page_title: New Zealand national rugby union team
section_title: Development of a legacy
hierarchical_section_title: New Zealand national rugby union team / History / Development of a legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: The New Zealand national rugby team, nicknamed The Invincibles All Blacks.
context_page_description: The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 2011 and 2015, as well as in the inaugural tournament in 1987.
  New Zealand has a 77 per-cent winning record in test-match rugby, and is the only international men's side to have secured more wins than losses against every 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. Since the introduction of the World Rugby Rankings in 2003, New Zealand has held the number-one ranking longer than all other teams combined. They jointly hold the record for the most consecutive test-match wins for a tier-one ranked nation, along with England.
  The All Blacks compete with Argentina, Australia and South Africa in the Rugby Championship, and have won the trophy sixteen times in the competition's 23-year history.
context_section_description: International rugby was suspended during the First World War, but a New Zealand Services team did compete in inter-services competition known as the King's Cup. After their departure from Europe the side toured South Africa before their return to New Zealand, and that tour paved the way for a South African team to tour New Zealand in 1921. The Springboks – as the South African team is known – played New Zealand in a test series that ended all square. New Zealand conducted a return tour to South Africa in 1928, and the test series was again drawn; both teams winning two tests each.
  The 1924 All Black tourists to the British Isles and France were dubbed "the Invincibles" because they won every game. However, the team was deprived of a potential grand slam when Scotland refused to play them because they were upset the tour was organised through the RFU rather than the IRFB. The first British Isles side since 1908 toured New Zealand in 1930. Although the Lions won the first test, the home side regrouped and went on to win the series 3–1. New Zealand toured the British Isles again in 1935–36, losing only three games – including two tests – during a 30-match tour. In one of these losses, Alexander Obolensky famously scored two tries to help England to a 13–0 win; their first over New Zealand.
  In 1937, South Africa toured New Zealand and decisively won the test series despite losing the first test; this 1937 South African team was described as the best team ever to leave New Zealand. It was not until 1949 that New Zealand next played the Springboks when they toured South Africa with Fred Allen as captain. Although each test against South Africa was very close, New Zealand lost the series 0–4. As part of this 25-match, 4-test series, an All Blacks 'second string' side travelled up to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to face the Rhodesia representative side 
  in two non-Test Internationals. The result of the first match saw Rhodesia run out winners, 10-8. Three days later, the second match resulted in a 3–3 draw. Two of the Rhodesian players were later capped for South Africa (being eligible due to Rhodesia's treatment as a province of South Africa, for rugby reasons) in the All Blacks second test of the tour. No International caps were awarded to either side for these two matches.
  At the same time as an All Black team was touring South Africa, Australia were touring New Zealand. The two tours coincided because Māori players were not able to go to South Africa at the time due to apartheid (the All Black team in South Africa refused to do the haka in protest), meaning the Australians, played against a New Zealand team made up of the best Māori and the reserve non-Māori players, while the South Africans encountered the best pākehā (non-Māori) players. On the afternoon of 3 September New Zealand, captained by Johnny Smith, were beaten 6–11 by Australia in Wellington. New Zealand then lost their second test 9–16, giving Australia a Bledisloe Cup series win in New Zealand for the first time. 1949 was an annus horribilis for the All Blacks as they lost all six of their test matches, and the experience of playing two test series simultaneously has not been repeated.
  The two consecutive series losses to South Africa made their 1956 tour of New Zealand highly anticipated. New Zealand were captained by Bob Duff and coached by Bob Stuart, and their 3–1 series win was their first over the Springboks and the Springboks' first series loss that century. During the series, New Zealand introduced Don Clarke, and brought prop Kevin Skinner out of retirement to help secure the win. Skinner, a former New Zealand boxing champion, had retired from international rugby, but was convinced to return for the third and fourth tests. One reason for Skinner's selection was to "sort out" the South African props, while Clarke become known as "The Boot" for his goal kicking.
  New Zealand's 3–1 series win over the Lions in 1959 proved to be the start of a dominant period in All Black rugby. This was followed by the 1963–64 tour to Britain and Ireland, led by Wilson
caption: "The Invincibles" All Blacks that toured to the British Isles and France in 1924–25
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