New Zealand national rugby union team

The New Zealand national men's rugby union team, officially nicknamed the All Blacks, represents New Zealand in men's rugby union, which is regarded as the country's national sport. The All Blacks are three time winners, and current holders of the Rugby World Cup, having won the inaugural competition in 1987, then won consecutive titles in 2011 and 2015, and are the 2015 World Rugby Team of the Year. They have won over 76% of their test matches and are the leading test match points scorers of all time. Their win ratio puts them amongst the most successful teams of any sport in history. They are the only international side with a winning record against every country they have played, and since their international debut in 1903 only five nations have defeated New Zealand in test matches. Since the introduction of the World Rugby Rankings in October 2003, New Zealand has held the number one ranking longer than all other teams combined. The All Blacks are also the first team to set their hands on the Webb Ellis Cup, the first team to win back to back Rugby World Cups, and the first team to win the cup on three separate occasions.

Māori All Blacks

The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Māori, is a rugby union team from New Zealand. A representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, a prerequisite for playing in this team is that the player is to have Māori whakapapa or genealogy. In the past this rule was not strictly applied; non–Māori players who looked Māori were often selected in the team. These included a few Island players and a couple of African descent. Today all players have their ancestry verified before selection in the team.

The team's first match was in 1888 against Hawke's Bay, and their first international match in 1888 against Ireland in Dublin. This was followed by a tour of Europe in 1888 and 1889 where the team suffered their first Test defeat—to Wales in Swansea.

The team's early uniforms consisted of a black jersey with a silver fern and white knickerbockers. New Zealand Māori perform a haka—a Māori challenge or posture dance—before each match. The haka was later adopted by the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, as were their black shirts. In 2001, the Māori first performed the "Timatanga" haka, which describes the evolution of life and the creation of New Zealand from the four winds.

Blacks

Blacks may refer to:

See also

Māori

Māori or Maori can refer to:

Ships

Sports teams

Literature

Sky Television

Sky Television may refer to: