New Zealand National Rugby Union Team known as the “All Blacks” represents New Zealand in circuit of International Rugby Union. All Blacks have rated amongst the best in the world for well over 100 years. The team played its first match at home, against a Wellington XV. The first New Zealand touring side to travel abroad went to New South Wales in 1884 and won all 8 games. The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) was formed on Saturday 16 April 1892 to administer the game of rugby union at the national level. New Zealand Rugby Football Union or NZRFU was officially shortened in 2006 with the removal of the world “Football”.
New Zealand National Rugby Union Team competes annually with Australia and South Africa in the Tri Nations competition, winning the trophy a record ten times in 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 in its 16-year history. The All Blacks have won over a record 75% of all rugby matches they have played since 1903. All Blacks won International Rugby Board (IRB) Team of the Year award in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and a record fifth time in 2011. New Zealand captain, Richie McCaw, was the International Rugby Board Player of the Year for a record third time. New Zealand National Rugby Union Team is the current holders of the Rugby World Cup 2011 and wins their second Rugby World Cup title after 24 years.
How New Zealand Got Their Name “All Blacks”-New Zealand National Rugby Union Team test side was not always called the All Blacks. In the early days they were called Maorilanders, the New Zealanders or even the Colonials. New Zealand was given that name during their famous 1905 tour to the British Isles, France and Canada.
In 1884 New Zealand side had for its uniform a dark blue jersey with a gold fern leaf over the left breast, dark knickerbockers, and stockings. It was certainly not “All Black”. After the formation of the New Zealand Rugby Union in 1892, it was resolved that the New Zealand representative colors’ should be “…Black Jersey with Silver Fern leaf, Black Cap with Silver Monogram, White Knickerbockers and Black Stockings…”. This was the standard uniform for some years, though photographs of the 1894 and 1896 teams show that white shorts, and not knickerbockers, were worn. There is no photograph of the 1897 team in uniform in the official photograph they are shown wearing long trousers but in the New Zealand Graphic of 14 August 1897 there is a cartoon of a New Zealand footballer wearing a black jersey and white shorts.
New Zealand National Rugby Union Team shorts were changed to black in tour. The "Express & Echo in Devon appears to be the first to use the term All-blacks when it recorded the day the 1905 touring side beat Devon 55-4 in their first game, "The All Blacks, as they are styled by reason of their sable and unrelieved costume, were under the guidance of New Zealand captain Mr. Gallaher and their fine physique favorably impressed the spectators". By 11 October the Daily Mail by Buttery, had also picked this up and reference “All Black” play and its complement, “All Black Cameraderie”. From then on the new name gradually won acceptance, so much so that by early November, following the match with Surrey, the Daily Mail made direct mention of the All Black team “that everybody is talking about”.
It is also interesting to note that on 15 November 1905 the term “Blacks” had even appeared in the pages of Punch which printed a number of stanzas dealing with the short comings of Seddon, the last running as follows,
Can it be your head is turned
By your team of Rugby “Blacks”?
Has the glory they have earned
Set you trotting in their tracks?
Well, it's not mere weight and gristle,
You must also play the game,
Or the referee may whistle
And you'll have yourself to blame
If you get a free kick where you don't expect the same
Although the new name All Blacks caught on so quickly in Britain, its acceptance in New Zealand was much slower. The newspapers were equally tardy in adopting the term but by 21 November, the New Zealand Herald referred to the “Triumphal March of the Blacks”. A few weeks later it headed a column “‘All Black’ Gossip”; editorially, however, it always used the more formal term, “New Zealand Footballers”. Thus on 5 March 1906, the day of the team's arrival at Auckland, the Herald editorially acclaimed the “New Zealand Footballers”, but on the following day it headed its report of the official function of welcome with a bold double-column caption “Return of the All Blacks”. Meanwhile, throughout the country special shop window displays and feature advertisements “to mark the return of the All Blacks” suddenly appeared. The “All Blacks” had indeed arrived. The title of 'The Originals' was bestowed on the 1905/6 team to your Britain, France and Canada, which arrived home to official welcome befitting conquering heroes.
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