page_title: The Original All Blacks
section_title: England
hierarchical_section_title: The Original All Blacks / History / England
caption_attribution_description: English: The Original All Blacks that played England at Crystal Palace during their UK tour. New Zealand won by 15-0. The Graphic title: "The Great Rugby Football Match at the Crystal Palace: The New Zealand XV"
context_page_description: The Original All Blacks were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. They toured the British Isles, France and the United States of America during 1905–1906. Their opening game, on 16 September 1905, was against Devon whom they defeated 55–4. They defeated every English side that they faced, including a 16–3 victory over English county champions Durham, and a 32–0 victory over Blackheath. They defeated Scotland, Ireland, and England with the closest of the three matches their 12–7 victory over Scotland. The team's only loss of the tour was a 3–0 defeat by Wales at Cardiff Arms Park. A try claimed by winger Bob Deans was not awarded by the referee and later became a subject of controversy. However, Wales were generally considered the better team with the All Blacks playing particularly poorly in the first half of the game. They managed narrow wins against four Welsh club teams and went on to play France in France's first-ever test match. They returned to New Zealand via North America where they played two matches against Canadian teams.
context_section_description: Following the Munster match the All Blacks returned to England. Due to its larger capacity, the game was played at Crystal Palace (which had an official capacity of 50,000) rather than Blackheath. Despite the official capacity, it is estimated between 70,000 and 100,000 people attended the match; many of them non-paying spectators. The 100,000 spectators, including the Prince of Wales (the future King George V), was a record for a rugby or football match in London.
  The England Test was the All Blacks' third international in as many weeks; they had been played on successive Saturdays, with a mid-week match between each. England named eight new caps in their side, and played a rover (or wing-forward) on top of seven forwards. The game has been described as "a benefit for All Black wing Duncan McGregor". He scored four tries in the Test—a record not equalled by an All Black until 1987. A try was also scored by Fred Newton, and with none of the five tries converted, the score finished 15–0. English sportsman C. B. Fry said after the match, "The notion that these men beat us because of our physical degeneracy is nonsense. They beat us by organisation and by tactics." A legacy of this match is that the whistle used by the referee, Gil Evans, has been used to start the opening match of every Rugby World Cup tournament. Between tournaments the whistle is housed at the New Zealand Rugby Museum in Palmerston North and was donated to them by the chairman of the NZRFU and manager of the 1924–25 All Blacks.
  The All Blacks had three more games before their Wales Test Their first was again Cheltenham on 6 December at Cheltenham. The match was won by the All Blacks 18–0 after they scored four tries; three of them by Abbott. The next match was at Birkenhead against Cheshire. The All Blacks scored 10 tries and recorded their biggest win in nearly a month. The final score witnessed by the 8,000 strong crowd at Birkenhead Park was 34–0. The All Blacks' last match before facing Wales was against Yorkshire in Leeds. The game was played in Northern Union territory, and there were many league scouts trying to recruit All Black squad members to the rival code. 24,000 spectators watched as the All Blacks won 40–0, which included 10 tries.
caption: The team that beat England at the Crystal Palace on 9 Dec 1905
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