned to Natal to study at the University of Natal.
In 1990 he was part of the Natal team that beat Northern Transvaal to win the Currie Cup for the first time, before he moved to Italy where he played for L'Aquila during the season 1991-92 and for San Donà in the 1992-93. Between 1993 and 1996, he gained 22 caps for his country.
In 1995 he was part of the first South African rugby union team to play in a Rugby World Cup. South Africa had been banned from the previous World Cups because of the Apartheid regime. He played an integral part in the South African team and scored all the points for his team in the World Cup final against New Zealand, including a drop goal in the second period of extra time. This was the first Rugby World Cup final that went into extra time.

wn.com/Joel_Stransky
John Breen
John Breen is a playwrighter from Limerick, Ireland. He is famous for his play Alone it Stands which tells the tale of Munster Rugby Team's legendary victory over New Zealand's mighty All Blacks in Thomond Park, Limerick in 1978. In the play six actors play 62 roles including the Munster team, the Kiwis, the two coaches, the ref, the crowd, the press, a pregnant woman, several children and a dog.
His other well-known play is Charlie, a work on Charles Haughey, the former Irish Taoiseach, who visits a small farmer in County Mayo on his way from launching what was to become the Céide Fields project. As the two men talk, Haughey's remarkable rise and fall is acting out in flashback around them. He also established Yew Tree Theatre Company in Ballina, Co Mayo.
-Links- http://www.northmayo.ie/art-culture.html

wn.com/John_Breen
John Dawes
Sydney John Dawes OBE (born 29 June 1940 in Chapel of Ease, part of Abercarn near Newbridge, South Wales) is a former Welsh rugby union player, playing at centre, and later coach. He captained London Welsh, Wales, the Barbarians and the British Lions. He was made an OBE in the 1972 New Years Honours List for services to sport.
Dawes was educated at Lewis School Pengam, and later University College of Wales, Aberystwyth and Loughborough College. He gained a degree in chemistry and later achieved a PGCE^{[disambiguation needed ]} at Loughborough College, where he met his future wife, Janette Morris.
Dawes played club rugby for Newbridge in Monmouthshire, then joined London Welsh. Winning his first cap for Wales against Ireland in 1964. He was selected for Wales' first overseas tour later the same year and played in the Welsh rugby team's first match outside of Europe and its first in the Southern Hemisphere; played against East Africa in Nairobi on 12 May 1964, Wales winning 8-26. He went on to make twenty two appearances for Wales, captaining the side in six of them, including leading the Grand Slam winning side of 1971.

wn.com/John_Dawes
John Eales
John Eales AM (born 27 June 1970) is an Australian former rugby union player and the most successful captain in the history of Australian rugby.
He attended Marist College, Ashgrove. In his youth, Eales was also a very talented cricket all-rounder, and played first grade cricket for Queensland University in the Brisbane QCA cricket competition. Eales completed a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in psychology from the University of Queensland in 1991 prior to taking to the international rugby stage.
Eales played lock for Queensland Reds and Australia. He was given the nickname "Nobody" because "nobody's perfect".^{[citation needed]}
Eales' 55-cap reign as captain marked an era of Australian success in world rugby. Eales played a major part in Australia’s victories at the Rugby World Cup twice in his illustrious career, first in 1991, and later skippering his country to victory in 1999.
John Eales scored 173 points for Australia - 2 tries (one valued at 4, one at 5), 34 penalties & 31 conversions - a total which places him 8th on the all-time scoring list for Australia. He is the highest scoring forward in test rugby history and only one of four forwards to have surpassed 100 points in test rugby (the others being Carlo Checchinato, Colin Charvis and Richie McCaw). This is largely because of his goal kicking, which is unusual for a forward; his two tries are unremarkable (in comparison, all of Checcinato's, Charvis's and McCaw's points have come from tries). His memorable kicks include a sideline penalty goal in the final minutes of a 2000 test to win the Bledisloe Cup against New Zealand.

wn.com/John_Eales
John Joseph Stewart
John Joseph (J. J.) Stewart (18 July 1923 – 15 November 2002), MBE 1983, was a New Zealand Rugby Union coach and administrator, and secondary school teacher. His obituary said that in 1973 when he took over as All Blacks coach, he was the right man at the right time for a team that was scarred and in crisis from a home loss to the British Lions in 1971, a controversial British tour in 1972-73 and a cancelled Springbok tour in 1973.
'JJ' was New Zealand selector and All Black coach 1973-76. For the tour of Australia in 1974 he ditched many stalwarts, picking Andy Leslie as captain and 15 new caps including Bryan Williams and Bruce Robertson. Later Williams said he was a breath of fresh air, Tane Norton said he brought a new era to our game, and Laurie Mains said he could always think outside the square. He prepared All Black teams for 11 tests from 1973 to 1976; and left with six wins, one draw and four losses (three in South Africa in 1976, with blatantly biased refereeing). He had been a provincial coach in Taranaki 1963-69 (the province held the Ranfurly Shield for three years) and Wanganui 1970-71, and a secondary school coach in Taranaki. He was North Island selector in 1972 and 1977, and on the New Zealand Rugby Football Union council 1985-90.

wn.com/John_Joseph_Stewart
John Kirwan (rugby)
John James Patrick Kirwan, ONZM, MBE (born 16 December 1964) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer, and former All Black, turned coach. With 35 tries in 63 tests for the All Blacks, Kirwan appears on the list of the highest try scorers in Rugby Union history.
Kirwan was educated at De La Salle College, Mangere East in Auckland.
Kirwan played at wing for 96 appearances (including 63 test matches) as an All Black from 1984 until 1994. Kirwan played a major role in the All Blacks’ 23 test unbeaten run from 1987–1990, scoring 10 tries in five tests against Wales and Australia during 1988. In all he scored 35 test tries for the All Blacks, and 67 tries in total for appearances with the All Blacks, the latter which continues to be the New Zealand record. Kirwan's record of 199 first class tries continues to be the New Zealand record for first class rugby.
Kirwan played rugby league for two seasons in the Australian Rugby League Premiership for the Auckland Warriors before finishing his playing career with the NEC club in Japan.

wn.com/John_Kirwan_(rugby)
Jonah Lomu
Jonah Tali Lomu, MNZM (born 12 May 1975) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He had sixty-three caps as an All Black after debuting in 1994. He is generally regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union. He has had a huge impact on the game. He was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame on 9 October 2007, and the IRB Hall of Fame on 24 October 2011.
Lomu burst onto the international rugby scene during the 1994 Hong Kong Sevens tournament and was widely acknowledged to be the top player at the 1995 World Cup in South Africa even though New Zealand lost the championship game to the host Springboks. At one time Lomu was considered 'rugby union's biggest drawcard', swelling attendances at any match where he appeared. He is officially the Rugby World Cup all-time top try scorer with 15 tries.
He has played for several provincial teams, in the Super Rugby and NPC competitions. These included the Blues, Chiefs and Hurricanes, and Counties Manukau, Wellington and later North Harbour. He made a comeback after undergoing a kidney transplant in 2004.

wn.com/Jonah_Lomu
Josevata Rokocoko
Josevata Taliga "Joe" Rokocoko (pronounced [rokoˈðoko], born 6 June 1983 in Nadi, Fiji) is a professional New Zealand rugby union player. Rokocoko is known for his speed and strength which has accounted for his prolific try strike rate. He is a specialist left-winger but has occasionally played on the right wing for the All Blacks.
Rokocoko migrated to New Zealand with his family at the age of 5, settling in South Auckland and he attended James Cook High School. He later won a scholarship to Saint Kentigern College, where he was a member of the 2001 National Secondary Schools team. After an outstanding career with New Zealand international sides at the under-16, under-19, and under-21 level, he started playing Super 12 rugby.
Rokocoko played for the Blues in the 2003 Super 12 season. He made his first appearance for the All Blacks on 14 June 2003 against England. He had a high strike rate for the All Blacks, scoring 25 tries in his first 20 tests, and breaking the All Blacks single-season record for test tries previously shared by Jonah Lomu and Christian Cullen—his 17 test tries scored in 2003 equals the world record held by Daisuke Ohata of Japan. The International Rugby Players' Association named him new player of the year in 2003. His incredible speed has been seen many times throughout his career. On 19 June 2004, in the All Blacks' second 2004 test with England, Rokocoko shredded the England defence for three tries in a 36–12 All Blacks victory over the reigning Rugby World Cup champions.

wn.com/Josevata_Rokocoko
Keven Mealamu
Keven Mealamu (born 20 March 1979 in Tokoroa, Waikato, New Zealand) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He plays at hooker for the Blues in Super Rugby, Auckland in the National Provincial Championship, and the New Zealand national team, All Blacks.
He is a former student of Aorere College, where his brother and former Manu Samoa player Luke Mealamu currently works as a social worker. He played as a flanker for New Zealand Under-16s and New Zealand Schools before switching to hooker in 1998.
He made his debut for the All Blacks on 23 November 2002, against Wales at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Mealamu's provincial rugby debut was for Auckland in 1999. He first played for the Blues in 2000, but had a stint with the Chiefs in 2002 – the same year he debuted for the All Blacks. Mealamu also made a fine contribution to the start of the All Blacks' 2006 Tri Nations campaign with two tries against the Wallabies during the first match. Mealamu captained the Blues through their 2006 Super 14 campaign, but was forced to relinquish the captaincy in 2007 due to his commitments to the All Blacks. Mealamu was made test captain in the test match against Scotland during the All Blacks 2008 Grand Slam tour, as regular captain Richie McCaw was a reserve for that match. He was a part of New Zealand's 2011 Rugby World Cup winning squad.

wn.com/Keven_Mealamu
Kieran Read
Kieran Read (aka "Coal" born 26 October 1985) is a rugby union player for the Crusaders in the Super Rugby competition. He plays as a blind-side flanker or No.8, but has the ability and height to play in the lock position. In 2009 he supplanted Rodney So'oialo as the first choice number 8 for the All Blacks.
Read was brought up, and played his childhood rugby in a small town known as Drury, located in the Counties Manukau region just south of Auckland. Attending Opaheke Primary as a child (where his mother teaches^{[citation needed]}) and Rosehill College as a teenager (with a short interlude for one year in 2000 at Saint Kentigern College^{[citation needed]}). Moving back to Rosehill in 2001, Read immediately excelled in all aspects of school life, especially the sports field. At Rosehill, he performed with distinction, gaining top marks all the way through to the end of seventh form. That year he achieved Head Boy status at the 2000-student school, along with Sportsman of the Year, and Sports all-rounder of the year. Read was also a talented cricketer, representing Northern District age group teams as well as being selected for the New Zealand U17 tournament side in 2002.^{[citation needed]} He is married to Bridget Read (née Funnell).^{[citation needed]}

wn.com/Kieran_Read
Laurie Mains
Laurence William 'Laurie' Mains MNZM (born 16 February 1946 in Dunedin, New Zealand) is a former rugby union footballer and coach who represented New Zealand. Mains' representative career started when he first played for Otago in 1967. He made his All Blacks début in 1971, against the British and Irish Lions. His last Test was against Ireland in 1976. Although he toured South Africa in 1976, he played no Test matches.
Mains' coaching career started with Otago, whom he coached for eight years. He was appointed All Blacks coach in 1992, and coached them to the 1995 Rugby World Cup final; where they lost to South Africa.
In 1998, Mains was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to rugby in the annual New Zealand Honours List.

wn.com/Laurie_Mains
Ma'a Nonu
Ma'a Allan Nonu ( /ˈmɑːʔɑː ˈnɒnuː/; born 21 May 1982 in Wellington, New Zealand) is a professional rugby union player from New Zealand. Nonu plays for the Blues in Super Rugby and All Blacks internationally. He also plays for the Wellington Lions in the ITM Cup. He plays in the second-five eighth position (called inside centre in Europe), but can also cover (outside) centre and wing.
Nonu has been known for his blonde-streaked dreadlocks and former penchant for wearing eyeliner on the field. He is equally well known for his explosiveness and powerful attacking runs and regularly breaks the defensive line at will. All Blacks coach Graham Henry has described him as "probably the best linebreaker in this game in this country."
Nonu has a similar attacking skillset to former All Black centre Tana Umaga. Like Umaga, he is an exceptional crash ball runner who excels at breaking the line and creating space for outside backs. In 2005, Henry described Nonu as "young Tana," underlining the impression that he was being groomed as a potential successor to Umaga. This comparison has been confirmed in recent times by Wayne Smith.

wn.com/Ma'a_Nonu
Marc Ellis (rugby)
Marc Christopher Gwynne Ellis (born 8 October 1971) is a New Zealand businessman and television presenter, and former rugby league and rugby union player. A graduate of the University of Otago, his primary business interests are in Charlie's, a juice company. During the 1995 Rugby World Cup he scored six tries in the game against Japan, which is the record for the most tries by an individual in a Rugby World Cup match.
Ellis started out for Otago in the NPC in 1991 when he was playing for the club side University, and he was selected for the NZ Colts. He made a name for himself while playing for Otago, which earned him All Black selection in 1992. Ellis stayed with Otago until 1995 when he switched code to rugby league. In 1998 after two seasons of league, Ellis played for North Harbour in the NPC, where he remained for another two seasons. Ellis played his last season of NPC in 2000 for North Harbour.
Ellis first played for the All Blacks in 1992, against a South Australian Invitation XV, then against Australian club and invitation sides. He scored two tries in his first test, in 1993, at first five-eighth against Scotland, won 51–15 by the All Blacks. A week later he was selected for the test against England where he also played first five. Ellis played his last match of 1993 against the Barbarians. For the 1994 season, Ellis was not selected for the All Blacks and did not attend the NZ trial due to injury, but he did play for the New Zealand XV and New Zealand Universities sides. In 1995 Ellis was re-called to the All Blacks for the World Cup, playing five games on the wing. He scored seven tries in the tournament, six of them in the 145–17 win over Japan.

wn.com/Marc_Ellis_(rugby)
Mike Catt
Michael John "Mike" Catt OBE (born 17 September 1971 in Port Elizabeth) is a South African-born former English rugby union footballer who played for London Irish and Bath. He earned 75 international caps for England and played in three World Cup Finals, in 1995, 2003 (when England won) and 2007. With his appearance in the October 2007 final, at age 36 years 1 month, he became the oldest ever player to play in a Rugby World Cup final.
Catt attended Grey High School in Port Elizabeth until 1989 and represented Eastern Province at rugby union. His mother, Anne, was English, and as a student he toured England. At the time, South Africa was banned from international competition because of the country's apartheid policy. He moved to England after leaving school.
Catt joined Bath in 1992 as understudy to Stuart Barnes and made his debut as a 21-year-old against Nottingham R.F.C. later the same year. He had a testimonial year with Bath in 2004, but at the end of the 2003–04 season, Bath decided not to renew his contract and he moved to London Irish. At the start of the 2007–2008 season, he announced he was going to be backs coach for London Irish as well as a player. With the Exiles, he has enjoyed a fruitful twilight of his career and in May 2006 was named Guinness Premiership Player of the Season. He holds the honour of being the oldest ever player to play in a Guinness Premiership final (May 2009), aged 37, when he was a player / coach at London Irish.

wn.com/Mike_Catt
Munster Rugby
Munster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Munster, is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from Ireland. They compete in the RaboDirect Pro12 and the Heineken Cup. The team represents the IRFU Munster Branch, which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish province of Munster. Their main home ground is Thomond Park, Limerick, though some smaller profile games are played at Musgrave Park, Cork. Munster currently play in a red and blue home strip, while the away strip is white striped horizontally with the colours of the six counties of Munster. The Munster Rugby logo consists of three crowns and a stag. The team motto is "To the brave and faithful, nothing is impossible"; it is derived from the motto of the MacCarthy clan – "Forti et Fideli nihil difficile".
Munster is known for its passionate support and games involving Munster hold several Heineken Cup records for highest attendances in every stage of the finals, as well as the highest ever attendance for a rugby game in both Spain and Switzerland. In 2008, Director of Coaching Declan Kidney left to take up the head coach job with Ireland, and Munster ensured continuity by promoting Australian Tony McGahan to the position from within the coaching setup.

wn.com/Munster_Rugby
Nathan Twaddle
Nathan Twaddle, MNZM (born 21 August 1976) is a rower from New Zealand and Olympic medallist. He competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, in the coxless pair rowing with his partner George Bridgewater and came out with a bronze medal.
Twaddle and Bridgewater were world champions in 2005 and silver medalists in 2006 & 2007.

wn.com/Nathan_Twaddle
Ned Hughes
Edward "Ned" Hughes (26 April 1881 – 1 May 1928), was a New Zealand rugby union and rugby league player who played 9 times (6 of these were test matches) as an All Black hooker from 1907 until 1921 and twice for the Kiwis in 1910. His All Black career is unique in that there was a gap of 13 years between test matches, and that he is the oldest player ever to have played for the All Blacks, at age 40 years, 123 days.
Hughes first made the All Blacks in 1907.
He was one of the principal players, along with fellow All Black Don Hamilton, in the saga of petty officialdom which marred both the Southland and eventually New Zealand unions in 1908–09. In 1908, when he was captain of the Britannia club, he was suspended by the Southland Rugby Union for strking along with the rest of his team and the opposition, Hamilton's Pirates, when they refused to play a match due to ground conditions and the weather with Invercargill being hit by a blizzard. However, whilst suspended the teams played a benefit match under the new Northern Union (rugby league) rules. Then, in 1909, the New Zealand Rugby Union decreed that any player who had played any game under the "Northern" rules was to be regarded as a professional and was to be expelled.

wn.com/Ned_Hughes
Owen Franks
Owen Franks (born 23 December 1987) is a New Zealand rugby player who plays for the Crusaders in the Super Rugby competition and the All Blacks at international level.
He attended Christchurch Boys' High School. His local rugby club is Linwood. He represented New Zealand at Under-21 and Secondary School level.
He made his debut for Canterbury in the Air New Zealand Cup in 2007. He was also Campbell Johnstone's understudy before he left for France and Franks assumed the tighthead duties for the Canterbury team. His older brother, Ben Franks is also a prop and plays alongside his brother.
Franks made his debut for the Crusaders in 2009 as a substitute against the Western Force but made his first start in the victory over the Bulls and his stellar performance also secured him an All Black contract. Relatively small in stature, he is known for his great scrummaging technique and mobility around the field. He is also very strong, with the ability to squat 240 kg.
His first start for the All Blacks came against Fiji in the Pacific Nations Cup. He won 45-17. Franks was chosen for the 2009 Tri-Nations tournament in New Zealand's first match against Australia. He went on to play the next two games against South Africa before playing once again against Australia. Franks played the penultimate match against South Africa but missed the final match, with Neemia Tialata playing instead. He then came on as a sub against Wales during an international test in November. A week later he started on the pitch in a win over England and went on to be victorious over France a mere week later.

wn.com/Owen_Franks
Paul MacDonald
Paul MacDonald MBE (born 8 January 1960) is a New Zealand sprint canoer who competed from the mid 1980s to the early 1990s. He is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's most successful international athletes and holds innumerable international speed records in canoeing.
Competing in three Summer Olympics, MacDonald won five medals. This included three golds (K-2 500 m: 1984, 1988; K-4 1000 m: 1984), one silver (K-2 1000 m: 1988), and one bronze (K-1 500 m: 1988)
He also won six medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with three golds (K-1 500 m: 1987, K-2 500 m: 1985, K-2 1000 m: 1987) and three silvers (K-2 500 m: 1982, 1987, K-2 10000 m: 1990).
In retirement from professional competition, MacDonald has produced many television sports events and programmes including Clash of the Codes (the ultimate sporting challenge) and annually presents the Dragon Boat Festival.

wn.com/Paul_MacDonald
Piri Weepu
Piri Awahou Tihou Weepu (born 7 September 1983) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He plays scrum-half for the All Blacks on international level and the Blues in the Super Rugby competition. He also plays for Wellington Lions in the National Provincial Championship. He first won national honours against Wales in 2004. In 2005 was called back into the All Blacks squad for the first Tri Nations test against South Africa, having missed selection for the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour. He is the brother of former rugby league professional Billy Weepu.
Of Māori and Niuean descent, Weepu hails from Wainuiomata, he played his senior rugby with Hutt Old Boys Marist, under the tutelage of his mentor Derek Bruce. He attended Te Aute College where he was Head Boy.^{[citation needed]}
During the 2006 Super 14 Final, Weepu was knocked unconscious during an attempted tackle. However, due to the bizarrely thick fog during the match, the team doctors were unable to see that he had been unconscious. Weepu was allowed to continue playing, and went on to miss a tackle on Casey Laulala, conceding the match-winning try. Later Weepu admitted that he could not remember the game at all.^{[citation needed]}.

wn.com/Piri_Weepu
Richard Hadlee
Sir Richard John Hadlee, MBE (born 3 July 1951) is a former New Zealand cricketer who played provincial cricket for Canterbury, Nottinghamshire and Tasmania. He is the son of Walter Hadlee, and the brother of Dayle and Barry Hadlee. His former wife Karen also played international cricket for New Zealand.
Hadlee was appointed MBE in 1980 and knighted in 1990 for services to cricket. He is a former chairman of the New Zealand board of selectors. He is regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers and all-rounders in cricketing history. In December 2002, he was chosen by Wisden as the second greatest Test bowler of all time. In March 2009, Hadlee was commemorated as one of the Twelve Local Heroes, and a bronze bust of him was unveiled outside the Christchurch Arts Centre.
On 3 April 2009, Sir Richard Hadlee was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
A bowling all-rounder, in an 86-Test career he took 431 wickets (at the time the world record), and was the first bowler to pass 400 wickets, with an average of 22.29, and made 3124 Test runs at 27.16, including two centuries and 15 fifties.

wn.com/Richard_Hadlee
Richard Kahui
Richard Kahui (born 9 June 1985 in Tokoroa, New Zealand) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer.
Kahui plays in the position of Centre. He plays for Waikato in the Air New Zealand Cup and made his Super Rugby debut in 2006 with the Highlanders. Kahui was the top try scorer of the 2006 Air New Zealand Cup. In the 2007 Super 14 he was injured for a majority of the season, while playing for the Chiefs. In 2006 he was named the 'Air New Zealand Cup Player of the Year'.
In 2008 Kahui was also named as a member of the New Zealand All Blacks squad for the in-bound tours to New Zealand. He made his All Blacks debut on 21 June 2008, starting at outside centre (13), and scored a try in New Zealand's 44–12 victory over England. He has shown his versatility by playing on the wing (14) in the All Blacks 2009 Bledisloe Cup victory over Australia. Unfortunately, a six month shoulder injury he incurred at the end of his 2009 Super 14 season with the Chiefs, prevented him from playing in the All Black side later in the year.

wn.com/Richard_Kahui
Richie McCaw
Richard Hugh "Richie" McCaw (born 31 December 1980 in Oamaru, North Otago) is a New Zealand rugby union player, and is the current test captain. He plays in the openside flanker position for the New Zealand, Crusaders and Canterbury rugby teams. McCaw is considered one of the best openside flankers of all time, with his ability to anticipate play and adaptability to the referee's rulings two of his key attributes. He was raised in rural North Otago, before moving to Dunedin in 1994 to board at Otago Boys' High School. In 1999 he moved to Christchurch to study at Lincoln University and was selected in the national under-19 rugby union team. The following year he played for the Under 21s and Canterbury in the National Provincial Championship, before debuting in 2001 for the Crusaders in Super Rugby.
McCaw was selected for the 2001 New Zealand National Rugby Team's end-of-year tour, despite having played only a total of eight minutes of Super 14 rugby. His debut for the All Blacks was against Ireland, where he put in a man-of-the-match performance and was selected as New Zealand's first choice open-side flanker for the 2003 World Cup. McCaw became a regular selection in the New Zealand national rugby team, only missing a few games due to reoccurring concussions. In 2006 he was named captain of the All Blacks. He led the All Blacks at the 2007 World Cup and his captaincy came under criticism after they were knocked out in the quarter-final. He continued to captain the All Blacks and lead the team to victory in the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

wn.com/Richie_McCaw
Robbie Deans

Robert Maxwell Deans (born 4 September 1959 in Cheviot, New Zealand) is the current coach of the Wallabies and former All Black. He is the former coach of the Crusaders. He also served as assistant to former All Blacks coach John Mitchell between late 2001 and 2003. As the coach of the Crusaders, Deans has won more Super rugby titles than any other (three Super 12 titles and two Super 14). He has also coached the Canterbury provincial team in the National Provincial Championship, winning the title in 1997. As a player, Deans represented Canterbury, first playing at fly half, and later fullback. He also played nineteen matches for the All Blacks, including five Tests.
Deans attended Christ's College in Christchurch as a boarder where he played rugby mainly at first five-eighth. He made his provincial debut for Canterbury in 1979 and played mainly at fullback, as the team already had future All Black coach Wayne Smith playing at first-five. Deans was the first-choice goal-kicker for the team and scored 1,641 points for his province. He was a member of the Canterbury team during the Ranfurly Shield era of the early 1980s. This included kicking eight of Canterbury's 16 points in its 16–12 Shield challenge win over Wellington in 1982. The shield reign ended in 1985 against Auckland in "the match of the century" where Deans also played. This reign is the longest in Canterbury rugby union history. He went on to represent Canterbury 146 times until 1990.

wn.com/Robbie_Deans
Robert Muldoon
Sir Robert David "Rob" Muldoon, GCMG, CH (25 September 1921 – 5 August 1992) served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1975 to 1984, as leader of the governing National Party. Muldoon had been a prominent member of the National party and MP for the Tamaki electorate for some years prior to becoming leader of the party. During his time as a member of parliament and as Prime Minister, Muldoon was responsible for a number of major changes to the New Zealand economy, including the introduction of decimal currency and the Think Big policies of the third National Government. Despite being a polarising figure during his time as Prime Minister, Muldoon's impact on New Zealand society faded after his retirement.
Robert David Muldoon was born to parents Jim and Amie Muldoon in Auckland in 1921.
At age five Muldoon slipped while playing on the front gate, damaging his cheek and resulting in a distinctive scar. At age eight, Muldoon's father was admitted to hospital, where he died nearly 20 years later. This left Muldoon's mother to raise him on her own. During this time Muldoon came under the strong formative influence of his fiercely intelligent, iron-willed maternal grandmother, Jerusha, a committed socialist. Though Muldoon never accepted her creed, he did develop under her influence a potent ambition, a consuming interest in politics, and an abiding respect for New Zealand's welfare state. A brilliant student at school, Muldoon won a scholarship to attend Mount Albert Grammar School from 1933 to 1936. He left school at age 15, finding work at Fletcher Construction as an arrears clerk.

wn.com/Robert_Muldoon
Sean Fitzpatrick
Sean Fitzpatrick MNZM (born 4 June 1963 in Auckland) is a former rugby union footballer who represented New Zealand, and is widely regarded as one of the finest players ever to come from that country. He is also the son of former player Brian Fitzpatrick. Sean Fitzpatrick is the Founder and Director of Front Row Hospitality Ltd, which includes Front Row Leadership.
Sean Fitzpatrick's high school education was at Sacred Heart College, Auckland. As a primary school student he attended at Mt Carmel Primary (Auckland).
A product of the powerful Auckland provincial side, Fitzpatrick made his international debut as one of the "Baby Blacks" in the 1986 Test series in France. Although most of the regular starting fifteen for New Zealand had been suspended following the unauthorised "Cavaliers" tour of South Africa, the All Blacks won, and a number of new faces made their mark on the selectors. Despite this start, Fitzpatrick still went in to the inaugural Rugby World Cup as second choice to captain Andy Dalton. However, Dalton had to withdraw from the early stages of the tournament due to injury, and although he recovered in time for the finals, Fitzpatrick kept his place in the team, leaving scrum-half David Kirk to skipper the side to victory against France in the final at Eden Park in Auckland.

wn.com/Sean_Fitzpatrick
Simon Culhane
Simon Culhane (born 10 March 1968 in Invercargill, New Zealand) is a rugby player who won 6 caps playing at fly-half for the New Zealand rugby union side (the All Blacks). He made his international test debut at the age of 27 on 4 June 1995 during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The match, against Japan was won 145-17 and is the largest winning margin for an All Blacks side. Culhane amassed an impressive 45 points during his debut, a world record for first class test rugby that still stands today, slotting 20 of 21 conversion attempts and scoring a try. He lost his place in the starting line-up for the next match to first-choice Andrew Mehrtens. As such, he then went on to win just 5 more caps. He currently coaches Rugby Southland in the New Zealand National Provincial Championship. He also played for Southland in the Hawke Cup.

wn.com/Simon_Culhane
Sonny Bill Williams
Sonny William 'Sonny Bill' Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand rugby union player, heavyweight boxer and former rugby league player. He is only the second person to represent New Zealand in rugby union after first playing for the country in rugby league. In rugby union he usually plays as a centre. He is particularly known in rugby league and rugby union for his ability to offload the ball in the tackle and, in rugby league, for his shoulder charges.
He started his professional rugby league career with the Canterbury Bulldogs in the Australian NRL. In 2008 he controversially left the Bulldogs mid-season to play rugby union with French club Toulon. In 2010 Williams signed with the New Zealand Rugby Union in an ultimately successful bid to play for the All Blacks at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. He played for Canterbury in the 2010 ITM Cup before being selected for the All Blacks' end of year tour in 2010, making his debut against England at Twickenham. He played for the Crusaders in the 2011 season of Super Rugby and plays for the Chiefs in the 2012 Super Rugby season. He was a member of the All Blacks squad that won the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

wn.com/Sonny_Bill_Williams
Steve Biko
Stephen Biko (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s.
A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. Since his death in police custody, he has been called a martyr of the anti-apartheid movement. While living, his writings and activism attempted to empower black people, and he was famous for his slogan "black is beautiful", which he described as meaning: "man, you are okay as you are, begin to look upon yourself as a human being".
Despite friction between the African National Congress and Biko throughout the 1970s^{[Need quotation to verify]} the ANC has included Biko in the pantheon of struggle heroes, going as far as using his image for campaign posters in South Africa's first non-racial elections in 1994.
Biko was born in King William's Town, in the present-day Eastern Cape province of South Africa. He studied to be a doctor at the University of Natal Medical School. Biko was a Xhosa. In addition to Xhosa, he spoke fluent English and fairly fluent Afrikaans.

wn.com/Steve_Biko
Steve Hansen
Steve Hansen (born Dunedin, 7 May 1959) is the head coach of the All Blacks and a former rugby union player.
He was the head coach of the Welsh national team. He became the ninth Welsh coach in 13 years, after Graham Henry parted company with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) in 2002. During his first game in charge, Wales performed well but lost by 37–33 to France. This became a familiar theme during his tenure as coach. Events reached a head during 2003 when for the first time in their history Wales lost every match in the Six Nations Championship and went on to record a streak of 11 consecutive Test match defeats, broken by a defeat of rugby minnows Romania on 27 August 2003. Hansen coached Wales during the 2003 Rugby World Cup, in which a strong display against the All Blacks and a spirited quarter final loss against England stopped the criticism of his coaching. He stepped down as Wales head coach in the summer of 2004 after not seeking to renew his contract and was succeeded by Mike Ruddock.

wn.com/Steve_Hansen
Tamati Ellison
Tamati Ellison (born 1 April 1983 in Wellington, New Zealand) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who played for the Highlanders in Super Rugby and Otago Rugby Football Union in the ITM Cup.
He is the grandson of All Black Vince Bevan, who played six tests for New Zealand between 1949–50, and son of rugby coach Eddie Ellison. He is the older brother of Jacob Ellison, who plays prop forward for the Hurricanes. He is related to former American Football player Riki Ellison who played in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Raiders. He is also a descendent of Thomas Rangiwahia Ellison, captain of New Zealand's first official rugby team in 1893 and a member of the New Zealand Natives football team which toured Great Britain and Australia in 1888/9.
In June 2011 he married Meremaraea Cowan at a vineyard in Martinborough. He first saw a picture of Meremaraea when he was a teenager at the home of his rugby coach, who also happened to be her uncle. Instead of wedding gifts they requested that guests donate to the Red Cross appeals for the Christchurch earthquake and the disaster in Japan. They have a son, Vini.

wn.com/Tamati_Ellison
Te Rauparaha
Te Rauparaha (1760s-1849) was a Māori rangatira (chief) and war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe who took a leading part in the Musket Wars. He was influential in the original sale of conquered Rangitane land to the New Zealand Company and was a participant in the Wairau Incident in Marlborough. He was known as the Napoleon of the South Pacific.
From 1807, muskets became the weapon of choice and partly changed the character of tribal warfare. In 1819 Te Rauparaha joined with a large war party of Ngā Puhi led by Tāmati Wāka Nene; they probably reached Cook Strait before turning back.
Over the next few years the intertribal fighting intensified, and by 1822 Ngāti Toa and related tribes were being forced out of their land around Kāwhia after years of fighting with various Waikato tribes often led by Te Wherowhero. Led by Te Rauparaha they began a fighting retreat or migration southwards (this migration was called Te-Heke-Tahu-Tahu-ahi), conquering hapu and iwi as they went south, which ended with them controlling the southern part of the North Island and particularly the strategically placed Kapiti Island, which became the tribal stronghold.

wn.com/Te_Rauparaha
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No. 1, he is the highest-paid professional athlete in the world, having earned an estimated US$90.5 million from winnings and endorsements in 2010.
Woods turned professional in 1996, and by April 1997 he had already won his first major, the 1997 Masters. He first reached the number one position in the world rankings in June 1997. Through the 2000s, Woods was the dominant force in golf, spending 264 weeks from August 1999 to September 2004 and 281 weeks from June 2005 to October 2010 as world number one. From December 2009 to early April 2010, Woods took leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage after he admitted infidelity. His multiple infidelities were revealed by several different women, through many worldwide media sources. This was followed by a loss of form, and his ranking gradually fell to a low of #58 in November 2011. He snapped a career-long winless streak of 107 weeks when he captured the Chevron World Challenge in December 2011. As of April 8, 2012, he is ranked #8.

wn.com/Tiger_Woods
Wilson Whineray
Sir Wilson James Whineray, KNZM, OBE (born 10 July 1935) is a former business executive and the longest-serving captain of the All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby union team. Rugby writer T.P. (Terry) McLean considered him the All Blacks' greatest captain.
He first played for the All Blacks in 1957. The following year he became captain for the 1958 series against Australia at the young age of 23. He went on to play 77 matches for the All Blacks between 1957 and 1965, 67 of them as captain. These included 32 test matches, all but two of them as captain. He played mostly in the position of prop. Whineray was named New Zealand Sportsperson of the Year in 1965.
After retiring from rugby, he gained a MBA from Harvard University, where he was a member of the Harvard Business School RFC. He returned to New Zealand in 1969 and started work at Alex Harvey Industries, which became Carter Holt Harvey. He rose to become deputy managing director, then chairman of the board of Carter Holt Harvey, by then a major New Zealand company, and retired from the board in 2003. He was the managing director of NZ Wool Marketing Corporation in 1973–74, chairman of the National Bank of New Zealand, and a director of Auckland International Airport and APN News & Media.

wn.com/Wilson_Whineray
Wyatt Crockett
Wyatt Crockett is a New Zealand rugby player who plays for the Crusaders in Super Rugby. He also plays for Canterbury in the Air New Zealand Cup. He attended Nelson College.
He made his All Blacks debut against Italy in 2009.
In 2011 he was selected in the All Blacks Tri-Nations Squad as injury cover.

wn.com/Wyatt_Crockett
Zac Guildford
Zachary Robert Guildford (born 8 February 1989) is a World Cup winning New Zealand rugby union player who plays for the Crusaders in the Super 15. He also plays provincial rugby for Hawke's Bay and was selected for the All Blacks end of year tour in 2009 and the 2010 Steinlager Series. Guildford played for the All Blacks during the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Zac Guildford was born on 8 February 1989 in Greytown, New Zealand. He is the son of Deborah and Robert Guildford. He has one younger brother, Victor. When Zac was 10 years old his family moved to Napier, Hawke's Bay where he went through the rugby academy system. He attended Napier Boys' High School. Zac's inclusion in the New Zealand All Blacks came after a remarkable national representative career with New Zealand Secondary Schools, Under 19 and two seasons with the New Zealand Under 20.
Guildford first represented New Zealand at the U19 World Cup in 2007. He then represented New Zealand at the JWC in 2008. In his final season at International age grade level the following year, Guildford again played for New Zealand, in that year's JWC hosted in Japan. Tragically, his father Robert died suddenly shortly after the conclusion of the Final against England.

wn.com/Zac_Guildford

All Blacks Movember challenge - the candidates

All Blacks Movember challenge - the candidates...

published: 30 Nov 2012

author: nzrugby

All Blacks in the Shed at Millennium Stadium

All Blacks in the Shed at Millennium Stadium...

published: 25 Nov 2012

author: nzrugby

All Blacks Sharpen Up In Cardiff Gym

The All Blacks have had a conditioning session in the gym to find that explosive spark ahe...

published: 22 Nov 2012

author: BackingBlack

Highlights - All Blacks v Springboks in Johannesburg

Highlights - All Blacks v Springboks in Johannesburg...

published: 08 Oct 2012

author: nzrugby

All Blacks vs England - 2012 Final Rugby Test

Email Marketing Will Grow Your Business getresponseemailmarketingservice.com...

published: 11 Dec 2012

author: Hilgard Muller

Rodney So'oialo costs All Blacks match vs South Africa

The All Blacks are on a 15 match winning run and closing in on the world record for most c...

published: 12 Dec 2012

author: LasGarzas11

The Story of the Mighty All Blacks pt.1

nz all blacks rugby documentary... enjoy...

published: 10 Feb 2012

author: SuperKakashiSenpai

All Black's Haka + Translation

AB Vs England 2004. If you can't see the translation turn your annotations on....

published: 01 Oct 2006

author: Steve181

All Blacks Hunker Down in Gym

The All Blacks put in the hard yards in today's final gym session ahead of their clash wit...

published: 10 Nov 2012

author: BackingBlack

adidas All Blacks | The All Blacks choose their miTeam kit

For the latest news on adidas Rugby visit: a.did.as The All Blacks choose between Dan Cart...

published: 22 Nov 2012

author: adidasrugbytv

All Blacks 2010 Highlights

Small tribute to the All Blacks 2010 season. Soundtrack: Audiomachine - Life Chronicles Ca...

published: 21 Jun 2011

author: antipodean0

All Blacks v Ireland - 2012 Test 3

All Blacks too good...

published: 23 Jun 2012

author: rugsta15

All Blacks V England - match reaction

All Blacks V England - match reaction...

published: 01 Dec 2012

author: nzrugby

All Blacks Sweat it Out on Their Day Off

On the back of a commanding performance in the season-opener against Ireland, the All Blac...

published: 13 Jun 2012

author: BackingBlack

FUTURE PROOF

FUTURE PROOF - 2011 A/NZ PromaxBDA Opener The DMC Initiative (DMCI) developed this piece ...

published: 24 Oct 2011

author: The DMCI

100 Riffs (A Brief History of Rock N' Roll)

Alex Chadwick plays 100 famous guitar riffs in one take giving you a chronological history...

published: 04 Jun 2012

author: Chicago Music Exchange

Bob Dylan Subterranean Homesick Blues - A HAND LETTERING EXPERIENCE

IF YOU WANNA SEE ALL THE PAGES AND A LITTLE BIT OF THE PROCESS VISIT http://www.leandrosen...

published: 16 Sep 2012

author: Leandro Senna

Cannonball

Some of them are full of black water. Others have become graveyards for old lawn furnitur...

published: 24 Feb 2010

author: California is a place.

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photo: AP / Nick Ut

File - Demonstrators are arrested by police after protesting outside a Walmart store Friday Nov. 23, 2012, in Paramount, Calif.

Walmart's horrific treatment of workers is too big to ignore

Al Jazeera

14 Dec 2012

How bad is it going to get? It's all about money."  ... This is why Walmart workers and their supporters in 47 states made history on November 23, also known as Black Friday, by walking out of stores, holding rallies and talking to shoppers about the multi-billion dollar corporation's inhumane and greedy business practices. ....(size: 23.6Kb)

photo: AP / Jessica Hill

Parents leave a staging area after being reunited with their children following a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of New York City, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012.

27 People Dead, Mostly Children, at Connecticut Elementary School Shooting

ABC News

14 Dec 2012

The massacre involved two gunmen at a Connecticut school this morning, prompting the town of Newtown to lock down all of its schools and draw SWAT teams to the school, authorities said today ... "The district is taking preventive measures by putting all schools in lockdown until we ensure the safety of all students and staff." ... All public and private schools in the town are on lockdown....(size: 4.5Kb)

photo: AP / Manu Brabo

A Free Syrian Army fighter takes position close to a military base, near Azaz, Syria, Monday, Dec. 10, 2012.

Syria Rebels Holding Reporter Threaten Attacks on Russians

Novosti

13 Dec 2012

MOSCOW, December 13 (RIA Novosti) – Syrian rebels behind the kidnapping of Ukrainian journalist Ankhar Kochneva have released a video threatening more attacks on Russians and Ukrainians, as a deadline for her execution approaches on Thursday. Kochneva, a 40-year-old Ukrainian citizen, was abducted in October by Syrian rebels as she traveled to the city of Homs, and has been held there by them since, they claim ... ....(size: 2.1Kb)

photo: AP / KCNA

In this Dec. 12, 2012 photo released by Korean Central News Agency, North Korea's Unha-3 rocket lifts off from the Sohae launch pad in Tongchang-ri, North Korea. The satellite that North Korea launched on board the long-range rocket is orbiting normally, South Korea said on Thursday.

North Koreans mark rocket success as South finds debris

BBC News

14 Dec 2012

North Koreans have gathered in Pyongyang for a mass rally to celebrate Wednesday's long-range rocket launch. State television showed huge crowds cheering to mark the launch, which has been condemned by many nations as a banned test of missile technology. South Korea, meanwhile, says it has retrieved debris from the rocket and will study it to assess its technology. The first stage of the rocket fell west of the Korean peninsula ... ....(size: 2.7Kb)

photo: AP / Manu Brabo

In this Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012 photo, a Free Syrian Army fighter poses as he carries his weapon in the northern province of Aleppo, Syria. Syria's civil war has killed more than 40,000 people.

Russia says Syrian rebels might win

CNTV

14 Dec 2012

One of Syria's key allies has admitted for the first time the Assad regime is losing the 20-month ground war. Russia’s deputy foreign minister’s comments are significant because Russia has blocked action to stem the violence, supplied weapons to the Assad regime, and vetoed three UN resolutions -- even as other countries called for Assad to step down. The comments are expected to put new pressure on the Syrian leader ... Reporter ...   ... ....(size: 6.6Kb)

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Save on Black Diamond ski poles at Wilderness Exchange

The Examiner

15 Dec 2012

Currently Wilderness Exchange in downtown Denver is offering discounted prices on Black Diamond ski poles ... Black Diamond Fixed Length Carbon Poles ... Black Diamond Pure Carbon Poles....(size: 1.0Kb)

Lyric Opera appoints Michael Black as its chorus master

Chicago Sun-Times

15 Dec 2012

Lyric Opera of Chicago has appointed Michael Black as its chorus master, beginning with the 2013-14 season, Lyric general director Anthony Freud announced Friday. Currently the chorus master of Opera Australia, Black replaces Martin Wright, who resigned last month for health reasons ... “Michael Black did superb work at Lyric last season,” Freud said in a statement....(size: 2.3Kb)

The rise and rise of the Pungarehu Kid

Stuff

15 Dec 2012

He talks to Glenn McLean about the Hurricanes and making the All Blacks for the first time ... Blown away he was, then, when the confirmation came early in June that he would be required for the All Blacks test series against Ireland ... It's a testament to Barrett, however, that he showed little sign of the nerves that must have been affecting him as he gave a polished performance, albeit on the back of a totally dominant All Blacks pack....(size: 5.4Kb)

Uproar over killings of black youths in Sao Paulo

New Straits/Business Times

15 Dec 2012

Brazilian rapper Mano Brown is urging Sao Paulo legislators to impeach Governor Geraldo Alckmin over a police campaign allegedly targeting black youths in poor neighbourhoods. The popular singer was being awarded the Santo Dias human rights prize,  named after a black metal worker killed by the military dictatorship in 1979, at the state legislative assembly on Monday, Human Rights Day....(size: 5.5Kb)

Possible record-size black bear killed in hunt in Virginia

The Examiner

15 Dec 2012

Large black bear, 674 pounds, 9-foot tall, hunted down in Virginia, could be a state record ... Possible record-size black bear, 650+ pounds, hunted down in Virginia. black bearsA bear recently killed by a hunter in Virginia could set a state record for its size.WTVR reported Thursday that 25-year-old DJ Lacks brought down the 664-pound, 9-foot tall bear with his rifle, shooting it......(size: 4.2Kb)

Black Veil Brides release official 'In the End' music video

The Examiner

15 Dec 2012

12 the American rock band Black Veil Brides released an official music video for their song "In the End" on the band's VEVO YouTube channel ... You can watch Black Veil Brides' official "In the End" music video here ... The song "In the End" is the lead single from Black Veil Brides' upcoming third studio album, "Wretched and ......(size: 1.7Kb)

RUGBY: All Blacks risk Dad's Army Chapter 2 tag

New Straits/Business Times

15 Dec 2012

They won 15 of the 16 Tests in the run-up to the World Cup, including winning both Tests against the All Blacks and the Wallabies away in June, about four months before the tournament ... "Someone said the All Blacks don't go through that period of renewal, it is a gradual drip-feed of new players -- and that's where we should be from now on....(size: 4.3Kb)

Wentzville police seek bank robbery suspect

STL Today

15 Dec 2012

The suspect was described as a black male about 30 years old, 6-foot to 6-foot-3 and weighing 180 to 200 pounds. He wore a black stocking hat, ......(size: 0.7Kb)

Black jobless rate is twice that of whites

The Washington Post

15 Dec 2012

Voters have twice elected a black president, African Americans shine among Hollywood’s brightest stars, and the number of blacks who graduate from college has tripled ... Several studies show that black workers tend to lack these connections. In her research, Royster followed the experiences of a group of similarly situated black and white men, all graduates of the same vocational school and who sought jobs in the same areas....(size: 4.9Kb)

Randy Harvey

Houston Chronicle

15 Dec 2012

I was reminded of that Thursday, when ESPN’s Rob Parker said Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III is “kind of black.” ... Texans running back Arian Foster sent out a tweet Friday that read, “I’m going to work on my blackness today.”. He later tweeted, “My mom is Mexican, so I can only optimize 50% of my blackness.” ... “Then somebody says h’es not black enough....(size: 5.0Kb)

The Worst Marketing Campaigns of 2011

The Examiner

15 Dec 2012

If you’re going to market a product specifically geared toward the black community, it would be extremely beneficial to create a focus group of people within the Los Angeles black communities to for what appeals to them ... Examiners come from all walks of life and contribute original content to entertain, inform, and inspire....(size: 5.1Kb)

Retailers Push Limits With Extended Store Hours to Lure Shoppers

Yahoo Daily News

15 Dec 2012

on Thanksgiving Day and opening at midnight on Black Friday ... A large gathering protests against Wal-Mart on Black Friday, Nov 23, 2012, in Secaucus, N.J. Wal-Mart employees …Some Walmart employees protested at stores nationwide on Thanksgiving night and Black Friday, calling for better wages and benefits ... and in fact had its best Black Friday ever....(size: 3.8Kb)

Return of formal parties suits delighted Moss Bros

The Independent

15 Dec 2012

The black-tie Christmas function is back, a delighted Moss Bros declared yesterday ... "The evidence is that there are more black-tie parties and events this Christmas than there have been for the last couple of years."....(size: 1.3Kb)

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For the rugby league team, see New Zealand national rugby league team. For the rugby union sevens team, see New Zealand national rugby union team (sevens). For the women's team, see New Zealand women's national rugby union team. For the association football team from Ghana, see All Blacks F.C..

"ABs" redirects here. For other uses, see ABS (disambiguation).

New Zealand

File:All Blacks logo.svg

Union

New Zealand Rugby Union

Emblem(s)

Silver fern

Coach(es)

Steve Hansen

Captain(s)

Richie McCaw

Most caps

Richie McCaw (103)

Top scorer

Dan Carter (1250)

Most tries

Doug Howlett (49)

Team kit

Change kit

First international

Australia 3 – 22 New Zealand

(15 August 1903)

Largest win

New Zealand 145 – 17 Japan

(4 June 1995)

Largest defeat

Australia 28 – 7 New Zealand

(28 August 1999)

World Cup

Appearances

7 (First in 1987)

Best result

Champions, 1987, 2011

The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport.^[1] The All Blacks are the Rugby World Cup champions, the IRB's current Team of the Year, the leading points scorers of all time and the only international rugby team with a winning record against every test nation they have played. The All Blacks have held the top ranking in the world for longer than all other countries combined^[2] and in over 100 years only five test rugby nations have ever beaten New Zealand.^[3]

Starting in 2012, New Zealand will compete with Argentina, Australia and South Africa in The Rugby Championship, known as the Tri Nations before Argentina's entry in 2012. The All Blacks have won the trophy a record ten times (in 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010) in the competition's 16-year history. They are the current holders of the Rugby World Cup and the Bledisloe Cup competed for annually with Australia, with the All Blacks currently on the second-longest winning streak holding the Trans-Tasman trophy since 2003. They also hold the Freedom Cup; contested annually with South Africa and have completed a Grand Slam, defeating all four Home Nations during one tour, four times (in 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010).

The All Blacks have won over a record 75% of all rugby matches they have played since 1903 and they were named the International Rugby Board (IRB) Team of the Year in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and a record fifth time in 2011.^[4] Their captain, Richie McCaw, was the International Rugby Board Player of the Year for a record third time. Fifteen former All Blacks have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame; three of these are also inductees of the IRB Hall of Fame, and another player is a member of the IRB Hall.

The team first competed in 1884 against Cumberland County, New South Wales, and played their first Test match in 1903, a victory over Australia. This was followed by a tour of the Northern Hemisphere in 1905.

The team's early uniforms consisted of a black jersey with a silver fern and white knickerbockers. By their 1905 tour New Zealand were wearing all black, except for the silver fern, and their All Black name dates from this time. New Zealand traditionally perform a haka (Māori challenge) before each match. Traditionally, the haka performed is Te Rauparaha's Ka Mate, though since 2005 Kapa o Pango, a modified version of the 1924 All Blacks haka, Kia Whaka-ngawari, has occasionally been performed.

History [link]

Introduction of rugby to New Zealand [link]

The team that toured New South Wales, Australia, in 1884.

Rugby football was introduced to New Zealand by Charles Monro in the late 1860s; Monro discovered the sport while completing his studies at Christ's College, Finchley, England.^[5] The first recorded game in New Zealand took place in May 1870 in Nelson between the Nelson club and Nelson College. The first union, Canterbury, was formed in 1879.^[6] In 1882, New Zealand's first internationals were played when the Southern Rugby Union (later the New South Wales Rugby Union) toured the country. The tourists played Auckland provincial clubs twice, Wellington twice and once each against Canterbury, Otago and West Coast, North Island, winning four games and losing three. Two years later the first New Zealand team to go overseas toured New South Wales; New Zealand played and won eight games.^[7]

The first tour by a British team took place in 1888 when a team that later evolved into the British and Irish Lions visited Australia and New Zealand, but no Test matches were played. The players were drawn mainly from Northern England, although there were representatives from Wales and Scotland.^[8]

International competition begins [link]

The Original All Blacks during the "Haka", in 1905.

1891 saw the formation of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union representing seven unions, not including Canterbury, Otago and Southland.^[9]^[10] The first sanctioned New Zealand side toured New South Wales in 1894 and the following year New Zealand played its first home "international" game, losing 8–6 to New South Wales.^[11] The team's first true international Test match was against Australia on 15 August 1903 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, resulting in a 22–3 win.^[12]

A representative New Zealand team, since referred to as the Originals, first toured Britain in 1905. Reference to the team by the name "All Blacks" first appeared during this tour when, according to team member Billy Wallace, a London newspaper reported that the New Zealanders played as if they were "all backs".^[13] Wallace claimed that because of a typographical error, subsequent references were to "All Blacks". This may be a myth, as the name also describes their playing uniform of black shirts, shorts and socks.^[13]

The Originals' only loss on tour was 3–0 to Wales at Cardiff.^[14] The match has entered into the folklore of both countries because of controversy over whether All Black Bob Deans scored a disallowed try, which would have earned them a 3–3 draw. A team representing the British Isles – known as the Anglo-Welsh since it consisted of English and Welsh players only – undertook a return tour to New Zealand in 1908 and were defeated 2–0 in the test series by New Zealand.

Development of a legacy [link]

New Zealand's rivalry with South Africa began in 1921, when the Springboks (as the South African team is known) toured New Zealand for a Test series that finished all square.^[15] New Zealand toured South Africa for the first time in 1928; this series also ended in a draw.

The 1924 All Black tourists to the United Kingdom (UK) were dubbed the Invincibles because they won every game. However, the team were deprived of the chance to complete a grand slam when Scotland refused to play them because of an argument over expenses.^[16] The first truly representative British Isles (now known as British and Irish Lions) side toured New Zealand in 1930. Although the Lions won the first Test, the home side regrouped and went on to win the series 3–1. New Zealand toured the UK again in 1935–36, losing only three games (including two Tests) during a 30-match tour.^[17] In one of these losses, Prince Obolensky famously scored two tries to help England to a 13–0 win, their first over New Zealand.^[18]

In 1937, South Africa won a series against New Zealand when they toured New Zealand, and this 1937 South African team has been described as the best team ever to leave New Zealand.^[19]^[20] It was not until 1949, after the end of the Second World War, that New Zealand next played the Springboks when they visited South Africa with Fred Allen as captain. The tour witnessed an infamous All Blacks record, the loss of two Test matches on the same day. This was possible because Australia were touring New Zealand at the same time. On the afternoon of 3 September New Zealand, captained by J. B. (Johnny) Smith, were beaten 11–6 by Australia in Wellington.^[21] That same afternoon in South Africa New Zealand, captained by Ron Elvidge (Allen was injured), lost 9–3 to the Springboks in Durban.^[22] New Zealand also lost their second Test, 16–9, which gave Australia the Bledisloe Cup for the first time. Although each Test against South Africa was very close, New Zealand lost the series 4–0. The two tours coincided because Maori players were not able to go to South Africa at the time, meaning the Australians, who were not considered strong opposition, played against a New Zealand team made up of the best Maori and the reserve non-Maori players, while the South Africans encountered the best pakeha (non-Maori) players New Zealand had. (This restriction on Maori representing New Zealand in South Africa lasted until the 1970 tour, in which Bryan Williams (rugby) famously shone.) Also on the 1949 tour, captain Fred Allen led a partial contingent of All Blacks to Rhodesia for two exhibition matches. The Rhodesia side beat the All Blacks 10-8 in Bulawayo and then drew 3-3 in the follow up match in Salisbury.

The two series losses to South Africa made their 1956 tour of New Zealand highly anticipated. New Zealand were captained by Bob Duff and coached by Bob Stuart, and their 3–1 series win was their first over the Springboks and the Springboks' first series loss outside South Africa.^[20]^[23] During the series, New Zealand introduced Don Clarke and brought back Kevin Skinner in the last two Tests to help secure the win.^[20] Skinner, a former New Zealand boxing champion, was brought back after injuries to props Mark Irwin and Frank McAtamney and in the third test had to "sort out" both the South African props whilst Don Clarke become known as "The Boot" for his goal kicking.^[24]^[25]

New Zealand's 3–1 series win over the Lions in 1959 proved to be the start of a dominant period in All Black rugby. This was followed by the 1963–64 tour to the UK, led by Wilson Whineray, in which New Zealand were deprived of a Grand Slam by a scoreless draw with Scotland.^[26] The only loss on this tour was to Newport RFC, who won 3–0 at Rodney Parade, Newport on 30 October 1963.^[27] The 1967 side won three Tests, but was unable to play Ireland because of a foot-and-mouth scare.^[26] This tour formed part of New Zealand's longest winning streak, between 1965 and 1970, of 17 Test victories.^[28] This was also the longest Test winning streak by any nation at the time; it would be equalled by the Springboks from 1997 to 1998 and surpassed by Lithuania in 2010.^[29] Although the 1966 Lions were defeated 0–4 in their New Zealand tour, there was a reversal of fortune five years later when the 1971 Lions, under the captaincy of Welshman John Dawes, beat New Zealand in a Test series, which remains the Lions' only series victory in New Zealand.

The 1972–3 tourists narrowly missed a Grand Slam with a draw against Ireland.^[26] The tour was notable for the sending home of prop Keith Murdoch, who was alleged to have been involved in a brawl in a Cardiff hotel while celebrating the defeat of Wales.^[30]

In 1978, Graham Mourie captained New Zealand to their first Grand Slam, completed with a 13–12 victory over Wales. That game generated controversy after New Zealand won as the result of a late penalty. Lock Andy Haden had dived out of a line-out in an attempt to earn a penalty, but the penalty awarded by referee Roger Quittenden was against Welsh lock Geoff Wheel for jumping off the shoulder of Frank Oliver.^[31] New Zealand's only loss on the tour was the famous 12–0 defeat by Irish province Munster at Thomond Park.^[32] Later a play which focused on the loss was written by John Breen, called Alone it Stands.^[33]

Controversial tours [link]

The 1976 All Blacks tour of South Africa generated much controversy and led to the boycott of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal by 28 African nations after the IOC refused to ban the team.^[34] New Zealand again failed to win the Test series in South Africa: they did not do so until 1996, after the fall of apartheid. The 1976 Tour contributed to the Gleneagles Agreement being adopted by the Commonwealth Heads of State in 1977.^[35]

The 1981 South African tour to New Zealand sparked protests against South Africa's apartheid policy^[36] the likes of which had not been seen in New Zealand since the 1951 waterfront dispute.^[37] The NZRU had invited the Springboks to tour as the Muldoon government refused to involve politics in sport.^[35] Although New Zealand won the Test series, two of the tour's provincial games were cancelled and the whole tour was marred by violence and protest.^[38] The third and final test match of the tour is sometimes known as the Flour Bomb Test, as an anti-apartheid activist in a Cessna light aircraft dropped leaflets, flares, a parachute-supported banner reading "Biko," (Steve Biko) and flour bombs into Auckland's Eden Park throughout the match, felling a New Zealand player. During the tour the country experienced unrest, and the tour had a significant impact on New Zealand society.^[36]^[38]^[39]

The 1985 All Blacks tour to South Africa was cancelled after legal action on the grounds that it would breach the NZRU's constitution.^[39] In 1986, a rebel tour to South Africa took place that had not been authorised by the NZRU and the team, named the Cavaliers, included many All Blacks.^[40]^[41] Those that participated in the tour received a ban for two tests from the NZRU when they returned to New Zealand. Allegations that players received payment for the tour were never proved.^[42]

Early World Cups [link]

The inaugural World Cup in 1987 was co-hosted and won by New Zealand, who beat France 29–9 in the final at Eden Park, Auckland. New Zealand conceded only 52 points and scored 43 tries in six games en route to the title, beating Italy, Fiji, Argentina, Scotland, Wales and France.^[43] By the 1991 World Cup New Zealand were an ageing side,^[44] co-coached by Alex Wyllie and John Hart. They struggled during pool matches against the United States and Italy, but won their quarter-final against Canada.^[45] They were then knocked out by eventual winners Australia 16–6 in their semi-final at Lansdowne Road. In the wake of the tournament, there were many retirements, including coach Wyllie, who had enjoyed an 86% win rate during 29 Tests in charge.^[46]

Laurie Mains replaced Wyllie in 1992, and was given the job of preparing the side for the 1995 event in South Africa. New Zealand were again favourites to take the championship.^[47] Their role as favourites was confirmed when a young Jonah Lomu scored four tries against England in the 45–29 semi-final win.^[48] However, the New Zealand team suffered an outbreak of food poisoning before the final (the source of the poisoning is heavily debated). Despite this, they took hosts South Africa to extra time, before losing to Joel Stransky's drop goal.^[49]^[50] The allegation of food poisoning was later publicly backed by Rory Steyn, a former head of security for South African president Nelson Mandela. He was the security liaison for the All Blacks and reported in a book that a Far Eastern gambling syndicate was responsible for the outbreak by bribing a waitress.^[51]^[52]

Professional era [link]

The professional era in rugby union began in 1995, marked by creation of the SANZAR group (a combination of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia)^[53] which was formed with the purpose of selling TV rights for two new competitions, the domestic Super 12 competition and the Tri-Nations.^[53] The first Tri-Nations was contested in 1996, with New Zealand winning all four of their Tests to take the trophy.^[54]

The 1996 Tri-Nations match in South Africa between New Zealand and South Africa was the first in a historic series. Under new coach John Hart and the captaincy of Sean Fitzpatrick, New Zealand won a Test series in South Africa for the first time.^[55] Fitzpatrick rated the series win higher than the 1987 World Cup victory in which he had participated.^[55]

The next two seasons saw mixed results for New Zealand, who won won all their Tri-Nations Tests in 1997 before losing the title for the first time in 1998.^[56] In 1998 New Zealand lost all five Tests in the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup series (two to South Africa and three to Australia), the first time they had lost four Tests in succession since 1949.^[57] The following year they suffered their worst Test loss, 28–7 to Australia in Sydney.^[58]

New Zealand rebounded in the 1999 World Cup and dominated their pool, handing England a 30–16 defeat at Twickenham. They advanced past Scotland 30–18 in the quarter-finals to play France at Twickenham. They finished the first half ahead 17–10.^[58] France then produced a famous half of rugby to which New Zealand had no answer, winning 43–31.^[58] Hart subsequently resigned as coach and was replaced by co-coaches Wayne Smith and Tony Gilbert.

Under Smith and Gilbert, New Zealand came second in the 2000 and 2001 Tri-Nations. Both coaches were replaced by John Mitchell on 3 October 2001, who went on to coach New Zealand to victory in both the 2002 and 2003 Tri-Nations, as well as regaining the Bledisloe Cup, held by Australia since 1998, in 2003. After winning the 2003 Tri-Nations, they entered the 2003 World Cup as one of the favourites and dominated their pool, running up wins against Italy, Canada and Tonga before winning one of the most competitive matches of the tournament against Wales.^[59] They defeated South Africa, a team they had never beaten at the World Cup, 29–9, but lost to Australia 22–10 in the semi-final in Sydney. Afterwards, Mitchell was fired by the NZRU and replaced by Graham Henry.

Henry's tenure began with a double victory over reigning World Champions England in 2004. The two games had an aggregate score of 72–15, with New Zealand keeping England try-less.^[60]^[61] Despite the winning start to Henry's tenure, the Tri-Nations was a mixed success with two wins and two losses. The competition was the closest ever, bonus points deciding the outcome and New Zealand finishing last.^[62]^[63] The 2004 season finished on a high, with New Zealand winning in Europe, including a record 45–6 victory over France.^[64]

New Zealand playing England at Twickenham in 2006.

In 2005 New Zealand whitewashed the touring British and Irish Lions 3–0 in the Test series, won the Tri-Nations, and achieved a second Grand Slam over the Home Nations. They went on to sweep the major International Rugby Board year-end awards in which they were named Team of the Year, Henry was named Coach of the Year, and fly-half (first five) Daniel Carter was Player of the Year.^[4] New Zealand were nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year in 2006 for their 2005 performance.^[65]

In 2006 they again took the Tri Nations Series by winning their first five matches, three against Australia and two against South Africa. They lost their final match of the series against South Africa. They completed their end of year tour unbeaten, with record away wins over France, England and Wales.^[66] New Zealand were named 2006 IRB Team of the Year and were nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award for the second time, while flanker Richie McCaw was named IRB Player of the Year.^[4]^[65]^[67]

The 2007 season started off with two mid-year Tests against France. New Zealand won the Tests 42–11 at Eden Park and 61–10 at Westpac Stadium. A third game, against Canada, resulted in a 64–13 win, although the game was more competitive than the scoreline indicated.^[68]

New Zealand's first Tri-Nations game of 2007 was against the Springboks in Durban, South Africa. New Zealand scored two tries in the final ten minutes of the game to win 26–21. The following week against the Wallabies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne the Wallabies upset New Zealand to win 20–15, New Zealand's first loss to Australia since 2004. New Zealand won both following home games to successfully defend the Tri-Nations Series for 2007.

New Zealand entered the 2007 Rugby World Cup as favourites, and won their pool, beating Scotland, Italy, Romania and Portugal by at least 40 points. However, they then suffered a defeat to hosts France in the first knockout game, the quarterfinals. Following the loss to France coach Graham Henry's job was on the line with then Canterbury Crusaders coach Robbie Deans a likely contender as the next All Blacks coach, but Henry managed to keep his job.

The 2008 season started with three mid-year Tests, the first against Ireland at Westpac Stadium, Wellington. The final two games were against England, the first at Eden Park and the second at AMI Stadium in Christchurch. New Zealand played their first Tri-Nations game against South Africa at Westpac Stadium in Wellington winning 19–8 but a week later at Carisbrook in Dunedin they lost to South Africa 28–30, ending a 30-match winning streak at home, their previous loss in New Zealand being against England in 2003. New Zealand played their next Tri-Nations match on 26 July against Australia at Stadium Australia in Sydney, losing 34–19 but a week later against Australia at Eden Park in New Zealand won 39–10. The greatest victory for New Zealand in the 2008 season was beating South Africa 19–0 on their home ground, Newlands Stadium. New Zealand played their final match on 13 September against Australia at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane winning 28–24 and retaining the Bledisloe Cup and the Tri Nations.

The All Blacks opened the 2009 season on 13 June with a 22–27 loss to France at Carisbrook, but beat France 14–10 at Westpac Stadium a week later. On points difference, France won the Dave Gallaher Cup for the first time in the nine years the two teams had competed for it. A week later the All Blacks defeated Italy 27–6 at AMI Stadium. They finished second in the Tri-Nations Series, behind South Africa who lost only one game, and ended the series with a 33–6 win over Australia in Wellington.

In 2010 the All Blacks won the Tri Nations series for the tenth time after three successive victories against South Africa, also retaining the Bledisloe Cup after consecutive victories against Australia. During 2010 New Zealand were undefeated for 15 test matches, three wins from equalling the record of 18 consecutive wins by Lithuania.

In the 2011 Rugby World Cup, the All Blacks defeated France in the final, with a score of 8-7, to become world champions for the second time.^[69]

Jersey [link]

All Blacks jerseys

The 1905 Jersey

The Adidas Jersey worn between July 1999 and August 2011

The current New Zealand jersey is entirely black except for a white collar, and with the Adidas logo and the NZRU silver fern on the front. The 1884 New Zealand tour to Australia was the first overseas New Zealand rugby tour, and featured clothing very different from today's jersey. Back then, the team donned a dark blue jersey, with gold fern on the left of the jumper.^[70] In 1893 the NZRU stipulated at its annual general meeting that the uniform would be black jersey with a silver fern and white knickerbockers.^[71] However historic photographs suggest white shorts may have been used instead during these early years. Sometime between 1897 and 1901 there was a change; by 1901 the team met NSW in a black jersey, a canvas top with no collar, and a silver fern.^[72]

Recently it has become traditional for New Zealand to wear an embroidered poppy on their jersey sleeve when playing France during the end-of-year tours.^[73] The poppy honours the soldiers who died in the battlefields of Europe. Captain Richie McCaw said "We want to honour the overseas service of New Zealanders. It is an important part of our history as a country and a team."^[74]

Adidas currently pays the NZRFU $200 million over 9 years, expecting New Zealand to win around 75% of their matches.^[75] Nike also looked at sponsoring New Zealand in 1996, but went with Tiger Woods instead.^[76]

The change kit has traditionally been white with black shorts. After a few years playing with a change kit of grey shirt and black shorts, the NZRU announced a return to the traditional white jersey and black shorts in May 2009.

2011 saw a revolution of old and new. 30 July revealed a new All Black jersey with white standup collar at the Springboks match in Wellington. The white collar is said to be honouring the 1987 world-cup-winning team. Adidas has claimed that the performance in the jersey is 1 – 50% better than its predecessor.

Haka [link]

Main article: Haka (sports)

New Zealand perform Ka Mate before a match against France in November 2006.

The All Blacks perform a haka (Māori challenge) before each international match. The haka has been closely associated with New Zealand rugby ever since a tour of New South Wales in 1884. The New Zealand native team that toured Britain in 1888/89 used Ake Ake Kia Kaha and the 1903 team in Australia used a mocking haka, Tupoto koe, Kangaru!. The 1905 All Blacks began the tradition of using Ka Mate and by 1914 this was firmly established as part of New Zealand rugby. The 1924 All Blacks used a specially composed haka Kia Whaka-ngawari, but later All Blacks reverted back to Ka Mate.^[77]

In August 2005, before the Tri-Nations Test match between New Zealand and South Africa at Carisbrook stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand performed a new haka, Kapa o Pango, specially composed by Derek Lardelli and "...designed to reflect the multi-cultural make-up of contemporary New Zealand – in particular the influence of Polynesian cultures".^[78] Kapa o Pango was to be performed on special occasions and was not intended to replace Ka Mate.^[78] Kapa o Pango concludes with what has been interpreted as a "throat slitting" gesture that was a source of controversy and led to accusations that Kapa o Pango encourages violence, and sends the wrong message to All Blacks fans.^[79]^[80] However, according to Derek Lardelli, the gesture represents "drawing vital energy into the heart and lungs."^[81]

In November 2006, at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, New Zealand performed the haka in the dressing room prior to the match – instead of on the field immediately before kick-off – after a disagreement with the Welsh Rugby Union, which had wanted Wales to sing their national anthem after the haka.^[82]

In 2008, New Zealand played Munster at Thomond Park. Before the match, Munster's four New Zealanders challenged New Zealand by performing a haka before the All Blacks started theirs.^[83] On the same tour, Wales responded by silently refusing to move after New Zealand's haka, and the two teams simply stared at each other until the referee forced them to start the game.^[84]

Record [link]

Overall [link]

IRB World Rankings v t e
Top 25 Rankings as of 19 March 2012^[85]
Rank	Change*	Team	Points
1		New Zealand	91.43
2		Australia	87.99
3		South Africa	84.34
4		England	83.62
5		Wales	83.32
6		France	81.91
7		Argentina	80.28
8		Ireland	79.85
9		Tonga	76.63
10		Samoa	75.81
11		Italy	74.17
12		Scotland	73.86
13		Canada	72.92
14		Japan	70.45
15		Georgia	70.26
16		Fiji	68.78
17		United States	65.63
18		Romania	63.81
19		Spain	62.57
20		Namibia	61.24
21		Uruguay	60.47
22		Russia	60.12
23		Chile	59.52
24		Belgium	58.88
25		Portugal	57.75
*Change from the previous week
New Zealand's Historical Rankings

Source: IRB - Graph updated to 23/01/2012^[85]

New Zealand have only ever been beaten by five nations, and are unique in being the only international team to have a winning record against every nation they have played. They have won 364 of their 484 matches – 76.96% (see table), and have lost at home only 37 times. Since World Rankings were introduced by the IRB in October 2003, New Zealand have occupied the number one ranking the majority of the time.^[86]

In the decade from 2000–2009, New Zealand won 100 Tests (82% winning percentage). They won 15 consecutive Tests at one point and recorded a world record 30 straight wins at home.^[87]

Their all-time points difference for Tests (and international level matches) stands at 12,563 to 6,128 (as at 23 October 2011). Many national teams' worst defeat was against New Zealand – the national teams of France, Ireland, Argentina, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Japan, and Portugal all suffered a record loss to New Zealand. Only five of the top twenty test rugby nations have ever beaten New Zealand; even traditional home nations Ireland and Scotland have never beaten the All Blacks.

Their Test match record against all nations (listed alphabetically), updated to 23 October 2011, is as follows:^[88]

IRB World Ranking Leaders
<timeline>

ImageSize = width:150 height:600 PlotArea = left:40 right:0 bottom:10 top:10 DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:20/10/2003 till:24/10/2011 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:2004

TimeAxis = orientation:vertical format:yyyy

Colors =

 id:NZL     value:black 
 id:ENG        value:white
 id:FRA         value:rgb(0,0,1)
 id:RSA            value:teal

PlotData=

 bar:Leaders width:25 mark:(line,black) align:left fontsize:S shift:(20,0)

 from:20/10/2003 till:17/11/2003 shift:(20,-8) text:"England" color:ENG
 from:17/11/2003 till:24/11/2003 shift:(20,0) text:"New Zealand" color:NZL
 from:24/11/2003 till:07/06/2004 shift:(20,0) text:"England" color:ENG
 from:07/06/2004 till:22/10/2007 shift:(20,0) text:"New Zealand" color:NZL
 from:22/10/2007 till:07/07/2008 shift:(20,0) text:"South Africa" color:RSA
 from:07/07/2008 till:14/07/2008 shift:(20,-8) text:"New Zealand" color:NZL
 from:14/07/2008 till:18/08/2008 shift:(20,0) text:"South Africa" color:RSA
 from:18/08/2008 till:27/07/2009 shift:(20,0) text:"New Zealand" color:NZL
 from:27/07/2009 till:16/11/2009 shift:(20,0) text:"South Africa" color:RSA
 from:16/11/2009 till:end shift:(20,0) text:"New Zealand" color:NZL

</timeline>

Opponent	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	% Won
Argentina	14	13	0	1	96.42%
Australia	143	97	41	5	69.58%
British and Irish Lions	38	29	6	3	80.26%
Canada	5	5	0	0	100%
England	34	27	6	1	80.88%
Fiji	5	5	0	0	100%
France	51	38	12	1	75.49%
Ireland	24	23	0	1	97.91%
Italy	11	11	0	0	100%
Japan	2	2	0	0	100%
Pacific Islanders	1	1	0	0	100%
Portugal	1	1	0	0	100%
Romania	2	2	0	0	100%
Samoa	5	5	0	0	100%
Scotland	28	26	0	2	96.42%
South Africa	83	46	34	3	57.22%
Tonga	4	4	0	0	100%
United States	2	2	0	0	100%
Wales	28	25	3	0	89.28%
World XV	3	2	1	0	66.66%
Total	484	364	103	17	76.96%

World Cup [link]

Main article: New Zealand at the Rugby World Cup

New Zealand have won the World Cup twice - in the 1987 inaugural competition held in New Zealand and Australia, and in 2011 when it was also held in New Zealand, beating France in the final. In 1991, they lost their semi-final to Australia before winning the playoff for third. In 1995, they improved by reaching the final, before losing in extra time to hosts South Africa. They finished in fourth place in 1999, after losing their semi-final and then the third-place playoff game. In 2003, New Zealand were knocked out by hosts Australia in their semi-final, before finishing third. The 2007 World Cup saw their worst tournament, being knocked out in the quarterfinals by the host nation France;^[89] until this they were the only team to have reached the semifinals of every tournament.^[90] As a result of the poor performance in the 2007 World Cup the New Zealand Rugby Union commissioned a 47 page report to detail the causes of the failure. In 2011 the All Blacks won their second world cup after 24 years.

New Zealand hold several World Cup records: most World Cup Matches (43),^[91] most points in one match (145 versus Japan in 1995),^[92] most cumulative points over all World Cups (2,012),^[91] most tries overall (272),^[91] and most conversions (198).^[91] Several individual players also hold World Cup records; Jonah Lomu for most World Cup tries (15 over two World Cups),^[93] most appearances held by Sean Fitzpatrick (17 from 1987 to 1995), Marc Ellis with most tries in a match (6 versus Japan in 1995),^[94] Grant Fox with most points in one tournament (126 in 1987), and Simon Culhane with most points in a single game (45 versus Japan in 1995).^[94]

New Zealand has the best record of all teams in the World Cup having a record of 2 (1st), 1 (2nd), 2 (3rd), 1 (4th). New Zealand are the only team to top their pool in every World Cup so far and not to lose a pool match.

On Sunday, the 23rd of October, the All Blacks won the 2011 Rugby World Cup against finalists France, played at Eden Park Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand.

Tri Nations and The Rugby Championship [link]

New Zealand's only annual tournament is a competition involving the Southern Hemisphere's top national teams. From 1996 through 2011, they competed in the Tri Nations against Australia and South Africa. From 2012, the three teams will be joined by newcomers Argentina in The Rugby Championship. New Zealand's record of ten tournament wins (the most recent in 2010) and 50 match wins is well ahead of the other teams' records. The Bledisloe Cup is also contested between New Zealand and Australia, and the Freedom Cup between New Zealand and South Africa, as part of the Tri Nations and The Rugby Championship.

Nation	Games				Points			Bonus points	Table points	Championships
Nation	played	won	drawn	lost	for	against	difference	Bonus points	Table points	Championships
New Zealand	72	50	0	22	1936	1395	+541	32	232	10
Australia	72	29	1	42	1531	1721	−190	34	140	3
South Africa	72	28	1	43	1480	1831	−351	24	138	3
Argentina	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Updated: 11 Nov 2011
Source: espnscrum.com

Players [link]

Current squad [link]

New Zealand 35-man training squad ahead of the three-Test series against Ireland.^[95]

Zac Guildford replaced Richard Kahui (shoulder injury).^[96]
Hosea Gear replaced Cory Jane (ankle injury).^[97]
Hika Elliot was called in to provide cover for Mealamu.^[97]

Head Coach: Steve Hansen

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by the International Rugby Board.

Player	Position	Date of Birth (Age)	Caps	Club/province
Hikawera Elliot	Hooker	(1986-01-22) 22 January 1986 (age 26)	3	Chiefs
Andrew Hore	Hooker	(1978-09-13) 13 September 1978 (age 33)	62	Highlanders
Keven Mealamu	Hooker	(1979-03-20) 20 March 1979 (age 33)	92	Blues
Wyatt Crockett	Prop	(1983-01-24) 24 January 1983 (age 29)	6	Crusaders
Charlie Faumuina	Prop	(1986-12-24) 24 December 1986 (age 25)	0	Blues
Ben Franks	Prop	(1984-03-27) 27 March 1984 (age 28)	15	Crusaders
Owen Franks	Prop	(1987-12-23) 23 December 1987 (age 24)	31	Crusaders
Ben Tameifuna	Prop	(1991-08-30) 30 August 1991 (age 20)	0	Chiefs
Tony Woodcock	Prop	(1981-01-27) 27 January 1981 (age 31)	83	Blues
Brodie Retallick	Lock	(1991-05-31) 31 May 1991 (age 21)	0	Chiefs
Luke Romano	Lock	(1986-02-16) 16 February 1986 (age 26)	0	Crusaders
Sam Whitelock	Lock	(1988-10-12) 12 October 1988 (age 23)	25	Crusaders
Ali Williams	Lock	(1981-04-30) 30 April 1981 (age 31)	73	Blues
Sam Cane	Flanker	(1992-01-13) 13 January 1992 (age 20)	0	Chiefs
Richie McCaw (c)	Flanker	(1980-12-31) 31 December 1980 (age 31)	103	Crusaders
Brad Shields	Flanker	(1991-04-02) 2 April 1991 (age 21)	0	Hurricanes
Adam Thomson	Flanker	(1982-03-13) 13 March 1982 (age 30)	24	Highlanders
Luke Whitelock	Flanker	(1990-01-29) 29 January 1990 (age 22)	0	Crusaders
Kieran Read	Number 8	(1985-10-26) 26 October 1985 (age 26)	36	Crusaders
Victor Vito	Number 8	(1987-03-27) 27 March 1987 (age 25)	13	Hurricanes
Andy Ellis	Scrum-half	(1984-02-21) 21 February 1984 (age 28)	26	Crusaders
Tawera Kerr-Barlow	Scrum-half	(1990-08-15) 15 August 1990 (age 21)	0	Chiefs
Aaron Smith	Scrum-half	(1988-11-21) 21 November 1988 (age 23)	0	Highlanders
Piri Weepu	Scrum-half	(1983-09-07) 7 September 1983 (age 28)	56	Blues
Beauden Barrett	Fly-half	(1991-05-27) 27 May 1991 (age 21)	0	Hurricanes
Dan Carter	Fly-half	(1982-03-05) 5 March 1982 (age 30)	85	Crusaders
Aaron Cruden	Fly-half	(1989-01-08) 8 January 1989 (age 23)	9	Chiefs
Tamati Ellison	Centre	(1983-04-01) 1 April 1983 (age 29)	1	Highlanders
Ma'a Nonu	Centre	(1982-05-21) 21 May 1982 (age 30)	66	Blues
Conrad Smith	Centre	(1981-10-12) 12 October 1981 (age 30)	55	Hurricanes
Sonny Bill Williams	Centre	(1985-08-03) 3 August 1985 (age 26)	14	Chiefs
Hosea Gear	Wing	(1984-03-16) 16 March 1984 (age 28)	8	Highlanders
Zac Guildford	Wing	(1989-08-02) 2 August 1989 (age 22)	8	Crusaders
Julian Savea	Wing	(1990-08-07) 7 August 1990 (age 21)	0	Hurricanes
Israel Dagg	Fullback	(1988-06-06) 6 June 1988 (age 24)	12	Crusaders
Ben Smith	Fullback	(1986-06-01) 1 June 1986 (age 26)	2	Highlanders

Notable players [link]

Captain of the Original All Blacks and International Rugby Hall of Fame inductee Dave Gallaher.

Main article: List of New Zealand national rugby union players

Fifteen former All Blacks have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame; Fred Allen, Don Clarke, Sean Fitzpatrick, Grant Fox, Dave Gallaher, Michael Jones, Ian Kirkpatrick, John Kirwan, Sir Brian Lochore, Jonah Lomu, Sir Colin Meads, Graham Mourie, George Nepia and Wilson Whineray.^[98]^[99]

Four former All Blacks have been inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame. David Kirk, Lomu and Whineray were inducted primarily as players, whilst Lochore was inducted primarily as a coach.^[100]^[101]

Dave Gallaher played in New Zealand' first ever Test match in 1903 and also captained the 1905 Originals. Along with Billy Stead, Gallaher authored the famous rugby book The Complete Rugby Footballer.^[102] At the age of only 19, George Nepia played in all 30 matches on the Invincibles tour of 1924–25.^[103] Nepia played 37 All Blacks games; his last was against the British Isles in 1930.^[103]

Fred Allen captained all of his 21 matches for New Zealand, including six Tests, between 1946 and 1949.^[104] He eventually moved onto coaching New Zealand between 1966 and 1968. New Zealand won all 14 of their Test matches with Allen as coach.^[104]

Five Hall of Fame inductees, including the first New Zealander named to the IRB Hall of Fame, played during the 1960s. Don Clarke was an All Black between 1956 and 1964 and during this period he broke the record at the time for All Black Test points.^[105] Clarke famously scored six penalties in one match – a record at the time – to give New Zealand an 18–17 victory over the British Isles at Dunedin in 1959.^[105]^[106] Sir Wilson Whineray played 32 Tests, captaining New Zealand in 30 of them.^[107] He played prop and also number 8 between 1957 and 1965. New Zealand lost only four of their 30 Tests with Whineray as captain.^[107] On 21 October 2007, Whineray became the first New Zealander to earn induction to the IRB Hall of Fame.^[100] In Colin Meads' New Zealand Rugby Museum profile, he is described as "New Zealand's equivalent of Australia's Sir Donald Bradman or the United States of America's Babe Ruth."^[108] Meads, nicknamed Pinetree, played 133 games for New Zealand, including 55 Tests.^[108] In 1999 the New Zealand Rugby Monthly magazine named Meads the New Zealand player of the century.^[108] Ian Kirkpatrick played 39 Tests, including 9 as captain, between 1967 and 1977.^[109] He scored 16 tries in his Test career, a record at the time.^[109]

The only All Blacks Hall of Famer to debut in the 1970s was flanker Graham Mourie. He captained 19 of his 21 Tests and 57 of his 61 overall All Blacks matches between 1976 and 1982. Most notably, in 1978 he was captain of the first All Blacks side to complete a Grand Slam over the four Home Nations sides.^[110]

The 1987 World Cup champions were coached by Sir Brian Lochore who had represented New Zealand in 25 Tests between 1964 and 1971, including 17 as captain.^[111] Lochore was knighted in 1999 for his lifetime services to rugby, and was also inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame on 24 October 2011 at the IRB Awards ceremony in Auckland alongside all other World Cup-winning coaches through the 2007 tournament.^[101] Four of the 1987 World Cup squad that he had coached are also inductees in the International Hall of Fame, and one in the IRB Hall. John Kirwan played a total of 63 Tests between 1984 and 1994, scoring 35 tries, an All Blacks record at the time.^[112] In the 1987 World Cup opener against Italy, Kirwan raced 90 meters to score one of the tries of the tournament.^[112]^[113] An All Black from 1984 to 1993, Grant Fox was one of New Zealand' greatest point-scorers with 1067 points, including 645 Test points.^[114] Fox played 46 Tests, including the 1987 World Cup final against France. Known as The Iceman, Michael Jones was one of the greatest open side flankers of all time.^[115] Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Jones first played international rugby for Samoa, then for New Zealand, playing 55 Tests between 1987 and 1998.^[115] Due to his Christian faith Jones never played rugby on Sundays, resulting in him not playing in the 1991 World Cup semi-final against Australia, and also in him not being picked for the 1995 World Cup squad.^[115]^[116] The team's captain, David Kirk, was inducted into the IRB Hall alongside Lochore; all other World Cup-winning captains through 2007 (minus the already-inducted Australian John Eales) were also enshrined at this ceremony.^[101]

For many years the most capped Test All Black was Sean Fitzpatrick, with 92 appearances.^[117] He played in the 1987 World Cup after incumbent Andy Dalton was injured, and was appointed All Blacks captain in 1992, continuing in the role until his retirement in 1997.^[117] He played 346 first class rugby matches.^[118] His test record was eclipsed by Mils Muliaina and Richie McCaw who won their 93rd caps against Ireland on 20 November 2010.

Jonah Lomu is generally regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union.^[119] He was the youngest player ever to appear in a Test as an All Black, making his debut at age 19 years, 45 days in 1994. Lomu, a wing, had unique physical gifts; even though he stood 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) and weighed 119 kg (262 lb), making him both the tallest^[120] and heaviest^[121] back ever to play for New Zealand, he could run 100 metres in under 11 seconds. He burst on the international scene in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, scoring seven tries in the competition. Four of those tries came in New Zealand' semifinal win over England, including an iconic try in which he bulldozed England's Mike Catt on his way to the try line. He would add eight more tries in the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Perhaps most remarkably, Lomu played virtually his entire top-level career in the shadow of a serious kidney disorder which ended his Test career in 2002 and ultimately led to a transplant in 2004. Even with his career hampered and eventually shortened by his health issues, he scored 37 tries in 63 Tests.^[122] Lomu was also inducted into the IRB Hall at the October 2011 IRB Awards ceremony, being specifically recognised as one of four new inductees "who had left an indelible mark on Rugby World Cup for their moments of magic, inspiration or feats".^[101]

Individual records [link]

The record for most All Black Test points (and World Record) is held by Dan Carter with 1,250 from 85 Tests.^[123] He surpassed Andrew Mehrtens' All Black record total of 967 points from 70 Tests^[124] in the All Blacks' win over England on 21 November 2009.^[125] On 27 November 2010 Dan Carter scored a penalty against Wales to pass Jonny Wilkinson's previous world record of 1,178 points.^[126] Carter also holds the record for points against Australia with 270.

The All Blacks' record Test try scorer is Doug Howlett with 49 tries, who overtook Christian Cullen's 46 during the 2007 World Cup.^[127] The world record for tries in a calendar year is held by Josevata Rokocoko, with 17 tries in 2003; he also became the first All Black to score ten tries in his first five Tests, as well as the first All Black to score at least two tries in each of four consecutive Tests.^[128] In Test matches, the most capped All Black is Richie McCaw with 103 caps.^[129] The record for most Tests as captain is held by Richie McCaw with 63.^[130] The youngest All Black in a Test match was Jonah Lomu, capped at age 19 years, 45 days, whilst the oldest Test player was Ned Hughes at 40 years, 123 days.^[122]^[131]^[132]

Coaches [link]

Due to the definition and role of All Blacks coach varying so much prior to the 1949 All Blacks tour of South Africa, the following table only includes coaches appointed since.^[46] Updated: 17 January 2012

Name	Years	Tests	Won	Drew	Lost	Win percentage
Alex McDonald	1949	4	0	0	4	0%
Tom Morrison	1950, 55–56	12	8	1	3	66.7%
Len Clode	1951	3	3	0	0	100%
Arthur Marslin	1953–1954	5	3	0	2	60%
Dick Everest	1957	2	2	0	0	100%
Jack Sullivan	1958–1960	11	6	1	4	54.5%
Neil McPhail	1961–1965	20	16	2	2	80%
Ron Bush	1962	2	2	0	0	100%
Fred Allen	1966–1968	14	14	0	0	100%
Ivan Vodanovich	1969–1971	10	4	1	5	40%
Bob Duff	1972–1973	8	6	1	1	75%
John Stewart	1974–1976	11	6	1	4	54.5%
Jack Gleeson	1977–1978	13	10	0	3	76.9%
Eric Watson	1979–1980	9	5	0	4	55.5%
Peter Burke	1981–1982	11	9	0	2	81.8%
Bryce Rope	1983–1984	12	9	1	2	75%
Sir Brian Lochore	1985–1987	18	14	1	3	77.7%
Alex Wyllie	1988–1991	29	25	1	3	86.2%
Laurie Mains	1992–1995	34	23	1	10	67.6%
John Hart	1996–1999	41	31	1	9	75.6%
Wayne Smith	2000–2001	17	12	0	5	70.5%
John Mitchell^[133]	2002–2003	28	23	1	4	82.1%
Sir Graham Henry^[134]	2004–2011	103	88	0	15	85.4%
Steve Hansen	2012–

Home grounds [link]

North Harbour
Stadium

Home grounds in New Zealand

Like the other two countries in the Tri Nations, New Zealand does not have an official stadium for its national team. Instead, New Zealand play their Test matches at a variety of venues throughout New Zealand.

Prior to the construction of Westpac Stadium in 1999, Wellington's Test venue was Athletic Park. Athletic Park was the venue for the first All Blacks Test match in New Zealand against Great Britain in 1904.^[135] The first home Test match played outside the main centres of Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin or Wellington was in 1996 at McLean Park in Napier.^[136] Both the 1987 and 2011 Rugby World Cup finals were played at Eden Park.

Eden Park and AMI Stadium were upgraded in preparation for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. In 2006, the Government of New Zealand proposed the construction of a waterfront National Stadium in Auckland as an alternative to Eden Park's upgrade; this proposal was rejected by the Auckland Regional Council.^[137] By that time, the NZRU no longer considered Carisbrook a suitable Test venue (it did however get Tests against South Africa in 2008, Wales in 2010 and Fiji in 2011); a covered sports stadium was proposed as a replacement.^[138] Dunedin City Council approved the new stadium in March 2008,^[139] land acquisition proceeded from August to October of that year,^[140] and the new venue opened in August 2011, in time for the World Cup.

AMI Stadium was significantly damaged during the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, with cracks in some stands and the playing surface badly damaged by liquefaction as well as damage to infrastructure and streets surrounding the venue. As a result of the damage all scheduled 2011 World Cup games to be held in Christchurch were moved to other regions. Test rugby will return to Christchurch in 2012 at Rugby League Park. Although the stands at that venue were damaged severely enough that they had to be torn down, infrastructure damage was much less severe than at AMI Stadium, and the playing surface survived relatively intact. The stadium is currently being rebuilt with a permanent capacity of 17,000, with temporary seating allowing for 9,000 more spectators.

Ground	Record	Recent Win	Recent Draw	Recent Loss
AMI Stadium, Christchurch (formerly Lancaster Park and Jade Stadium)	80%	2010 (AUS)	N/A	1998 (AUS)
Athletic Park, Wellington	69%	1999 (FRA)	1962 (AUS)	1998 (RSA)
Eden Park, Auckland	81%	2011 (FRA)	1994 (RSA)	1994 (FRA)
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin	N/A
Rugby League Park, Christchurch	N/A
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton	88%	2011 (JPN)	N/A	2009 (RSA)
Westpac Stadium, Wellington	88%	2011 (CAN)	N/A	2003 (ENG)

Venues of All Black Tests in New Zealand [link]

Ground	First Test	First Test	Last Test	Tests at that ground	Win Percentage
Athletic Park, Wellington, North Island	1904 v British Lions	1904	1999	42	69%
Tahuna Park, Dunedin, South Island	1905 v Australia	1905	1905	1	100%
Potter's Park, Auckland, North Island	1908 v British Lions	1905	1905	1	100%
Carisbrook, Dunedin, South Island	1908 v British Lions	1908	2011 v Fiji	38	86%
AMI Stadium, Christchurch, South Island Formerly Lancaster Park and Jade Stadium	1913 v Australia	1913	2010 v Australia	48	81%
Eden Park, Auckland, North Island	1921 v South Africa	1921	2011 v France	71	81%
Epsom Showgrounds, Auckland, North Island	1958 v Australia	1958	1958	1	100%
McLean Park, Napier, North Island	1996 v Western Samoa	1996	1996	1	100%
North Harbour Stadium, North Shore City, North Island	1997 Fiji	1997	2005	6	100%
Rugby Park, Hamilton, North Island	1997 v Argentina	1997	1997	1	100%
Westpac Stadium, Wellington, North Island	2000 v Australia	2000	2011 v Canada	16	88%
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, North Island	2002 v Italy	2002	2011 v Japan	8	88%
Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth, North Island	2008 v Samoa	2008	2010 v Ireland	2	100%
TOTAL				236	81.78%

North Island [link]

Athletic Park and Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Potter's Park, Eden Park and Epsom Showgrounds Auckland
McLean Park, Napier
North Harbour Stadium, North Shore City
Rugby Park and Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth

South Island [link]

Tahuna Park, Carisbrook, Forsyth Barr Stadium at University Plaza, Dunedin
AMI Stadium, Christchurch (Formerly Lancaster Park and Jade Stadium)

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^ Loughrey, David (29 August 2008). "Council starts buying stadium land". Otago Daily Times. http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/20001/council-starts-buying-stadium-land. Retrieved 29 August 2008.

Bibliography [link]

Gifford, Phil (2004). The Passion – The Stories Behind 125 years of Canterbury Rugby. Wilson Scott Publishing. ISBN 0-9582535-1-X.
Howitt, Bob (2005). SANZAR Saga – Ten Years of Super 12 and Tri-Nations Rugby. Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 1-86950-566-2.
Palenski, Ron (2003). Century in Black – 100 Years of All Black Test Rugby. Hodder Moa Beckett Publishers Limited. ISBN 1-86958-937-8.

External links [link]

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Richie McCaw
Rugby union career

Full name	Richard Hugh McCaw
Date of birth	(1980-12-31) 31 December 1980 (age 31)
Place of birth	Oamaru, Otago, New Zealand
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 1 ¹⁄₂ in)
Weight	106 kg (16 st 10 lb)^[1]
School	Otago Boys' High School
University	Lincoln University
Occupation(s)	Professional rugby union player
Playing career
Position	Openside flanker
New Zealand No.	1014
Provincial/State sides
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1999–present	Canterbury	34	(45)
correct as of 28 September 2009.
Super Rugby
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2001–present	Crusaders	115	(130)

correct as of 1 June, 2012.
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2001–present	New Zealand	103	(95)
correct as of 24 October 2011.

Richard Hugh "Richie" McCaw (born 31 December 1980 in Oamaru, North Otago) is a New Zealand rugby union player, and is the current test captain. He plays in the openside flanker position for the New Zealand, Crusaders and Canterbury rugby teams. McCaw is considered one of the best openside flankers of all time, with his ability to anticipate play and adaptability to the referee's rulings two of his key attributes. He was raised in rural North Otago, before moving to Dunedin in 1994 to board at Otago Boys' High School. In 1999 he moved to Christchurch to study at Lincoln University and was selected in the national under-19 rugby union team. The following year he played for the Under 21s and Canterbury in the National Provincial Championship, before debuting in 2001 for the Crusaders in Super Rugby.

McCaw was selected for the 2001 New Zealand National Rugby Team's end-of-year tour, despite having played only a total of eight minutes of Super 14 rugby. His debut for the All Blacks was against Ireland, where he put in a man-of-the-match performance and was selected as New Zealand's first choice open-side flanker for the 2003 World Cup. McCaw became a regular selection in the New Zealand national rugby team, only missing a few games due to reoccurring concussions. In 2006 he was named captain of the All Blacks. He led the All Blacks at the 2007 World Cup and his captaincy came under criticism after they were knocked out in the quarter-final. He continued to captain the All Blacks and lead the team to victory in the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

During McCaw's rugby career Canterbury won the NPC (later ITM Cup) five times and the Crusaders reached the Super Rugby semi-finals nine times, going on to win the final on four of these occasions. Since his debut the All Blacks have won seven Tri Nations titles, completed three successful Grand Slam tours and won the Bledisloe Cup eight times. In 2010 McCaw played his 100th Super Rugby game, made a record-equalling 94th test appearance for his country and became New Zealands most capped All Black captain, leading the side in 57 test matches. He has been named the International Rugby Board (IRB) International Player of The Year a record three times. In 2010 his contract was NZ$750,000 per year, making him the equal highest paid player in New Zealand. In the 2011 World Cup Pool game against France McCaw became the first All Black to reach 100 caps. On the 23rd of October, McCaw led his team to their second world cup title in 24 years by beating France 8-7 in the final of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

1 Early years
2 Career
3 Playing style
4 Personal life
5 Achievements
6 Notes and references
7 External links

Early years [link]

Otago Boys High School, Dunedin, Richie McCaw boarded at the school from 1994 to 1998.

McCaw's great-great-grandfather immigrated to New Zealand, from the Scottish Borders in 1893,^[2] and settled in the Hakataramea Valley, North Otago. McCaw's father still works the family farm and his mother is a local teacher.^[3] On New Year's Eve 1980, Richard Hugh McCaw was born in the nearby city of Oamaru. He grew up on his parents' farm along with his sister Joanna. McCaw started flying gliders with his grandfather, a Tempest pilot during World War II credited with shooting down 20 V1 missiles, when he was nine years old.^[2] He played rugby for the local Kurow rugby club as a youngster,^[3] but it was not until 1994, when he boarded at Otago Boys' High School in Dunedin, that he started to take the game seriously.^[2]

In his last year at Otago Boys High, McCaw was head boy, proxime accessit (runner up) to the dux and played in the school's top rugby team.^[3]^[4] McCaw came to the attention of national selectors during a 5-all draw with Rotorua Boys' High School in the 1998 New Zealand secondary schools rugby final in Christchurch.^[2] However, he failed to make the New Zealand Secondary Schools Team, losing out to Sam Harding, Angus McDonald and Hale T-Pole.^[4] With Sam Harding moving south to study at the University of Otago, McCaw headed to Christchurch's Lincoln University to study agricultural science and pursue his rugby interests.^[3]

In 1999, McCaw was selected in the New Zealand under 19 squad (coached by Mark Shaw), which won the world championship in Wales. During that series, McCaw realised his All Blacks dream could be attainable.^[2] The following year he was selected in the New Zealand under 21 squad and debuted for Canterbury in the National Provincial Championship (NPC) against North Harbour.^[5] On 31 March 2001 he made his Super Rugby debut with the Crusaders, playing a few minutes in a losing effort against the Hurricanes.^[3]^[6] That year he only played twice for the Crusaders, both times as a substitute, for a total of just eight minutes playing time.^[7] He did however play a full season with NPC champions Canterbury and captained the New Zealand Under 21s.^[8]^[9]

Career [link]

International debut [link]

Although the then 20-year-old McCaw had only played seventeen matches for Canterbury, John Mitchell, the new All Black coach, selected him for the 2001 end of year tour to Ireland, Scotland and Argentina. This led Josh Kronfeld, a former All Black openside flanker, to criticise the selection: "You might as well just give All Black jerseys to everybody. The fact they picked guys off one NPC season is bloody incredible".^[10]

McCaw's debut international test was against Ireland at Lansdowne Road on 17 November 2001. His first touch of the game resulted in a knock on when he was hit in a tackle and New Zealand were trailing the Irish 16–7 at half-time.^[11] In the second half the All Blacks recovered to win 40–29 and McCaw was named man of the match, receiving a standing ovation at the post-match function.^[12] A turning point came in the second half when McCaw was able to steal the ball from Ireland, which led to a try to left wing Jonah Lomu.^[13] After the match McCaw recalled the experience: "it was a hell of a stadium to play at, a real rugby stadium, a big crowd – something I'll always remember, very special."^[13]

McCaw played all three tests on the tour, with the All Blacks beating Scotland 37–6^[14] and winning 24–20 against Argentina.^[15] At the end of season rugby awards, McCaw was selected as both the New Zealand Rugby Football Union Under-21 and Air New Zealand NPC Division One Player of the Year.^[16]

2002-2003 [link]

In the lead-up to the 2003 World Cup McCaw was a regular player for Canterbury, the Crusaders and the All Blacks. In 2002 and 2003 the Crusaders competed in the Super Rugby final, beating the Brumbies in 2002^[17] and losing to the Blues in 2003.^[18] The Canterbury provincial rugby team lost the semi final to the eventual winners Auckland in 2002.^[19] McCaw and the other All Blacks were "rested" during the 2003 national provincial championship.^[20]

In 2002 McCaw played for the All Blacks against the touring Ireland team (15–6 and 40–8 victories) and in the Tri Nations against Australia and South Africa. Of the six 2002 test matches McCaw played in, five were won by New Zealand with the only loss to Australia.^[2] The 14–16 loss occurred in New Zealand's third Tri Nations match and ensured the Bledisloe Cup stayed with Australia.^[21] During the All Blacks match against South Africa in Durban a pitch invader attacked Irish referee David McHugh as a scrum was being set, dislocating his shoulder in the process.^[22] McCaw and A.J. Venter wrestled the assailant off the referee and, according to McHugh, if they had not got involved his shoulder would have been broken.^[3] McCaw was rested, along with 20 other members of the Tri Nations squad, from the 2002 end-of-year tour to Europe.^[23]

After another successful campaign with the Crusaders in 2003 (reaching the Super 12 finals), McCaw was again selected as first choice openside flanker for the All Blacks. In June he was involved in a narrow 13–15 defeat at home to England, was a non-playing reserve in a 55–3 victory against Wales and played in a 31–23 win over France.^[24] The 2003 All Blacks retained the Tri Nations title,^[24] regained the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 1997^[25] and were ranked second behind England leading into the World Cup.^[26]

McCaw was selected as openside flanker for the 2003 All Blacks World Cup squad^[27] and played in every game at the tournament. New Zealand won all their pool games^[28] and beat South Africa in the quarter finals^[29] to qualify for a semi-final match-up against Australia. In an upset,^[30] the Australians defeated the All Blacks, knocking them out of the tournament.^[31] At the end of the season awards McCaw received the Kelvin Tremain Trophy for the New Zealand Rugby Union player of the year.^[32]

2004-2005 [link]

The Crusaders finished as runner-ups in the 2004 Super 14 season, losing the final to the Brumbies.^[33] Following the World Cup, John Mitchell was dropped as All Black coach^[34] and replaced by Graham Henry. McCaw was selected as first choice openside flanker and made vice captain. In the first test against England he was escorted off the field after suffering concussion following a clash of heads with fellow All Black Xavier Rush. He was a late withdrawal from the second England test and then played 70 minutes against Argentina before again leaving the field due to dizziness.^[2] Still suffering headaches a month later,^[35] he withdrew from the rest of the home campaign and the 2004 Tri Nations to focus on recovery.^[36] McCaw returned to captain Canterbury to the finals at the tail end of the NPC season.^[37] In November 2004 he returned for the All Blacks' end-of-season tour to Italy, Wales and France. He was made captain at the age of 23 for the first time against Wales as regular captain Tana Umaga was rested.^[38]

In April 2005, while captaining the Crusaders,^[39] McCaw again suffered a concussion. He was stretchered off the field two minutes into the game after attempting a tackle on Bulls prop Richard Bands.^[40] After the incident, McCaw visited a young boy in hospital who had broken his neck playing rugby and started to question whether he should be playing the game. Another paraplegic in the ward told him he had broken his neck swimming on holiday in Fiji, convincing McCaw that it could happen anywhere, and you may as well "do what you enjoy".^[2] A month later, in May 2005, McCaw returned to training with the Crusaders and led them in their semi-final and final victories.^[41]

McCaw returned to international rugby in 2005, playing in the 91–0 victory over Fiji before the British and Irish Lions arrived.^[42] He then played the first two test against the Lions, including a record 48–18 victory in Wellington.^[43] The All Blacks defeated the touring Lions 3–0 in the series. McCaw was part of the successful Tri Nations campaign (losing just one game) and Grand Slam (when victory is achieved against the four home nations) end of year tour.^[44] He missed the game against England after suffering his third serious head knock against Ireland.^[45] Despite his injury concerns, McCaw was shortlisted for the 2005 IRB International Player of the Year, which was won by All Black team-mate Dan Carter.^[46]

2006-2007 [link]

McCaw in the middle of the New Zealand Haka facing a line of the French team in white

New captain McCaw leading a Haka against France in 2006

McCaw led the Crusaders to the Super Rugby title again in 2006.^[47] On May 2006, at the age of 25 and after 36 test matches, McCaw was named captain of the All Blacks.^[48] His first two games as regular captain were against Ireland in New Zealand, while a separate squad led by Jerry Collins was named to travel to Argentina for a one off game.^[49] McCaw started his captaincy with victory over Ireland^[50]^[51] and then mentored stand-in captain Jerry Collins in Argentina.^[52] New Zealand emerged as 2006 Tri Nations champions (the only loss away to South Africa by one point) and retained the Bledisloe Cup.^[53] A successful European tour saw comfortable victories against England, France twice and Wales. McCaw was captain in every match and after being short listed in 2002, 2003 and 2005 was named the 2006 IRB International Player of the Year.^[54]

Because 2007 was a World Cup year, All Black management decided that a select group of 22 players, including McCaw, would undergo "reconditioning" by not playing in the first seven rounds of the Super 14.^[55] McCaw returned to the Crusaders in the eighth round and helped them reach the semi-finals.^[56] New Zealand then beat a below-strength^[57] France team in two tests and won a one-off test against Canada. McCaw started on the bench for the Canadian match, with Reuben Thorne returning as captain.^[58] The Tri Nations was shortened because of the World Cup, with each team playing the other two teams twice (one home and one away game). Led by McCaw, New Zealand again dropped just one game (this time a five point loss against Australia in Melbourne) retaining the Tri Nations crown and the Bledisloe cup.^[59]

2007 World Cup [link]

The 2007 World Cup was held in France, Scotland and Wales. The All Blacks were in a pool that included Italy, Portugal, Scotland and Romania. The All Blacks comfortably made it through the pool play with scores of 76–14, 108–13, 40–0 and 85–8 respectively. McCaw made just three appearances (two starts and one as a reserve) due to Henry's rotation policy. In the quarter-finals the All Blacks lost to France 18–20, resulting in New Zealand's earliest exit from a World Cup. With semi-final exits after being among the favourites at the 1991, 1999 and 2003 World Cups, they were once again accused of "choking on the world's biggest stage".^[60]

An emotional McCaw could not hide his disappointment at the after-match press conference: "If I knew the answers we would have sorted it out. We will be thinking about it for a long time".^[60] McCaw denied New Zealand's easy run into the quarter-finals played a part in the loss "A lot of the guys have been through this before, they've played big test matches."^[60] Graham Henry's policy of using squad rotation and resting key players during the Super 14 was criticised.^[61] McCaw also came under attack. He was accused of not inspiring his team, lacking the ability to change policy when plan A was not working^[61] and not providing enough leadership on the field.^[62]

2008 [link]

McCaw in London, 2008

Despite much speculation that Henry would lose the All Black coaching job to Crusaders coach Robbie Deans, he was retained on a contract for the next two years,^[63] later extended to include the 2011 World Cup.^[64] He immediately stated that he would retain McCaw as his captain. Robbie Deans instead signed with the Australian Rugby Union, becoming head coach of Australia.^[65] In Deans' last season (2008) as Crusaders coach they won the Super Rugby title for the seventh time.^[66] Ireland and England toured to New Zealand in June 2008 and the All Blacks came away with a hard-fought win against Ireland, and two comfortable victories against England. McCaw tore a ligament in his ankle against England and missed the start of the Tri Nations.^[67]

Rodney So'oialo was made stand-in captain and started the Tri Nations with a win and two losses.^[68]^[69] McCaw returned for the fourth game and the All Blacks won the remaining three matches to retain the Tri Nations title and Bledisloe Cup.^[70] McCaw was seen as an inspiration after his return from injury,^[71] with Henry rating his performance in the 19–0 win in South Africa (the first time the South Africans had been kept scoreless on home soil in 105 years) as his best so far for the All Blacks.^[72]

In 2008 a fourth Bledisloe match was played in Hong Kong with the intention of expanding the game of rugby^[73] and in a close 19–14 game McCaw scored the match winning try. The Grand Slam tour to the United Kingdom and Ireland resulted in victories over Scotland (32–6), Ireland (22–3), Wales (29–9) and England (32–6).^[70] During 2008 McCaw won every test he captained and a total of 26 out of 28 games he played in at all levels. The All Blacks won 13 of a record 15 tests, retained the Bledisloe Cup and Tri Nations Trophy, completed the Grand Slam and reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking from South Africa.^[70]

2009-2010 [link]

The Crusaders, under new coach Todd Blackadder, had a slow start to the 2009 season, losing four of their first five games. They recovered to finish fourth on the table, losing the semi-final at Loftus Versfeld to the Bulls.^[74] McCaw injured his knee and missed the start of the international season,^[75] returning for the Tri Nations tournament. South Africa beat the All Blacks in every match to win the title and regain the number 1 ranking, with New Zealand beating Australia three times to finish second.^[76] It was the first time New Zealand had not won the competition in five years and the fifth time since the Tri Nations started in 1996. A fourth Bledisloe Test against Australia was played in Japan before New Zealand toured Europe. Although New Zealand won every match on tour, an earlier loss to France and three defeats by the South Africans were the most suffered by the All Blacks in a season since McCaw joined the team in 2001.^[76] Despite the team's relatively poor season, McCaw was named the IRB International Player of the Year for a second time.^[76]

The 2010 season started in much the same way with the Crusaders finishing fourth during the round robin stage and losing to the Bulls in the semi-final.^[77] During the season McCaw played his 100th Super Rugby game in a losing effort against the Cape Town based Stormers.^[78] New Zealand recorded victories over the touring Ireland and Wales teams, Ireland losing their match by a record 66–28 after number eight Jamie Heaslip received a red card for kneeing McCaw in the head.^[79] The All Blacks went through the Tri Nations undefeated^[80] with the final game of the tournament against Australia marking McCaw's 52nd time captaining the All Blacks, surpassing Sean Fitzpatrick as New Zealand's most-capped test captain.^[81]

The fourth Bledisloe Cup match was again scheduled for Hong Kong and Australia ended a ten match losing streak to the All Blacks.^[82] It was to be the only loss the All Blacks would suffer that season as they went on to win another Grand Slam tour, defeating England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.^[83] In the match against Ireland McCaw, along with team mate Mils Muliaina played in their 93rd test match passing Sean Fitzpatrick to become the most capped All Blacks.^[84] At the end of year McCaw was named the IRB International Player of the Year for the second successive season^[85]^[86] and the New Zealand sportsperson of the year at the Halberg awards.^[87]

2011 Rugby World Cup [link]

McCaw played in five of the 2011 Rugby World Cup games. This was the first world Cup he had won. He played a huge part and was at the heart of the New Zealand defence and lifted the Webb Ellis trophy.

Playing style [link]

McCaw predominately plays at openside flanker, although he has played in the other "loose forward" positions of blindside flanker and number eight for the Crusaders.^[88] The openside binds loosely to the side of the scrum farthest from the touch-line and is usually one of the first players to reach a breakdown. In defence McCaw tries to work with the backs to put pressure on at the tackle and force a turnover, while on attack his priority is to secure the ball for his team.^[89] McCaw is regarded as one of the best openside flankers of all time.^[90]^[91] When he received the IRB Player of The Year award for the third time former Australian lock and award chairperson John Eales described him as "an outstanding captain, a world class player and a role model for our sport".^[92] Along with Dan Carter, he is seen as one of the most influential members of the All Blacks.^[93] McCaw considers his ability to anticipate play as one of his most important skills.^[89] Australian openside David Pocock, who was also shortlisted for the IRB award, admires the way he reads the game as well as his ability to read the referee.^[94]

Not all agree however, with McCaw being labeled a "cheat" by South African coach Peter de Villiers^[95] and South African lock Victor Matfield believes that the referees let "him get away with murder" at the breakdown.^[96] Media footage has been released pinpointing unpenalised transgressions during a match against Australia.^[97] Former Australian coach Eddie Jones and flanker Phil Waugh say he does no more than any other good openside, but his skill at judging how the referee will interpret the breakdown is the main reason for his success.^[97]^[98] McCaw admits that he tests the referee early "to know what you can get away with"^[99] and that only an "idiot" would not adapt to their rulings.^[100] Teammate Aaron Mauger,^[101] along with many New Zealand fans, have suggested that McCaw's influence and playing style has made him a target for illegitimate play.^[102] International players Phil Waugh,^[103] Jamie Heaslip,^[104] Marcus Horan,^[103] Andy Powell,^[105] Dylan Hartley^[106] and Quade Cooper^[107] have been accused of making "cheap shots" on McCaw. He has even been on the receiving end from his All Black teammates when playing for the Crusaders, with Neemia Tialata, Jerry Collins and Ali Williams becoming frustrated with his play.^[108] According to McCaw "what happens on the field stays on the field" and if he gets extra attention it is because he "must be doing something right".^[109]

2011 Rugby World Cup 23 October 2011 Richie leads the All Blacks to victory over the French in the final game of the Rugby World cup at Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand. 8-7.

Personal life [link]

In 2009,^[110] McCaw was dating professional dancer Hayley Holt, who was swimmer Mark Foster's partner on the British television show Strictly Come Dancing,^[111] although there are rumours that they have since broken up.^[112] In June 2011, reports said that his girlfriend is New Zealand journalist Nicola Grigg.^[113] His other sporting passion is flying and he has been made an honorary Squadron Leader in the Royal New Zealand Air Force.^[114] McCaw learned to fly gliders from his grandfather, who flew more than 300 missions in the Second World War.^[111] In 2009 he convinced the head of the Discovery network in Australia and New Zealand to do a show about gliding.^[115] They filmed McCaw gliding at Omarama on the extreme sports series Sportstar Insider, which was hosted by former Australian rugby league player Andrew Ettingshausen. After the 2010 Canterbury earthquake he auctioned a personal flying lesson through Trade Me to raise money for the badly damaged Hororata St Johns Church.^[116] He is also raising money for a young Samoan who broke his neck playing rugby and whose village was destroyed in the 2009 Tsunami.^[117] In 2010, McCaw and Dan Carter were on a NZ$750,000 a year contract that will see them through to the end of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, making them the highest paid rugby players in New Zealand at the time. This contract would still apply if they had not been selected for the World Cup squad.^[118] McCaw is the first All Black to reach 100 test caps.

In December 2011, Prime Minister John Key revealed that he had asked McCaw about the possibility of a knighthood in the 2012 New Year Honours, but that McCaw had turned it down. According to Key, "He made the call that he's still in his playing career and it didn't feel quite right for him, that day where he's no longer on the pitch may be the right time for him." No formal offer was ultimately made.^[119]

Achievements [link]

Year	Canterbury (NPC)^{[n 1]}	Crusaders (Super Rugby)	All Blacks (Tri Nations)	Awards	Career highlights
2001	Champions^[8]	10th^[122] (played only eight minutes)^[7]	Not selected^{[n 2]}	New Zealand Under 21 Player of the Year^[16] NPC Division One Player of the Year^[16]	All Black debut^[13]
2002	Semi-finalist^[19]	Champions^[17]	Champions^[2]
2003	Did not play^[20]	Finalist^[18]	Champions^[24]	New Zealand Player of the Year^[32]	2003 World Cup
2004	Champions^[37]	Finalist^[33]	Did not play due to injury^[36]	NPC Division One Player of the Year^[127]
2005	Semi-finalist^[128]	Champions^[41]	Champions^[44]		Grand Slam^[44]
2006	Quarter-finalist^[129]	Champions^[47]	Champions^[53]	New Zealand Player of the Year^[130] IRB International Player of the Year^[54]	Captain of the All Blacks^[48]
2007	Semi-finalist^[131]	Semi-finalist^[56]	Champions^[59]		2007 World Cup
2008	Champions^[132]	Champions^[66]	Champions^[70]		Grand Slam^[70]
2009	Champions^[133]	Semi-finalist^[74]	2nd^[76]	New Zealand Player of the Year^[134] IRB International Player of the Year^[76]
2010	Champions^[135]	Semi-finalist^[77]	Champions^[136]	IRB International Player of the Year^[85] New Zealand Sportsman of the Year^[87]	100 Super Rugby caps^[78] Grand Slam^[83] Most capped All Black captain^[81] Equal most capped All Black^[84]
2011	Champions^[133]	Finalist^[74]	2nd^[76]		100 Test Caps Won the 2011 Rugby World Cup

Notes and references [link]

Notes

^ The competition was originally called the National Provincial Championship (NPC) until 2006. It was then split into two competitions, the Air New Zealand Cup and the Heartland Championship.^[120] Canturbury contested the Air New Zealand Cup, which was later renamed the ITM Cup due to a change in sponsorship in 2010.^[121]
^ The openside flankers selected in the Tri Nations squad were Taine Randell and Marty Holah.^[123]^[124]^[125]^[126] McCaw was not to make his All Black debut until the end of year tour, after the Tri Nations had finished.

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^ Greg Ford (14 Nov 2010). "Rodney So'oialo, Ali Williams on a roll". Star Times. http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/4343395/Rodney-So-oialo-Ali-Williams-on-a-roll.
^ "McCaw turns down knighthood". TVNZ. 16 December 2011. http://tvnz.co.nz/all-blacks/mccaw-turns-down-knighthood-4647230. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
^ Chris Barclay (Thursday 20 July 2006). "Will revamped NPC really fly with fans?". New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10392167.
^ "Rugby: New name for NPC". New Zealand Herald. 15 March 2010. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10632182.
^ "Crusaders 2001 Season". Crusaders. http://www.crusaders.co.nz/net/results/past-seasons.aspx.
^ "Tri Nations – Cape Town, 21 Jul 2001". ESPN Scrum (stats guru). http://www.espnscrum.com/statsguru/rugby/match/24036.html.
^ "Tri Nations – Dunedin, 11 Aug 2001". ESPN Scrum (stats guru). http://www.espnscrum.com/statsguru/rugby/match/24040.html.
^ "Tri Nations – Auckland, 25 August 2001". ESPN Scrum (stats guru). http://www.espnscrum.com/statsguru/rugby/match/24043.html.
^ "Tri Nations – Sydney, 1 September 2001". ESPN Scrum (stats guru). http://www.espnscrum.com/statsguru/rugby/match/24045.html.
^ "Carter named Player of the Year". ESPN Scrum. 3 February 2005. http://www.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/story/56689.html.
^ Wynne Gray (15 October 2005). "Otago surprise Canterbury". New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10350392.
^ Wynne Gray (11 October 2006). "Grown-up team ready for Auckland". New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10405322.
^ "McCaw adds NZ honour to haul". New Zealand Herald. 15 December 2006. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10415522.
^ "Rugby: Wellington hang on and deny desperate Canterbury". New Zealand Herald. 14 October 2007. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10469786.
^ Steve Deane (27 October 2008). "Rugby: Canterbury eke out win in lacklustre final". New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10539558.
^ ^a ^b "Rugby: Carter special seals Canterbury win". New Zealand Herald. Thursday 15 October 2009. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10603479.
^ "Richie McCaw rugby player of the year". New Zealand Herald. 18 December 2009. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10616262.
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External links [link]

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Richie McCaw at AllBlacks.com

Awards
Preceded by Daniel Carter Shane Williams	IRB International Player of the Year 2006 2009, 2010	Succeeded by Bryan Habana Thierry Dusautoir
Preceded by Mahé Drysdale	New Zealand's Sportsman of the Year 2010, 2011	Succeeded by Incumbent
Rugby Union Captain
Preceded by Tana Umaga	All Blacks Captain 2006–present	Incumbent
Preceded by John Smit	IRB World Cup winning captain 2011	Succeeded by Incumbent

v t e Crusaders - 2002 Unbeaten Season – Super 12 Champions

Forwards	Sam Broomhall Greg Feek Corey Flynn Mark Hammett Dave Hewett Chris Jack Johnny Leo'o Norm Maxwell Richie McCaw Brad Mika Scott Robertson Greg Somerville Reuben Thorne Nick White

Backs	Ben Blair Ben Hurst Joe Maddock Leon MacDonald Justin Marshall Aaron Mauger Nathan Mauger Andrew Mehrtens Mark Robinson Caleb Ralph Marika Vunibaka

Coach	Robbie Deans

v t e New Zealand squad – 2003 Rugby World Cup Third Place

Forwards	Braid Collins Flynn Hammett Hewett Hoeft Holah Jack McCaw Mealamu Meeuws Somerville So'oialo Thorn Thorne (c) Williams

Backs	Atiga Carter Devine Howlett Kelleher MacDonald Marshall Mauger Muliaina Nonu Ralph Rokocoko Spencer Umaga

Coach	Mitchell

v t e New Zealand squad – 2007 Rugby World Cup

Forwards	Collins Hayman Hore Jack Lauaki Masoe McCaw (c) Mealamu Oliver Robinson Somerville So'oialo Thorne Tialata Williams Woodcock

Backs	Carter Ellis Evans Howlett Kelleher Leonard MacDonald Mauger McAlister Muliaina Rokocoko Sivivatu Smith Toeava

Coach	Henry

v t e Crusaders squad 2008 Super 14 champions – 2008 Super 14 champions

Forwards	Wyatt Crockett Corey Flynn Ben Franks Steve Fualau Campbell Johnstone Nasi Manu Richie McCaw Michael Paterson Ti’i Paulo Kieran Read Greg Somerville George Whitelock Ali Williams Reuben Thorne Mose Tuiali'i

Backs	Tim Bateman Stephen Brett Dan Carter Andrew Ellis Kahn Fotuali’i Hamish Gard Scott Hamilton Casey Laulala Leon MacDonald Sean Maitland Kade Poki Caleb Ralph

Coach	Robbie Deans

v t e New Zealand squad – 2011 Rugby World Cup Winners (2nd Title)

Forwards	Afoa Boric Flynn B Franks O Franks Hore Kaino McCaw (c) Mealamu Read Thomson Thorn Vito Whitelock A Williams Woodcock

Backs	Carter Cowan Cruden (Replaced Carter) Dagg Donald (Replaced Slade) Ellis Gear (Replaced Muliaina) Guildford Jane Kahui Muliaina Nonu Slade Smith Toeava Weepu SB Williams

Coach	Henry

v t e Crusaders squad

Forwards	Barrett Crockett Donnelly Flynn B. Franks O. Franks Funnell Kennedy MacDonald McCaw (c) O'Connor Read Romano Todd Wheeler G. Whitelock L. Whitelock S. Whitelock

Backs	Bleyendaal Carter Crotty Dagg Ellis Fruean Guildford Heinz Maitland Marshall Osborne Taylor A. Whitelock

Coach	Blackadder

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richie_McCaw

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.

Persondata
Name	McCaw, Richie Hugh
Alternative names	Richie McCaw
Short description	New Zealand Rugby union footballer.
Date of birth	31 December 1980
Place of birth	Oamaru, New Zealand
Date of death
Place of death

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