10 Great Facts about the All Blacks

New Zealand Rugby Team at the 2020 Olympics. Author Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee. Wikimedia Commons

10 Great Facts about the All Blacks

What is special about the All Blacks?

In the world of rugby, the New Zealand rugby team, commonly referred to as the All Blacks have established themselves as a dominant force in the sport over decades. This is against a backdrop of limited resources and tiny population size when compared to their rivals. Theirs is a story of determination, discipline, structure, innovation, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to get to the top and stay there. They are also regarded as the most successful sports team in human history. Their greatness can be justified by record of winning the Rugby World Cup 3 times and also boast of being the first country to retain the Rugby World Cup.

A key factor that contributes to the success of the All Blacks is the focus and specialization that they have when it comes to rugby. In New Zealand there are not many other sports that compete with rugby in the country and they’ve become somewhat of a specialist as a result.

1. They Are The Most Decorated Rugby Team In The World

The most decorated team pride themselves of winning the Rugby World Cup in. Remarkably, they were also the first country to win the Rugby World Cup a record 6 times and the first country to retain the Rugby World Cup. They have an amazing 76 per-cent winning record in test-match rugby, and have secured more wins than losses against every test opponent.

Since the introduction of the World Rugby Rankings in 2003, No other team has held the number-one ranking longer than the All Blacks. They also jointly hold the record for the most consecutive test match wins for a tier-one ranked nation, along with England.

Read more stories here

2. The All Blacks Have Won The Tri-Nations Series A Record Ten Times

All Blacks Player. Author Tokuzo of Edomura. Wikimedia Commons

The All Blacks have dominated and won the Tri-Nations Series a record ten times. Behind the success is a team culture that is built on humility, unity, and a deep reverence for the black jersey with the silver fern. Players are expected to embody core values that include “better men make better All Blacks” and “no individual is bigger than the team”. Wearing the black jersey comes with a responsibility to enhance its legacy, which can be traced back to the very first All Blacks.

 3. The 2021 Rugby Season Was Great For The All Blacks

The 2021 rugby season was great for the All Blacks. They opened the season with a 102-0 thrashing over Tonga at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland. A week later they followed this win beating tough Fiji side in Dunedin (57-23) and then a week later in Hamilton, they beat Fiji again 60–13. They repeated the same fete in their Bledisloe Cup campaign once again beating Australia at Eden Park (33-25). They were not done yet as they went on to defeat the Wallabies 2 more times, (57–22) and (38–21) to retain the Bledisloe Cup and sweep them (3-0). They won other matches against Argentina, South Africa, Wales, United States, Ireland and France.

4. New Zealand Has A 76 Percent Winning Record In Test-Match Rugby

All Blacks Team. Author paddynapper. Wikimedia Commons

As an established rugby playing nation the All Blacks have an impressive 76 percent winning record in test-match rugby, and boast of more wins than losses against every test opponent. Since their international debut in 1903, New Zealand teams have played test matches against 19 nations, of which 12 have never won a game against the All Blacks. The team has also played against three multinational all-star teams, losing only eight of 45 matches.

5. The All Blacks Have Only Been Beaten By Seven Test Nations

The All Blacks reign supreme over all the other test nations. As a matter of fact they have only lost to seven test nations (and drawing to an additional nation in Scotland) and two combined teams (the British & Irish Lions, and a World XV) and they are the only international team to have a winning record against every nation they have played. Statistics indicate that they have won 480 of their 625 test matches (76.80 Percent) and have lost at home only 42 times.

6. The All Blacks’ Longest Winning Streak Is 23 Test Victories

Japan-New Zealand Test Match 2022. Author RuinDig/Yuki Uchida. Wikimedia Commons

The All Blacks’ longest winning streak is 23 test victories. This was achieved between 2015 and 2016. They had previously recorded some magnificent results in 2013 when they won every test they played during a calendar year. They also hold the record for most consecutive test wins at home – a 47-match winning streak, achieved between 2009 and 2017.

7. Their All-time points Record For Tests Stands At 17,715

As at November 2022, their all-time point’s record for tests stands at 17,715 points for and 8,521 points against (updated 20 November 2022). To get to this, many teams have suffered their heaviest defeats when playing against the All Blacks. These include; Argentina (91–8), Fiji (91–0), France (62–13), Ireland (60–0), Japan (145–17), Portugal (108–13), Samoa (101–14), South Africa (57–0), Tonga (102–0, twice) and United States (104-14). Their largest test win was 145–17 against Japan in 1995, while their heaviest loss was a 7–28 loss to Australia in 1999, equaled by a 26–47 loss (also to Australia) in 2019.

Read more here

8. They Are Known To Pull A Come Back To Win Matches

Coincidentally of the 172 games the All Blacks have been down at half-time, they have won 81 of those and drawn 10. Thus when playing against this team you may not have the luxury to relax before the match ends even if you are winning. They always have a great potential to pull a comeback and win the game.

Get more fascinating stories here

9. They Start Each International Game With The Haka Dance

All Blacks Haka. Author Sonya & Jason Hills. Wikimedia Commons

The All Blacks today perform the haka dance before every match. This is usually as a show of strength and unity prior to kick-off of a Test match.

10. The Most Capped Player In The World Was Playing For The All Blacks

Ritchie McCaw was the most capped player in the world For A Long Time. The retired captain played 145 games He was the most-capped player in rugby union history with 148 caps, having overtaken Brian O’Driscoll’s record in 2015 and losing the record to Alun Wyn Jones in 2020. McCaw has also equaled the record for most appearances at the Rugby World Cup with Jason Leonard.

He captained the national team, the All Blacks, in 110 out of his 148 test matches, and won two Rugby World Cups. He has also won the World Rugby player of the year award a joint record three times and was the most capped test rugby player of all time from August 2015 to October 2020. He is also a beneficiary of the New Zealand sportsman of the decade award, the highest sporting honor a sports individual can achieve in New Zealand.

Get more fascinating stories here