1905 Originals

Lore & Background

The team's first match took place in 1884 in New South Wales and their first international test match in 1903 against Australia in Sydney. The following year New Zealand hosted their first home test, a match against a British Isles side in Wellington. There followed a 35–game tour of Europe and North America in 1905 (which included five test matches), where New Zealand suffered only one defeat: their first test loss, against Wales. The 1905 tour side is known as the 'Originals', and the name 'All Blacks' dates from this time. The Originals played 35 matches on tour, winning all but their 0–3 defeat to Wales in Cardiff.

In Their Own Story

The rain hammered against the slate roofs of Cardiff, turning Arms Park into a churning quagmire where mud and anticipation collided. Inside the dressing room, the air hung heavy with liniment and the electric hum of nervous energy. Captain Dave Gallaher stood before his men, not barking orders, but speaking with a quiet, steel-like intensity that commanded absolute silence. 'We are not just playing for ourselves,' he said, his voice slicing through the damp chill. 'We carry the name of New Zealand on our shoulders.' Outside, a sea of fifty thousand Welsh spectators roared like a physical force. As the team stepped onto the pitch, their black jerseys seemed to absorb the grey afternoon light. Then came the haka—not merely a war cry of aggression, but a seismic declaration of presence. Eyes locked with the opposition, chests heaving in perfect unison, the Originals moved as a single organism, ready to etch their legend into the sodden turf.

Reader's Guide

The All Blacks perform a haka before every match. Traditionally the All Blacks use Te Rauparaha's haka Ka Mate, although players have also performed Kapa o Pango since 2005. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, 2011, and 2015. They were the first country to retain the Rugby World Cup. Since their international debut in 1903, the All Blacks have played test matches against 19 nations, of which 12 have never won a game against the team. New Zealand has a 76% winning record in test match rugby, and has recorded more wins than losses against every international opponent. 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 men's 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 twenty times in the competition's thirty–year history. The team has completed a Grand Slam tour against the four Home Nations four times (1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010). World Rugby has named New Zealand the World Rugby Team of the Year ten times since the award was initiated in 2001, and an All Black has won the World Rugby Player of the Year award ten times over the same period. Nineteen former All Blacks have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall Of Fame.

Did You Know?

• The All Blacks' early uniforms consisted of a black jersey with a silver fern and white shorts. By the 1905 tour they were wearing all black, except for the silver fern.
• The name 'All Blacks' dates from the 1905 tour.
• The Originals' only defeat on the 1905 tour was a 0–3 loss to Wales in Cardiff.