The All Blacks represent New Zealand in rugby union, which is regarded as the country's national sport.[1] They were winners of the inaugural Rugby World Cup and are the only international rugby team with a winning record against every test nation they have played. They have the highest win ratio of close to 75 percent and rank as the number one team in the world for the most period of time in IRB World Rankings.[2] More than half of the top 20 rugby union test playing nations have never beaten New Zealand in over 100 years of competition.
The All Blacks compete annually with the Wallabies (Australia) and the Springboks (South Africa) in the Tri-Nations Series, and have been Tri-Nations champions nine times in the tournament's 14-year history. They hold the Bledisloe Cup which they contest annually with Australia and have three times completed a Grand Slam (in 1978, 2005 and 2008) defeating all four Home Nations during one tour.
Currently the number one ranked team in the IRB World Rankings[2] they were named the International Rugby Board (IRB) Team of the Year in 2005, 2006 and 2008.[3] Fifteen former All Blacks have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame, one into the IRB Hall of Fame.
The team first competed in 1884 against Cumberland County, New South Wales, and played their first Test match in 1903, a victory against Australia. This was followed by a tour of the northern hemisphere in 1905.
The team's early uniforms consisted of a black jersey with a silver fern and white knickerbockers. By their 1905 tour New Zealand were wearing all black, except for the silver fern, and their All Black name dates from this time. New Zealand traditionally perform a haka (Māori challenge) before each match. Traditionally, the haka performed is Te Rauparaha's Ka Mate, though since 2005, Kapa o Pango, a modified version of the 1924 All Blacks haka, Kia Whaka-ngawari, has occasionally been performed.
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