All Blacks to close curtain on Carisbrook - Comment

In 1908 the All Blacks hosted the "Anglo-Welsh" and Billy Stead's team defeated the tourists 32-5, thus commencing a long and illustrious history at the ground commonly referred to as the House of Pain.
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100 years to the day since NZ Maori took the field - 18 Comments

New Zealand Maori made a winning start to its rich and successful history when the first official New Zealand Maori side met and defeated a Rotorua sub-union team 100 years ago today.
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1995 backs rated second best of all time

New Zealand's backline that crushed England in the 1995 Rugby World Cup semi-final in Cape Town has been rated the second greatest of all time.
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History of the Bledisloe Cup

Almost eighty years ago, Charles Bathurst - the fourth Governor General of New Zealand and the 1st Viscount Bledisloe - awarded the Bledisloe Cup to be the symbol of clashes between the All Blacks and Wallabies.
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1884 - the year of the first NZ representative football team

The young colony of New Zealand faced good prospects while it could produce young men with sound minds in sound bodies, according to the Governor in 1884, Sir William Jervois. It was an optimism that proved not to be displaced.
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Record-breaking Lions bewitched a young nation

The British and Irish Lions’ battles in South Africa have dominated our news media this year. But a half-century ago, it was the presence of the Lions in New Zealand that held the headlines.
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No room for Lomu in Almanack selection

He might have been the most dynamic force in world rugby, the most identifiable icon in the game, but that wasn't enough for Jonah Lomu to gain a place in the New Zealand Rugby Almanack's jubilee team for the years 1984-2008.
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MONRO – The Life and Times of the Man that Gave New Zealand Rugby

Clive Akers, already warmly regarded for his outstanding work over the past 14 years, as co-editor of the Rugby Almanack, has enhanced his standing as one of the country’s foremost rugby historians, with his biography on Charles Monro.
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Still All Blacks nuggets to be found

Just when you thought there couldn't be much more to be dredged out of the All Blacks legend, up pops more fascinating facts on the country's national team.
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Allan had special place in NZ history

Trevor Allan, who died at his Sydney home aged 80 at the weekend, will always hold a special place in the heart of New Zealand rugby.
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Haka inspired Aussie Dave Brockhoff

Dave Brockhoff, one of the great characters of Australian rugby, has recounted the effect of the haka on him when he first played Test rugby.
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1956: When We Beat the Boks

The year 1956 was a memorable one for New Zealand rugby, for not only were our elect successful in winning the Test rubber against our South African visitors, but the record crowds that crammed our grounds, and the considerable enthusiasm that was engendered for our national game, made the season one to be long remembered.
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Headstone for Original Duncan McGregor unveiled

An All Black Original has been honoured with a headstone 60 years after he was buried.

Duncan McGregor was one of the stars of the All Blacks tour of Britain in 1905 but he died in poverty and was buried in an unmarked grave in Timaru.
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The day the Boot roared

1959, Carisbrook. Clear skies, soft track... and as a potential kicking duel looms tomorrow night between Jonny Wilkinson and Dan Carter, ex-All Black first-five Ross Brown had a ball’s eye view of what remains one of the greatest goal-kicking displays in rugby history.
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New Zealand Rugby History

All Blacks and NZ Rugby History

The first game of rugby played in New Zealand took place before the New Zealand Rugby Football Union was formed. From early European times, football in various forms had been played but from the description of the game in local papers, it is certain that the match between Nelson College and Nelson football club, played on 14 May 1870, was played under rugby rules.
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All Blacks At The World Cup

The most amazing thing about the World Cup is that it eventuated at all and New Zealand played a huge part in the revolution that saw the tournament kick off in 1987.
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