They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing is that the player has Māori whakapapa (genealogy).

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.

Until the 1970s, this involved discrimination against Māori players, since the segregationist laws in South Africa for most of the twentieth century did not allow people of different races to play sport together.

In April 2010 Muru Walters said that in 1956 Ernest Corbett, Minister of Māori Affairs, had told the team to deliberately lose to the Springboks "for the future of rugby".

The Māori continued their winning form in 2004 beating the England Saxons in extra time in the final of the Churchill Cup in Canada.

From 2008 they replaced the Junior All Blacks, and they were undefeated champions, narrowly beating Australia A in the final game of the tournament.

The Churchill Cup was another, which they won in 2004 and in 2006, defeating Ireland A and the USA in pool play in Santa Clara, California and Scotland A in the final in Edmonton, Alberta.

In August 2012, the NZRU announced the Māori All Blacks would play three matches in the United Kingdom, including a fixture against Canada.

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.

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.

[6] Updated: 17 July 2024 On 25 June 2024, Ross Filipo named a 28-man squad for a two-match series against Japan XV as part of the Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2024.