Rugby New Zealand

Rugby is regarded as New Zealand's national sport by many in our country and has deep roots within all provincial areas and it's cities.

There are over 500 clubs in New Zealand, and it is common to see children under eight years of age playing a non-contact version of the game at these clubs.
Rugby is supported by a large amount of schools in NZ with some of the High School competition games being watch by significant crowds.

The culture of rugby is strong within the country with Regional and National competitions for a number of grades. This ensures development of talent and provides a regular stream of players into the professional national and international competitions.

Christchurch has one of the most successful professional teams the Crusaders who have won 10 out of 23 titles in the Super Rugby competition “played by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Africa”. New Zealand teams have won the championship a total of 16 times since it started in 1996.

New Zealand regulary dominates both mens and womens rugby on the world stage with the New Zealand All Blacks consistently ranking as the number one team in the world. They have won the Rugby World Cup “RWC” 3 times, 1987, 2011 and 2015.
The All Blacks are the only team never to have lost a pool match and with the exception of 2007, when they lost a quarter-final to France; they have made it to at least the semi-finals in every RWC.

The Haka
The haka is a traditional Māori challenge that has become linked with New Zealand All Blacks and to some extent some school boy rugby competitions. Although there are many variations of haka two of the best known due to the All Blacks are called Ka Mate and the KAPA O PANGO.

A lot of teams have said the Haka gives the All Blacks an advantage as its stirring performance can lift the player’s performance. There has been a number of ploys used by both teams and supporters to drown out the Haka.
In 2006, the Welsh Rugby Union insisted that the All Blacks should do the haka before the national anthems, the All Blacks chose to perform the Haka in the changing rooms instead.

The Black Ferns
The New Zealand national women's rugby team is called the Black Ferns.
The team has won five out of the six Women's Rugby World Cups Cup titles in 1998, 2002 2006, 2010 and 2017.
They have the best winning percentages in international rugby, acheiving victory in close to 90 percent of their Tests matches.
Making them the most dominant team in women's rugby, they have also entered into a professional contract with the New Zealand Rugby Union, making them one of the few professional womens rugby teams in the world.

The Maori All Blacks "source NZ Rugby"
A historic team representing the proud culture of New Zealand. In 1888 New Zealand Natives was one of the country’s maiden national rugby sides, playing Hawke's Bay in their first ever match on June 23, with the Natives winning 5-0. Later that year they would play their initial international side, recording their first national win 13-4 when beating Ireland in Dublin.

The first to wear the famous black jersey, the side was originally conceived as an all-Maori selection and ultimately included just five non-Maori players in its ranks.

Conquerors of many internationals sides, including the British and Irish Lions, England, Ireland, while the last time they lost to a Pacific Island side was in 1973 (Tonga).
Originally team selected was ‘loosely’ governed in terms of heritage, but now all players must have Maori whakapapa or genealogy confirmed in order to represent the side.

All Blacks Sevens "source NZ Rugby"
The team was first selected in 1973 and attended a major international tournament for the first time in 1983 the famous Hong Kong Sevens.
The All Blacks Sevens have been one of the most successful international sevens team in the world, competing regularly on the World Rugby Sevens World Series circuit, which the team has won 12 times.
The All Blacks Sevens have lifted the Rugby World Cup of Sevens three times, in 2001, 2013 and 2018, plus they have won four Commonwealth Games gold medals.

Players have won the World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year on five occasions; Afeleke Pelenise (2007), DJ Forbes (2008), Tomasi Cama (2012) and Tim Mikkelson (2013). DJ Forbes holds the record for most appearances having appeared in 89 tournaments before retiring at the end of 2017.

The Black Fern Sevens "source NZ Rugby"
The New Zealand Women's Sevens have dominated the Women's Sevens Series, claiming all three series crowns since its inception in 2012. In the 2014/15 series, the team secured convincing wins in Dubai, Brazil, USA and Canada, before falling to a third place finish in London and a fifth in the series closer in Amsterdam.
They finished the series 12 points clear of nearest rival Canada, and with it, automatic qualification to the Olympic Games in Rio De Janiero in 2016 when sevens debuts on the world’s greatest sporting stage. The team are the current sevens World Champions after winning the title in 2013 and 2018.