Māori All Blacks
History
The Māori All Blacks are a historic team representing the proud Māori culture of New Zealand. In 1888 New Zealand Natives was one of the country’s maiden national rugby sides, playing Hawke's Bay in their first ever match on June 23, with the Natives winning 5-0. Later that year they would play their initial international side, recording their first national win 13-4 when beating Ireland in Dublin.The first to wear the famous black jersey, the side was originally conceived as an all-Māori selection and ultimately included just five non-Māori players in its ranks.Conquerors of many internationals sides, including the British and Irish Lions, England, Ireland, while the last time they lost to a Pacific Island side was in 1973 (Tonga).Originally team selection was ‘loosely’ governed in terms of heritage, but now all players must have Māori whakapapa or genealogy confirmed to making the side.
For information on Māori rugby history: click here
Tickets
- Māori All Blacks fixtures TBC
Māori Rugby Haka
One of the New Zealand Natives' legacies was the haka, a traditional Māori posture dance with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet, to the accompaniment of rhythmically shouted words; this was first performed during a match on 3 October 1888 against Surrey in England, United Kingdom. The haka was later adopted by the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. In 2001, the Māori first performed the "Timatanga" haka, which describes the evolution of life and the creation of New Zealand from the four winds. This was written especially for the New Zealand Māori team by team kaumātua (elder) Whetu Tipiwai. It tells the Māori story of the creation from the void, the nothingness, the darkness to what we have today. It also tells of a gathering of young warriors, young chiefs, young rugby players who are making statement and setting aims, objectives and strategies to achieve mātauranga (knowledge), whanaunatanga (unity) and taumatatanga (excellence).
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