Any kind of rugby story is incomplete without mentioning about the New Zealand national men and women’s team. The sport is embedded in the very culture of the nation. For over 140 years the people in the country have voiced their humongous support for the team wherever they have played. Each household is either directly or indirectly connected with any kind of successful rugby story. The home of Rugby is considered to be Nelson which is at the northernmost tip of the nation. The first Rugby game was played in May 1870. The popularity of the game soon spread across the country which finally led to the establishment of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union in 1892. The first team that was formed succeeded in defeating the New South Wales in a convincing manner.
Any rugby superstar that have featured in major competitions for New Zealand can be identified as one of the most successful ones in the history of rugby. Names like George Napia, Brownley brothers, Colin Meads and Don Clarke feature in any of the lists for all time greats of rugby. Richie McCaw is the present New Zealand captain and he inspires his team by alluding to the examples of these legends. The Rugby World Cup has been witness to the greatest number of All Blacks triumph. Starting from the inaugural one to those of late, almost all the generations of players has tasted glory at least for once. Zinzan Broone, Michael Jones, Grant Fox, John Kirwan, Jeff Wilson. Jona Lomu is some of the few superstars whose popularity crossed all bounds because of their performances in the World Cup. The Women’s team is also one of the most dominant forces of the game. They have been able to maintain their position on the top of the rankings for quite a few numbers of years.