The All Blacks compete with Argentina, Australia and South Africa in the Rugby Championship, and have won the trophy twenty times in the competition's 29–year history.

[d][20] The team's first true test match occurred against Australia on 15 August 1903 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in front of over 30,000 spectators and resulted in a 22–3 victory.

The side is now known as the "Originals", as the "All Blacks" name emerged during this tour when, according to team member Billy Wallace, a London newspaper reported that the New Zealanders played as if they were "all backs".

[59] The tour was notable for the sending home of prop Keith Murdoch, who was alleged to have been involved in a brawl in a Cardiff hotel while celebrating the defeat of Wales.

[68][69] The 1976 All Blacks tour of apartheid South Africa generated much controversy and led to the boycott of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal by 33 African nations after the IOC refused to ban the team.

New Zealand conceded only 52 points and scored 43 tries in six games en route to the title, beating Italy, Fiji, Argentina, Scotland, Wales and France.

Undisputed test fullback John Gallagher switched codes and signed to play with English rugby league club Leeds.

This came after his 1989 tour understudy Matthew Ridge had signed to play rugby league with Sydney based club Manly-Warringah less than a week earlier.

New Zealand rugby also lost Waikato goal kicking fullback Daryl Halligan who signed to play league for the North Sydney Bears.

After beating hosts England in the tournament opener, they struggled during pool matches against the United States and Italy, and won their quarter-final against Canada.

[105][106] 2005 saw New Zealand host the touring British & Irish Lions, steered by World Cup-winning English coach Clive Woodward, and featuring a number of Northern Hemisphere stars including Jonny Wilkinson.

The series was marred by an incident in the first test after the Lions captain, Irish centre Brian O'Driscoll, was upended in an aggressive clearout by Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu.

[107] O'Driscoll and the Lions management maintained it was a deliberate spear tackle,[108] and the controversy both tainted the All Blacks' series victory and continued for some years afterward.

[116][117] New Zealand entered the 2007 Rugby World Cup as favourites,[118] and topped their pool,[119] beating Scotland, Italy, Romania and Portugal by at least 40 points.

[120] Following the loss to France coach Graham Henry's job was reappointed amid vocal debate and comment, despite Robbie Deans being a strong contender.

[124] New Zealand played their final match on 13 September against Australia at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane winning 28–24 and retaining the Bledisloe Cup and the Tri-Nations.

[136] The All Blacks went undefeated at the 2016 Rugby Championship, claiming bonus points at each match, under new captain and Number 8, Kieran Read and vice-captain and fullback Ben Smith.

The drawn series, combined with the loss to Ireland to previous year led some in the media to claim that the team were on the slide, and that the Northern Hemisphere sides were catching up.

[145] At the start of the 2018 season, the All Blacks saw off a touring French side in a 3–0 series victory, and won their first games of the Rugby Championship against Australia by 38–13 and 40–12 to keep the Bledisloe Cup for another year.

In the return match against South Africa in Pretoria, the All Blacks trailed for much of the game but produced a thrilling comeback late the second half to win by 32–30.

That series proved a relatively difficult one for the All Blacks, with a single-point victory over England (16–15) in a very closely fought test,[149] followed by a second-ever loss to Ireland by 9–16 in a cauldron atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

They got back on track, showcasing the form they have been in the past years, with a 36 - 0 shutout in their rematch at Eden Park to retain the Bledisloe Cup, and finished their season with a 92 - 7 pummelling against Tonga.

Hansen retired after the World Cup, along with many All Blacks veterans, most notably captain Kieran Read, Owen Franks and Ben Smith.

2023 In 2023, the All Blacks won the shortened version of the Rugby Championship (due to the World Cup) by defeating Argentina (41–12), South Africa (35–20), and Australia (38–7).

In 1905, the All Blacks began the tradition of using Ka Mate, a haka composed in the 19th century by Te Rauparaha, leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe.

[178] Kapa o Pango concludes with a move that has been interpreted as a "throat slitting" gesture, which has led to accusations that the haka encourages violence and sends the wrong message to All Blacks fans.

[182] On the same tour, Wales responded to New Zealand's haka by silently refusing to move afterwards, and the two teams simply stared at each other until the referee forced them to start the game.

Many national rugby union teams have suffered their heaviest defeats when playing against New Zealand, these being Argentina (91–8), Fiji (91–0), France (61–10), Ireland (60–0), Japan (145–17), Portugal (108–13), Samoa (101–14), South Africa (57–0), Tonga (102–0, twice) and the British and Irish Lions (38–6).

[192] On October 16 2024, Peter Lakai and Josh Lord were called up to the squad as injury replacements for Ethan Blackadder (calf), Dalton Papali'i (hamstring), and Luke Jacobson (fractured thumb).

[193] On November 4 2024, Brodie McAlister and Harry Plummer were called into the squad as injury cover, Billy Proctor returned to New Zealand on paternity leave.