The Original All Blacks

All Blacks

The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....

(also known simply as "The Originals") were the first New Zealand national rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 team to tour outside Australasia

Australasia

Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...

. They toured the British Isles

British Isles

The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and the United States of America during 1905–1906. Their opening game was against Devon on 16 September 1905 whom they defeated 55–4. Such was the surprise that some newspapers in Britain printed that Devon had scored 55 points and not the All Blacks. They went on to defeat every English side that they faced, including a 16–3 victory over English county champions Durham, and a 32–0 victory over Blackheath

Blackheath R.C.

Blackheath Football Club is a rugby football club based in Blackheath in south-east London, now playing at the Rectory Field . It was founded in 1858 and is the oldest open rugby club in the world...

. They defeated Scotland

Scotland national rugby union team

The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...

, Ireland

Ireland national rugby union team

The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...

 and England

England national rugby union team

The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...

 with the closest of the three matches their 12–7 victory over Scotland. The teams only loss of the tour was a 3–0 defeat to Wales

Wales national rugby union team

The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...

 at Cardiff Arms Park

Cardiff Arms Park

Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...

. The loss was highly controversial after the referee denied a try to All Blacks wing Bob Deans

Bob Deans

Bob Deans was a former All Black and Canterbury rugby union player....

. They went on to defeat all their remaining Welsh opponents and to play France

France national rugby union team

The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...

 in France's first ever Test match. They returned to New Zealand via North America where they played two matches against Canadian teams. Overall they played a total of thirty-five matches, which included five Tests, and only lost once—the defeat to Wales.

The 1905 All Blacks tour of Britain went on to achieve legendary status within the rugby world and New Zealand in particular. They scored 976 points and conceded only 59, and thus set the standard for all subsequent All Black sides. The tour also saw the first use of the All Blacks name and established New Zealand's reputation as a world class rugby nation.

Background

After the formation of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union in 1892, New Zealand representative teams were selected for matches against international opponents. The first tour by a New Zealand representative side under NZRFU auspices was in 1894 to New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 (although an earlier team

1888-1889 New Zealand Native football team

The 1888–1889 New Zealand Native football team was a New Zealand football team that toured Britain, Australia and New Zealand in 1888 and 1889. The team was composed mainly of players of Māori ancestry, although several Pakeha were included in the squad. The tour was a private endeavour, and was...

 had toured Britain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and Australia in 1888–1889). New Zealand's first Test match was in 1903 when they played Australia

Australia national rugby union team

The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...

 in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

. New Zealand's first home Test was the following year when they defeated Britain at Athletic Park

Athletic Park (Wellington)

Athletic Park was a well-known ground used mostly for rugby matches in Wellington, New Zealand. The ground was also the inaugural home of New Zealand's principal knockout football tournament, the Chatham Cup ....

, Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

, by 9–3. The win was significant as Britain had been unbeaten in their Australian tour, yet they won only two out of five matches in New Zealand. The captain of Great Britain, David Bedell-Sivright

David Bedell-Sivright

David Revell "Darkie" Bedell-Sivright was a Scottish international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities. Bedell-Sivright was one of the true characters of the sport of rugby and was chosen to lead a British Isles team on a tour of Australia...

, said after the Test that he could not see New Zealand winning the big matches on their Northern Hemisphere tour, but "I think you will probably win most of the county matches."

The New Zealand selectors named a squad of 53 players from which the touring team would be selected in late 1904. The following year on 25 February, a list of 16 "certainties" for the tour was named (one of whom would eventually not tour due to injury). A final opportunity for selection was the North-South inter-island match on 3 June 1905 after which, 25 players were selected for the team, and an additional two were added prior to the team's departure to Britain.

Before the Northern Hemisphere tour, 18 of the squad conducted a preliminary three-match tour of Australia where they won two matches and drew the other. They also played four pre-tour matches in New Zealand, winning two, drawing one, and losing their final match 3–0 to Wellington

Wellington Rugby Football Union

The Wellington Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union in the city of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand...

.

The team departed for England aboard the Rimutaka on 30 July. There were two ports of call on the journey — Montevideo

Montevideo

Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...

, and Tenerife

Tenerife

Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...

 — before their arrival in Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

, England. The day after their arrival on 8 September, the squad travelled 24 km (14.9 mi) to Newton Abbot

Newton Abbot

Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....

, which served as the team's training base throughout much of the tour.

Early matches

Their first match took place on 16 September 1905 against Devon

Exeter Chiefs

Exeter Rugby Club are a rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon.The Exeter club was formed around 1871 and played its first match in 1873. The first team has been rebranded as the Exeter Chiefs and play in a strip of Black , White ....

, who had been runners-up in the most recent English county championship, and for whom played ten members of Devonport Albion, the top club in England. Because of this, Devon went into the match as favourites, however the crowd of 6,000 at the match were soon stunned by the New Zealanders as they scored 12 tries and eventually won 55–4. Billy Wallace scored 28 points, including three tries, and it would be another 51 years before another All Black would score more points in one match. The score caused a sensation in Britain, and some newspapers even incorrectly reported the score as Devon 55, New Zealand 4. Eventually the reports were corrected, and the New Zealanders returned to Newton Abbot to be greeted by a brass band and cheering crowd.

Five days later New Zealand faced Cornwall

Cornish rugby

Rugby union in Cornwall is one of the Duchy's most popular sports.-CRFU:The Cornwall Rugby Football Union was formed in 1883. It is a union of 39 rugby union clubs which includes every rugby union club in Cornwall, the open age Cornwall representative side and representative teams at various age...

 at Recreation Ground in Camborne

Camborne

Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth....

. Although the score was only 12–0 at half time, the New Zealanders ended up with 11 tries, and a 41–0 victory. The team then travelled to play Bristol

Bristol Rugby

Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'...

, who they played on 23 September. The game was played in front of 6,500 spectators, with the same result as the Cornwall match, a 41–0 victory for New Zealand. They then travelled to Northampton

Northampton

Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...

, after stopping in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. The game resulted in another victory, this time 31–0, to the All Blacks. By now, the All Blacks had scored 169 points in their four games, with only four against.

The next match was against Leicester

Leicester Tigers

Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...

 at Welford Road on 30 September. Four players in the Leicester team would go on to play in the England Test; more than any other club. Although the All Blacks were held scoreless for the first 25 minutes, at the time the longest period that the All Blacks had gone without scoring on tour, George Smith

George William Smith (New Zealand)

George William Smith was a New Zealand sportsman who excelled at track and field as well as both codes of rugby football.-Jockey:George was an extremely successful jockey and won the 1894 New Zealand Cup, riding Impulse...

 eventually crossed for the All Blacks first score of the game. The All Blacks ended the match 28–0 winners.

After the following match against Middlesex, won 34–0 by the All Blacks, The Daily Chronicle said "These New Zealanders turn defence into attack with such bewildering rapidity as to prove that scrummaging is a mere detail. There is nothing in the game in which they do not excel."

The toughest game of the tour so far was against Durham County, on 7 October. Durham were the English county champions, and were the first team to score a try against the All Blacks on tour. Despite the small 6–3 advantage to the All Blacks at the break, they scored 10 unanswered points in the second half to win 16–3. The All Blacks' closest game of the tour so far was immediately followed by their largest win. The match against Hartlepool Clubs, one of the strongest teams in northern England, was won 63–0 by the All Blacks.

The All Blacks next three games were against Northumberland, Gloucester, and Somerset. None of the sides scored against the All Blacks; with them losing by 31, 44, and 23 points to nil respectively. Four days following the Somerset match, the All Blacks faced Devonport Albion. Devonport Albion were England's club champion, and the runners-up for Great Britain club champion. 20,000 spectators witnessed another All Blacks victory; this time by 21–3.

For the match against Midland Counties at Leicester, 17,000 spectators, as well as officials from the Welsh rugby union attended the match. Although Midland Counties scored a converted try, the All Blacks retained their winning record with a 21–5 victory. The victory over Midland Counties was followed by an 11–0 victory over Surrey, and 32–0 victory over Blackheath. The seven try win over Blackheath was considered by Wallace to be the end of the All Blacks' peak—"Unfortunately, after this game injuries began to take their toll and prevented us ever putting in so fine a team again on the tour."

The next three game for the All Blacks would be played in five days. The All Blacks scored 13 tries, and Jimmy Hunter

Jimmy Hunter

Jimmy Hunter was a rugby union footballer who played for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks. He played mainly at second five-eighth, although he could play any position in the backline...

 five of them, as they ran up a 47–0 victory over Oxford University. Their next match, two days later, was against Cambridge University. The Scotland Test was approaching, and the All Blacks decided to rest several players, Hunter, Billy Stead

Billy Stead

Billy Stead was a New Zealand rugby union player born in Invercargill who played for the All Blacks in their 1905 tour. Stead also played for Southland, and later coached various teams, including Southland and the New Zealand Māori...

, Selling and George Gillett. Cambridge's kicking game, and fast backs helped them to restrict the score to 14–0 to the All Blacks. Two days later the All Blacks faced Richmond, and scored five tries to register a 17–0 victory. Their last game before the Scotland Test was against a Bedford XV in Richmond. There were four All Black tries in the first half, and six in the second. The final score was 41–0; the All Blacks had now scored over 600 points on tour.

Scotland

At the time of the Tour, rugby in Scotland was a game of the upper classes, and the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) was very conservative. Their officials believed the game should remain strictly amateur, and that rugby was for the players, not the spectators. The Scottish were uncomfortable with the public interest in the All Blacks, and did not make them feel very welcome. They interpreted a letter sent to them stating that the All Blacks did not want to be entertained after their match quite literally, and the All Blacks were not invited to the after-match dinner organised by the Scottish Union. As well as this, the SRU refused to grant international caps for the game.

The game was a financial success for the NZRFU. The NZRFU had asked for a £500 financial guarantee from the SRU for the game, but because of their poor finances, the SRU offered instead to give the entire gate (minus expenses). Due to a big attendance, the NZRFU received a fee of over £1700 for the game. Although the SRU were very happy with this (they offered the same terms to the Springboks when they toured in 1906), there were also concerns about the three shillings a day each All Black received whilst on tour. After they found that the Rugby Football Union had approved the payments, a Calcutta Cup

Calcutta Cup

The Calcutta Cup is a rugby union trophy awarded to the winner of the annual Six Nations Championship match between England and Scotland. It is currently England's since the 2009 Six Nations Championship....

 match was cancelled.

The game was played on 18 November on an icy pitch (straw had not been spread over the pitch the night before), which nearly caused the game to be cancelled. The All Blacks kicked off, and had the best of the first ten minutes. Scotland eventually got a scrum

Scrum (rugby union)

In rugby union a scrum is a means of restarting play after a minor infringement. It involves up to eight players from each team, known as the pack or forward pack, binding together in three rows and interlocking with the free opposing teams forwards. At this point the ball is fed into the gap...

 near the All Blacks goal-line, and after winning the scrum, passed to Ernest Simson, who dropped a goal to put Scotland ahead 4–0. It was the first time the All Blacks had been behind on tour. The All Blacks replied with a try under the posts, which was unconverted. A second try was then scored, by Smith; again it went unconverted. Scotland then scored an unconverted try, to lead at half time 7–6. With less than ten minutes to go the score remained 7–6 and it looked like the All Blacks might lose their first match on tour. However with four minutes to go the All Blacks had a scrum on halfway; the resulting movement finished with George Smith crossing for a try. Bill Cunningham then scored a try with seconds remaining, and the All Blacks were victorious 12–7.

Four days after the Scotland Test the All Blacks faced West of Scotland in Glasgow. The cities' secondary schools were given half a day off to watch the match. The All Blacks scored six tries on the way to a 22–0 victory. The team then travelled to Ireland, for their third Test.

Ireland

The welcome extended by the Irish Rugby Football Union

Irish Rugby Football Union

The Irish Rugby Football Union is the body managing rugby union in Ireland. The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where Irish rugby union international matches are played...

 (IRFU) was in contrast to that of Scotland. The morning they arrived in Belfast they were met by several IRFU officials who took them out for breakfast. The arrival in Ireland also marked a homecoming for the captain Dave Gallaher

Dave Gallaher

David "Dave" Gallaher was a New Zealand rugby union footballer, best known as the captain of "The Originals", the first New Zealand national rugby union team to be known as the All Blacks....

, who was born in County Donegal, but had moved to New Zealand at the age of four. Thousands awaited the All Blacks when they arrived in the Dublin train station. On the Thursday before the Test, both teams attended the theatre together; sitting alternatively so they could better mix.

The sold out Test was played on Saturday 25 November at Lansdowne Road

Lansdowne Road

Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...

. The 12,000 that turned up did not get to see Gallaher though, as he was injured. Simon Mynott was also selected to play on the wing despite having never played there before, and there being three three-quarters available. For a 30 minute period in the first half the Irish forwards dominated, however the deadlock was broken close to half time when Bob Deans

Bob Deans

Bob Deans was a former All Black and Canterbury rugby union player....

 scored a try under the posts; Wallace converted the try giving the All Blacks a 5–0 half-time lead. Early in the second half Deans scored another try; again converted by Wallace. Smith lost the ball over the line before Alex McDonald scored the All Blacks third and final try. Wallace successfully converted to give the All Blacks a 15–0 victory.

The All Blacks then headed to Limerick

Limerick

Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...

 for their one other game in Ireland. Not all of the team travelled for the match against Munster

Munster Rugby

Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...

, and Dixon had even tried to get the All Blacks out of the game. The match played on Tuesday 28 November was won 33–0 by the All Blacks. The eight tries witnessed by the 3,000 strong crowd included a penalty try after Fred Roberts was tripped close to the line.

England

Following the Munster match the All Blacks returned to England. Due to its larger capacity, the game was played at Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace National Sports Centre

The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the former Crystal Palace, in the former parkland and also usurping part of the former grand prix circuit.It was...

 (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

George V of the United Kingdom

George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....

), was a record for a rugby or soccer match in London.

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 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."

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 Abott. 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

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

. The game was played in Northern Union

Rugby Football League

The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league football in England. Based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships...

 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.

Wales Test

The Original's Test against Wales is still considered one of sport's great matches. The Test was played at Cardiff Arms Park

Cardiff Arms Park

Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...

, 16 December 1905 in front of 47,000 spectators. The All Blacks were applauded onto the park where they performed their haka in front of a silent crowd. Once they had applauded their haka, the crowd, led by ‘Teddy' Morgan

Teddy Morgan

Edward "Teddy" Morgan was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the winning Wales team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks and is remembered for scoring the winning try...

, sung the Welsh national anthem Hen Wlad fy Nhadau

Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau

Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau is the national anthem of Wales. The title – taken from the first words of the song – means "Old Land of My Fathers", usually rendered in English as simply "Land of My Fathers". The words were written by Evan James and the tune composed by his son, James James, both residents...

(Land of Our Fathers). The anthem was sung in an attempt to reduce the perceived psychological advantage of the haka. The match was the first time a national anthem had been sung before a sporting fixture.

The lead up to the match was controversial. The All Blacks' manager George Dixon and the Welsh Rugby Union

Welsh Rugby Union

The Welsh Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Wales, recognised by the International Rugby Board.The union's patron is Queen Elizabeth II, and her grandson Prince William of Wales became the Vice Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union as of February 2007.-History:The roots of the...

 (WRU) could not agree on a referee. Dixon rejected all of the WRU's proposed referees, and the WRU all of Dixon's. The rules of the day dictated that in that case, the WRU could ask another union to appoint a referee. They asked the Scotland Rugby Union, who appointed Scotsman John Dallas. Dallas was heavily criticised during the Test, for wearing clothing considered inappropriate for refereeing a match, and for being unable to keep up with play.

As well as the referee, the selection of Mynott at first five-eighth over Billy Stead was highly controversial. Several explanations were given for Stead's omission. One was that he was originally selected, but gave up his spot in the team for a disappointed Mynott. The official reason given for Stead's omission was injury—although he was fit enough to act as touch judge

Touch judge

The touch judge is an official who monitors the touch-line in a game of rugby union or rugby league and raises a flag if the ball goes into touch. Touch judges also stand behind the posts to confirm that a goal has been scored following a penalty kick or conversion of a try...

 during the Test.

After the match's kick-off there was soon a scrum ordered. The All Blacks were repeatedly penalised by the referee whenever they had a scrum. The reason for this was the All Blacks 2-3-2 scrum formation where they had only two front-rowers. The Welsh team used a three man front row, and had studied the All Blacks scrummaging technique. The Welsh countered the All Blacks 2-3-2 scrum formation by setting their front row after the All Blacks, and hence preventing the All Blacks from gaining the loosehead. Hence every time the All Blacks tried to hook the ball they were penalised. As a result the All Blacks' captain Gallaher ordered the All Blacks not to contest the scrums and to let the Welsh win the ball.
The All Blacks first half play was generally considered poor—with aimless kicking to Welsh fullback Winfield

Bert Winfield

Herbert Benjamin 'Bert' Winfield was an English rugby union player who played international rugby for Wales. He was a member of the winning Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks and captained Wales against Ireland in 1908...

 returning much better kicks into touch. The first ten minutes saw New Zealand's Roberts break the line twice only to be caught by Winfield without support. Eventually Wales had a scrum feed 25 yards out from the All Blacks' try-line. From this Wales executed a planned move—Owen

Dicky Owen

Dicky Owen was a Welsh international scrum-half who played club rugby for Swansea RFC Owen is seen as one of the greatest Welsh scrum-halves and won 35 caps for Wales between 1901 and 1912, a record that was unbeaten until 1955 when Ken Jones surpassed him.-Influence in rugby:Born Richard Morgan...

 got the Wales' scrum-ball and dummied to on his right to Bush

Percy Bush

Percy Frank Bush was a Welsh rugby union player who played international rugby for Wales on eight occasions. Playing at fly-half, Bush is regarded as one of the most talented Welsh players before the first World War.-Rugby career:...

. He then turned left and passed to Cliff Pritchard

Cliff Pritchard

Cliff Pritchard was a Welsh international centre who played club rugby for Newport RFC and Pontypool RFC. Pritchard was capped on five occasions and scored two tries for his country...

. Pritchard then passed to Gabe

Rhys Gabe

Rhys Thomas "Rusty" Gabe born as Rees Thomas Gape, was a Welsh rugby union player who played club rugby for Llanelli, London Welsh and Cardiff and gained 24 caps for Wales, mainly as a centre.-Rugby career:...

, who passed to Bush, who eventually passed to Morgan. Morgan then raced 25 yards down the touchline whilst eluding Gillet to score for Wales. Winfield missed the resulting conversion—leaving the score at 3–0. In the final stages of the first half the All Blacks began to assert themselves and were attacking strongly when halftime was sounded. Dixon claimed halftime was called two minutes early, and Wallace that it was three minutes early.

The All Blacks kicked off for the second half and the two teams were evenly matched. The All Blacks first five-eighth Mynott was having a poor game—dropping the ball frequently. Eventually Roberts stopped passing to him, and would instead run the ball himself. The Welsh had try scoring opportunities, but drop-goal attempts and dropped passes prevented them scoring. Some time during the second half (various accounts are given—all identifying different times in the match) the All Blacks got their best attacking opportunity of the match. The Welsh won a lineout on the All Blacks side of half-way, and with the resulting ball kicked diagonally across-field which was fielded by New Zealand's Wallace. Wallace then ran and broke through the Welsh line before confronting their fullback Winfield. Wallace then passed to Deans who was tackled either on, or near the Welsh line. The referee Dallas awarded a scrum to Wales five yards from their line. The All Blacks had further opportunities to score during the match, with Mynott held up over the line, Deans nearly scoring before being tackled by the Welsh, and McGregor nearly scoring except for a forward pass.

Welsh games

Following the Wales Test Dixon and the WRU continued to clash over referee appointments. The dispute escalated to the point where Dixon threatened to pull out of the All Blacks' remaining Welsh fixtures. The WRU responded by threatening to cancel the fixtures if their referee choices were rejected. The dispute was resolved when the chairman of the RFU, Rowland Hill

Rowland Hill

Rowland Hill may refer to:* Rowland Hill , English Member of Parliament for the City of London* Sir Rowland Hill, 1st Baronet Hill of Hawkstone , built Hawkstone Park follies...

, got the WRU to accept Gil Evans (a Welshman from Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

) as referee for the final three matches. Gil Evans had refereed the All Blacks versus England Test and was well respected by the New Zealanders.

The All Blacks played Glamorgan

Glamorgan County RFC

Glamorgan County RFC is a Welsh rugby union club that manages an invitational team, known as Glamorgan that originally played rugby at county level...

 in Swansea on 21 December. The All Blacks had the advantage of the wind in the first 30 minutes. Late in the first half Roberts worked a move from a scrum to pass to Smith, who passed to Harold Abbott

Harold Abbott

Harold Louis Abbott , more commonly known as Bunny Abbott, was a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He was a member of the legendary 1905 Original All Blacks. He won his first Test cap for New Zealand on 1 January 1906 against France. In total he played one Test in 1906.-External links:...

. Abbott then passed back to Smith who scored in the corner. In the second half Glamorgan attacked but could not score, and late in the game the All Blacks scored tries to McDonald and Wallace to win 9–0.

Two days later the All Blacks faced Newport at the city

Newport

Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...

's Athletic Ground. The All Blacks scored a try early to Eric Harper

Eric Harper

Eric Tristram Harper was a New Zealand sportsman, who is most notable for playing rugby union for the New Zealand national rugby union team and in 1905 became one of the Original All Blacks when he toured Britain and Ireland with Dave Gallaher's team.A keen athlete, Harper was a hurdler at...

 and Wallace recalled "It looked as though we were going to win comfortably." Wallace then scored a penalty for the All Blacks and they ended the first half ahead 6–0. Newport's Rowland Griffiths scored a penalty early in the second half, but despite their strong display in the second half they could not score again and the All Blacks won 6–3.

The next game was against Cardiff

Cardiff RFC

Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...

 on 26 December. It was billed as a virtual second Test against a side that boasted several Test players. The match was played at Cardiff Arms Park in front of 50,000 spectators. After a missed drop goal and missed penalty Cardiff scored with a try to Nicholls

Gwyn Nicholls

Erith Gwyn Nicholls was a Welsh rugby union player who gained 24 caps for Wales as a centre. Nicholls was known as the "Prince of Threequarters"....

 that was set up by Gabe. The conversion was successful giving Cardiff a 5–0 lead. about 20 minutes into the match Jim O'Sullivan broke his collarbone after being tackled heavily; as a result the All Blacks played the rest of the match with only 14 men. The All Blacks attacked with every opportunity they could and before half time Mona Thomson scored in the corner for the All Blacks. Wallace converted the try to leave the scores 5–5 at half time. For the first 30 minutes of the second half the two teams attacked one after the other. After Cardiff captain Percy Bush failed to force down a ball behind his own goal-line George Nicholson dived on the ball to score a try. Wallace converted to give the All Blacks a 10–5 lead. Cardiff responded by scoring a try themselves, but Winfield failed to convert it and the All Blacks won 10–8. The loss was Cardiff's only loss of the season, and the next year they defeated the touring South Africans

South Africa national rugby union team

The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...

 17–0.

The All Blacks last match in the British Isles was against Swansea

Swansea RFC

Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip...

 at Saint Helen's Ground on 30 December. Swansea had only lost once in over two seasons (to Cardiff) and were the champion club team of Great Britain. Wallace said of the match "This was the thirty-second match of the tour and our hearts rejoiced at the thought that this was to be the last." The first half was mainly spent in the All Blacks half as they struggled to gain territory kicking into a strong wind, and after 25 minutes Swansea scored a try through Fred Scrine

Fred Scrine

Fred Scrine was a Welsh international rugby union scrum-half who played club rugby for Swansea. Scrine's style of play was as a fast spoiling player and was first capped for Wales in 1899 against England.-Rugby career:...

 that was unconverted. The half finished 3–0 to Swansea. The All Blacks playing with the wind to their backs nearly scored a try to McGregor but he was ruled to have stepped out. However soon after Wallace gained possession and ran towards Swansea's 25 yard line before kicking a drop goal in the strong wind to give the All Blacks a 4–3 lead. The All Blacks then kept forcing Swansea back with kick after kick for the next 15 minutes to win the match 4–3.

France and North America

The All Blacks travelled to Paris on New Year's Eve and on 1 January faced France

France national rugby union team

The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...

 at Parc des Princes

Parc des Princes

The Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium located in the southwest of Paris, France. The venue, with a seating capacity of 48,712 spectators, has been the home of French football club Paris Saint-Germain since 1974. The current Parc des Princes was inaugurated on 4 June 1972, endowed...

. The match was France's first Test ever. French captain Henri Amand gave the All Blacks choice of ends and the kick off. Although the All Blacks dominated, France scored a try to Noel Cessieux in the first half; the half ended 18–3 to the All Blacks. Georges Jérôme then scored for France after the break to make it 18–8 for the All Blacks. The All Blacks ended up scoring another six tries for a total of ten, and a 38–8 win. The eight points, and two tries scored by France were more than any team in the British Isles had against the All Blacks.

After spending several days sight seeing around Paris, the All Blacks returned to London. Instead of returning to New Zealand directly, they discovered that New Zealand Prime Minister

Prime Minister of New Zealand

The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...

 Richard Seddon

Richard Seddon

Richard John Seddon , sometimes known as King Dick, is to date the longest serving Prime Minister of New Zealand. He is regarded by some, including historian Keith Sinclair, as one of New Zealand's greatest political leaders....

 had organised for the team to travel home via the United States. Although the team wanted to return home immediately, Seddon insisted. The All Blacks had two weeks before they departed. Many of them stayed with friends of relatives, while Stead and Gallaher wrote The Complete Rugby Footballer. The team reassembled on 19 January and were farewelled by a dinner with the London New Zealand Society before departing Southampton on the SS New York the next day.

After arriving in New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, they stayed for several days and an exhibition game was organised. The match was played in Brooklyn and was supposed to be New Zealand versus New York, however several New Zealanders played for New York to make up their numbers. Despite this New Zealand won the match. The team then travelled to San Francisco, via the Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls

The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...

, Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, and the Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...

. In San Francisco they played two matches against British Columbia; the first won 43–6 and the second 65–6. From there they sailed back to New Zealand.

Innovations and tactics

The Original All Blacks introduced several innovations to rugby in France and the British Isles. At the time of their tour many critics in the Northern Hemisphere blamed the use of the wing forward for the All Blacks success. They claimed the player, who fed the ball into the scrum, would obstruct opposition players, and that the only reason they were not being penalised was due to poor refereeing. Their success however was due to a combination of factors, the most important being their team disciplined and organised—described at the time as a scientific approach.

Each forward in the team had a specific role in the scrum; they would each have a predetermined position within the scrum. This was different to their opposition— their forwards' position in a scrum was determined by the order in which they arrived. This was described as "first-up, first-down", and meant that the All Blacks were better drilled—giving them a significant advantage. The All Blacks had also practised their line-outs, and as a result had a very good understanding between the player that threw in the line-out ball, and the player who was supposed to receive it.

The All Blacks back-line formation was also different to that in Britain. They played two five-eighths, a position invented in New Zealand, that refers to the player between the half-back and three-quarters. These two five-eighths gave the All Blacks a defensive advantage. The British press were also surprised to see All Blacks fullback Billy Wallace attacking so often—They had generally viewed the fullback as a defensive position. The All Blacks also thought that every player, whether a back or a forward, should make themselves available to take a pass in support of an attacking player. The teams they encountered had forwards that understood their main role of winning possession for their backs, but would not support them when attacking.

The other major factor that helped the All Blacks to success was their superior fitness. In New Zealand each half was 45 minutes, not 35 like in Britain. As well as that, the All Blacks spent much time on fitness. This enabled them to play with speed much longer than their opposition.

Name

The team departed New Zealand as the New Zealand Football Team, or, simply The New Zealanders, though names such as Maorilanders and Colonials were also applied. Reference to the team by the name "All Blacks" first appeared during the Originals tour when, according to Billy Wallace, a London newspaper reported that the New Zealanders played as if they were "all backs". Wallace claimed that due to a typographical error, subsequent references were to "All Blacks". Wallace was the last of the Originals to pass away, so this explanation for the name's origins is widely believed. However, the Express and Echo in Devon, reporting after the Originals match there, referred to "The All Blacks, as they are styled by reason of their sable and unrelieved costume." The new name quickly became popular throughout Britain, though its acceptance into popular culture took a longer time back home in New Zealand. On 5 March when the team returned home, the Herald acclaimed the "New Zealand Footballers", however, the following day its report of the official function was headed "Return of the All Blacks".

Results

Scores and results list New Zealand's points tally first.

Northern Hemisphere tour results, with Test matches in bold.

Opposing Team	For	Against	Date	Venue	Status
Devon Exeter Chiefs Exeter Rugby Club are a rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon.The Exeter club was formed around 1871 and played its first match in 1873. The first team has been rebranded as the Exeter Chiefs and play in a strip of Black , White ....	55	4	16/09/1905	County Ground, Exeter Exeter Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...	Tour Match
Cornwall	41	0	21/09/1905	Recreation Ground, Camborne Camborne Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth....	Tour Match
Bristol Bristol Rugby Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'...	41	0	23/09/1905	Memorial Ground Memorial Stadium (Bristol) The Memorial Stadium, also commonly known by its previous name of The Memorial Ground, is a sports ground in Bristol, England, dedicated to the memory of the rugby union players of the city killed during World War I... , Bristol Bristol Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...	Tour Match
Northampton Northampton Saints Northampton Saints are a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The Northampton Saints were formed in 1880. They play in green, black and gold colours. They play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, which has a capacity of 13,591....	32	0	28/09/1905	Northampton Ground, Northampton Northampton Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...	Tour Match
Leicester Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...	28	0	01/10/1905	Welford Road Welford Road Stadium Welford Road is a rugby union stadium in Leicester, England and is the home ground for Leicester Tigers. It is located between Aylestone Road and Welford Road on the edge of the city centre... , Leicester Leicester Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...	Tour Match
Middlesex	34	0	04/10/1905	Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge (stadium) Stamford Bridge is a football stadium in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London, and is the home of Chelsea Football Club. The stadium is located within the Moore Park Estate also known as Walham Green and is often referred to as simply The Bridge... , London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...	Tour Match
Durham	16	3	07/10/1905	Durham Ground, Durham Durham Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...	Tour Match
Hartlepool Clubs	63	0	11/10/1905	Hartlepool Rovers' Ground, Hartlepool Hartlepool Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...	Tour Match
Northumberland	31	0	14/10/1905	Percy Park RFC Ground, North Shields North Shields North Shields is a town on the north bank of the River Tyne, in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in North East England...	Tour Match
Gloucester	44	0	19/10/1905	Kingsholm, Gloucester Gloucester Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....	Tour Match
Somerset	23	0	21/10/1905	Jarvis’s Field, Taunton Taunton Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....	Tour Match
Devonport Albion	21	3	25/10/1905	Rectory Ground, Newton Abbot Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....	Tour Match
Midland Counties	21	5	28/10/1905	Welford Road Welford Road Stadium Welford Road is a rugby union stadium in Leicester, England and is the home ground for Leicester Tigers. It is located between Aylestone Road and Welford Road on the edge of the city centre... , Leicester Leicester Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...	Tour Match
Surrey	11	0	01/11/1905	Richmond Athletic Ground, London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...	Tour Match
Blackheath	32	0	04/11/1905	Rectory Field Rectory Field Rectory Field is a playing field in Blackheath, London. It was developed in the 1880s by Blackheath Cricket, Football and Lawn Tennis Company and became the home of Kent County Cricket Club and rugby union team Blackheath F.C.... , London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...	Tour Match
Oxford University Oxford University RFC The Oxford University Rugby Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham.-History:...	47	0	07/11/1905	Iffley Road, Oxford Oxford The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...	Tour Match
Cambridge University Cambridge University R.U.F.C. The Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club, or CURUFC, is the rugby union club of Cambridge University, and plays Oxford University in the annual Varsity Match at Twickenham stadium every December. CURUFC players wear light blue and white hooped jerseys with a red lion crest...	14	0	09/11/1905	Grange Road, Cambridge Cambridge The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...	Tour Match
Richmond Richmond F.C. Richmond Football Club is a rugby union club from Richmond, London. It is a founding member of the Rugby Football Union, and is one of the oldest football clubs...	17	0	11/11/1905	Richmond Athletic Ground, London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...	Tour Match
Bedford XV	41	0	15/11/1905	Goldington Road, Bedford Bedford Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...	Tour Match
Scotland Scotland national rugby union team The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...	12	7	18/11/1905	Inverleith Inverleith Inverleith is an inner suburb in the northern part of Edinburgh, Scotland, on the fringes of the central region of the city. It is an affluent suburb. Its neighbours include Trinity to the north and the New Town to the south, with Canonmills at the south-east and Stockbridge at the south-west... , Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...	Test Match Test match (rugby union) Test match in rugby union is a match recognised as being a full international match by at least one of the participating teams' governing bodies. It is an unofficial but widely used term in the sport....
West of Scotland	22	0	22/11/1905	Hampden Park Hampden Park Hampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland... , Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...	Tour Match
Ireland Ireland national rugby union team The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...	15	0	25/11/1905	Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts... , Dublin	Test Match Test match (rugby union) Test match in rugby union is a match recognised as being a full international match by at least one of the participating teams' governing bodies. It is an unofficial but widely used term in the sport....
Munster Munster Rugby Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...	33	0	28/11/1905	Market's Field, Limerick Limerick Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...	Tour Match
England England national rugby union team The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...	15	0	02/12/1905	Crystal Palace Crystal Palace National Sports Centre The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the former Crystal Palace, in the former parkland and also usurping part of the former grand prix circuit.It was... , London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...	Test Match Test match (rugby union) Test match in rugby union is a match recognised as being a full international match by at least one of the participating teams' governing bodies. It is an unofficial but widely used term in the sport....
Cheltenham	18	0	06/12/1905	Athletic and Recreation Ground, Cheltenham Cheltenham Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...	Tour Match
Cheshire	34	0	09/121905	Birkenhead Park, Birkenhead Birkenhead Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...	Tour Match
Yorkshire	40	0	13/12/1905	Headingley Headingley Stadium Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie .... , Leeds Leeds Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...	Tour Match
Wales Wales national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...	0	3	16/12/1905	Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World... , Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...	Test Match Test match (rugby union) Test match in rugby union is a match recognised as being a full international match by at least one of the participating teams' governing bodies. It is an unofficial but widely used term in the sport....
Glamorgan Glamorgan County RFC Glamorgan County RFC is a Welsh rugby union club that manages an invitational team, known as Glamorgan that originally played rugby at county level...	9	0	21/12/1905	St Helen's, Swansea Swansea Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...	Tour Match
Newport	6	3	23/12/1905	Athletic Ground, Newport Newport Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...	Tour Match
Cardiff Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...	10	8	26/12/1905	Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World... , Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...	Tour Match
Swansea Swansea RFC Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip...	4	3	30/12/1905	St Helen's St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground St. Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground is a spectator venue in Swansea, Wales. It is used for both rugby and cricket.It is owned and operated by the City and County of Swansea council and is also used to host the local annual Guy Fawkes night fireworks display.-History:Since the ground opened in... , Swansea Swansea Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...	Tour Match
France France national rugby union team The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...	38	8	01/01/1906	Stade Colombes Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir The Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir - stadium in Colombes, near Paris, France . Named in memory of French rugby player Yves du Manoir in 1928. Was the main stadium for the 1924 Summer Olympics and had a capacity of 45,000 at the time... , Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...	Test Match Test match (rugby union) Test match in rugby union is a match recognised as being a full international match by at least one of the participating teams' governing bodies. It is an unofficial but widely used term in the sport....
British Columbia British Columbia Rugby Union The British Columbia Rugby Union is the provincial administrative body for rugby union in British Columbia. The BCRU consists of nine sub-unions and 65 clubs. It was originally organized in New Westminster in 1889 where Alfred St...	43	6	10/02/1906	University of California Ground, Berkeley Berkeley, California Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...	Tour Match
British Columbia	65	6	13/02/1906	Recreation Park, San Francisco	Tour Match
Total Points	976	59

Squad

The squad, manager, and coach for the Northern Hemisphere tour:

Name	Position	Province	Tour points
George Gillett George A. Gillett George Arthur Gillett was a renowned New Zealand multi-code footballer of the early 20th century and a dual-code rugby international...	Fullback	Canterbury Canterbury Rugby Football Union The Canterbury Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in a substantial part of the Canterbury region, in the middle of the South Island of New Zealand...	18
Billy Wallace Billy Wallace William Joseph Wallace , usually known as Billy Wallace, was a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He was a member of the legendary 1905 Original All Blacks. Wallace won his first Test cap for New Zealand on 15 August 1903 against Australia...	Three-quarters	Wellington Wellington Rugby Football Union The Wellington Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union in the city of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand...	246
Duncan McGregor Duncan McGregor Duncan McGregor , was a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He was a member of the legendary 1905 Original All Blacks and went on the 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain.-Rugby Football:...	Three-quarters	Wellington Wellington Rugby Football Union The Wellington Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union in the city of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand...	50
Ernie Booth Ernie Booth Ernest Edward Booth was a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He was a member of the 1905 Original All Blacks. He won his first Test cap for New Zealand on 1 January 1906 against France. In total he played 3 Tests over a period of 1906 to 1907. He died in 1935 in Christchurch.-External links:...	Three-quarters	Otago Otago Rugby Football Union The Otago Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union for the Otago Region of New Zealand. The union is based in the city of Dunedin, and its home ground is Forsyth Barr Stadium. The top representative team competes in the ITM Cup, New Zealand's top provincial...	17
George Smith George William Smith (New Zealand) George William Smith was a New Zealand sportsman who excelled at track and field as well as both codes of rugby football.-Jockey:George was an extremely successful jockey and won the 1894 New Zealand Cup, riding Impulse...	Three-quarters	Auckland Auckland Rugby Football Union The Auckland Rugby Football Union is the governing body of rugby union in the Auckland Region, in the North Island of New Zealand. Its colours are navy blue and white in a hoop design. Auckland's top representative team have won New Zealand's top provincial rugby competition 16 times, more than...	57
Harold Abbott Harold Abbott Harold Louis Abbott , more commonly known as Bunny Abbott, was a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He was a member of the legendary 1905 Original All Blacks. He won his first Test cap for New Zealand on 1 January 1906 against France. In total he played one Test in 1906.-External links:...	Three-quarters	Taranaki Taranaki Rugby Union Taranaki Rugby Football Union is the governing body of Rugby in the New Zealand province of Taranaki. The main stadium is Yarrow Stadium which is in the main centre of New Plymouth. Taranaki plays in the annual ITM Cup in which it also competes for the Ranfurly shield...	47
Hector (Mona) Thompson	Three-quarters	Wanganui Wanganui Rugby Football Union The Wanganui Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in the Wanganui region of New Zealand. The Wanganui Rugby Football Union was formed in 1888....	44
Eric Harper Eric Harper Eric Tristram Harper was a New Zealand sportsman, who is most notable for playing rugby union for the New Zealand national rugby union team and in 1905 became one of the Original All Blacks when he toured Britain and Ireland with Dave Gallaher's team.A keen athlete, Harper was a hurdler at...	Three-quarters	Canterbury Canterbury Rugby Football Union The Canterbury Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in a substantial part of the Canterbury region, in the middle of the South Island of New Zealand...	24
Jimmy Hunter Jimmy Hunter Jimmy Hunter was a rugby union footballer who played for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks. He played mainly at second five-eighth, although he could play any position in the backline...	Five-eighths	Taranaki Taranaki Rugby Union Taranaki Rugby Football Union is the governing body of Rugby in the New Zealand province of Taranaki. The main stadium is Yarrow Stadium which is in the main centre of New Plymouth. Taranaki plays in the annual ITM Cup in which it also competes for the Ranfurly shield...	129
Simon Mynott	Five-eighths	Taranaki Taranaki Rugby Union Taranaki Rugby Football Union is the governing body of Rugby in the New Zealand province of Taranaki. The main stadium is Yarrow Stadium which is in the main centre of New Plymouth. Taranaki plays in the annual ITM Cup in which it also competes for the Ranfurly shield...	49
Bob Deans Bob Deans Bob Deans was a former All Black and Canterbury rugby union player....	Five-eighths	Canterbury Canterbury Rugby Football Union The Canterbury Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in a substantial part of the Canterbury region, in the middle of the South Island of New Zealand...	60
Billy Stead Billy Stead Billy Stead was a New Zealand rugby union player born in Invercargill who played for the All Blacks in their 1905 tour. Stead also played for Southland, and later coached various teams, including Southland and the New Zealand Māori...	Five-eighths	Southland Southland Rugby The Southland Rugby Football Union is a provincial rugby union who govern the Southland Region founded in 1886. The headquarters of Southland Rugby are in Invercargill, New Zealand however the Southland Union also covers country teams such as Midlands of Winton and Excelsior Rugby Club of Gore.The...	33
Fred Roberts	Halfback	Wellington Wellington Rugby Football Union The Wellington Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union in the city of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand...	48
Steve Casey Steve Casey (All Black) Stephen Timothy Casey was New Zealand international rugby player. He was a member of the All Blacks in 1905–1908, playing in the Hooker position.-Early life:...	Forward	Otago Otago Rugby Football Union The Otago Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union for the Otago Region of New Zealand. The union is based in the city of Dunedin, and its home ground is Forsyth Barr Stadium. The top representative team competes in the ITM Cup, New Zealand's top provincial...	0
John Corbett	Forward	West Coast West Coast Rugby Football Union The West Coast Rugby Football Union, formed in 1890, is the official governing body for rugby union in a substantial part of the West Coast region of New Zealand and is affiliated to the New Zealand Rugby Union. The team is based in Greymouth and plays home matches at Rugby Park....	0
Bill Cunningham	Forward	Auckland Auckland Rugby Football Union The Auckland Rugby Football Union is the governing body of rugby union in the Auckland Region, in the North Island of New Zealand. Its colours are navy blue and white in a hoop design. Auckland's top representative team have won New Zealand's top provincial rugby competition 16 times, more than...	22
Frank Glasgow	Forward	Taranaki Taranaki Rugby Union Taranaki Rugby Football Union is the governing body of Rugby in the New Zealand province of Taranaki. The main stadium is Yarrow Stadium which is in the main centre of New Plymouth. Taranaki plays in the annual ITM Cup in which it also competes for the Ranfurly shield...	37
Bill Glenn	Forward	Taranaki Taranaki Rugby Union Taranaki Rugby Football Union is the governing body of Rugby in the New Zealand province of Taranaki. The main stadium is Yarrow Stadium which is in the main centre of New Plymouth. Taranaki plays in the annual ITM Cup in which it also competes for the Ranfurly shield...	0
Bill Johnston Massa Johnston William "Massa" Johnston was a New Zealand rugby union and rugby league international...	Forward	Otago Otago Rugby Football Union The Otago Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union for the Otago Region of New Zealand. The union is based in the city of Dunedin, and its home ground is Forsyth Barr Stadium. The top representative team competes in the ITM Cup, New Zealand's top provincial...	9
Bill Mackrell William Mackrell William "Bill" Henry Clifton Mackrell was a New Zealand rugby footballer who represented his country in both rugby union and rugby league. He was part of the 1905 The Original All Blacks tour and the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain.-Rugby Football:Mackrell began...	Forward	Auckland Auckland Rugby Football Union The Auckland Rugby Football Union is the governing body of rugby union in the Auckland Region, in the North Island of New Zealand. Its colours are navy blue and white in a hoop design. Auckland's top representative team have won New Zealand's top provincial rugby competition 16 times, more than...	3
Alex McDonald	Forward	Otago Otago Rugby Football Union The Otago Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union for the Otago Region of New Zealand. The union is based in the city of Dunedin, and its home ground is Forsyth Barr Stadium. The top representative team competes in the ITM Cup, New Zealand's top provincial...	12
Fred Newton	Forward	Canterbury Canterbury Rugby Football Union The Canterbury Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in a substantial part of the Canterbury region, in the middle of the South Island of New Zealand...  - West Coast West Coast Rugby Football Union The West Coast Rugby Football Union, formed in 1890, is the official governing body for rugby union in a substantial part of the West Coast region of New Zealand and is affiliated to the New Zealand Rugby Union. The team is based in Greymouth and plays home matches at Rugby Park....	3
George Nicholson	Forward	Auckland Auckland Rugby Football Union The Auckland Rugby Football Union is the governing body of rugby union in the Auckland Region, in the North Island of New Zealand. Its colours are navy blue and white in a hoop design. Auckland's top representative team have won New Zealand's top provincial rugby competition 16 times, more than...	18
Jim O'Sullivan	Forward	Taranaki Taranaki Rugby Union Taranaki Rugby Football Union is the governing body of Rugby in the New Zealand province of Taranaki. The main stadium is Yarrow Stadium which is in the main centre of New Plymouth. Taranaki plays in the annual ITM Cup in which it also competes for the Ranfurly shield...	3
Charlie Seeling Charlie Seeling Charles Edward "Bronco" Seeling was a New Zealand international rugby football player of the early 20th century. He played in the forwards for the original All Blacks, appearing in 11 tests.Seeling then signed with English rugby league club, Wigan in 1910...	Forward	Auckland Auckland Rugby Football Union The Auckland Rugby Football Union is the governing body of rugby union in the Auckland Region, in the North Island of New Zealand. Its colours are navy blue and white in a hoop design. Auckland's top representative team have won New Zealand's top provincial rugby competition 16 times, more than...	24
George Tyler	Forward	Auckland Auckland Rugby Football Union The Auckland Rugby Football Union is the governing body of rugby union in the Auckland Region, in the North Island of New Zealand. Its colours are navy blue and white in a hoop design. Auckland's top representative team have won New Zealand's top provincial rugby competition 16 times, more than...	18
Dave Gallaher Dave Gallaher David "Dave" Gallaher was a New Zealand rugby union footballer, best known as the captain of "The Originals", the first New Zealand national rugby union team to be known as the All Blacks....  (Captain)	Forward	Auckland Auckland Rugby Football Union The Auckland Rugby Football Union is the governing body of rugby union in the Auckland Region, in the North Island of New Zealand. Its colours are navy blue and white in a hoop design. Auckland's top representative team have won New Zealand's top provincial rugby competition 16 times, more than...	5

Manager - George Dixon

Coach - Jimmy Duncan

Jimmy Duncan (rugby player)

James Duncan was a New Zealand rugby union footballer, coach and referee. He was born in Dunedin, New Zealand. He appeared for Otago before being selected to play for New Zealand in 1897. He captained New Zealand for the first time against Wellington in 1901. He captained New Zealand in its first...

See also

• 1888-1889 New Zealand Native football team
  1888-1889 New Zealand Native football team
  The 1888–1889 New Zealand Native football team was a New Zealand football team that toured Britain, Australia and New Zealand in 1888 and 1889. The team was composed mainly of players of Māori ancestry, although several Pakeha were included in the squad. The tour was a private endeavour, and was...
  
  
• History of rugby union matches between All Blacks and France
  History of rugby union matches between All Blacks and France
  The national rugby union teams of France and New Zealand have been playing each other for over a century; as of the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final on 23 October 2011, they have played 51 Test matches against each other. The first encounter, which was also France's first Test, took place in Paris in...