6 amazing facts about the All Blacks

1. Fans of the All Blacks are among the best and most passionate sporting fans in the world. There are currently 1,279,297 fans on the All Blacks facebook page - according to the All Blacks official site this is the largest Facebook fan base of any New Zealand-owned page.

 

2. The first New Zealand team was selected in 1884, for a tour to New South Wales, Australia. The team went undefeated in eight matches in Australia and prop James Allan, who played eight matches for the 1884 team, has been immortalised as All Black No 1.

 

3. The All Blacks have consistently rated amongst the best in the world for well over 100 years - they've won more than 75% of test matches since their first test match against Australia in 1903 and have kept the opposition scoreless in test matches 28 times.

 

4. As of 24 October 2011, there have been a total of 1109 men who've played for the All Blacks, and players past and present are regularly featured in "World's Best Players" lists - some recurring names include Dan Carter, Jonah Lomu, Michael Jones, Colin Meads and Zinzan Brooke.

 

5. Six All Blacks have been knighted or awarded the Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and four have been granted a Rhodes Scholarship.

 

6. There have been 17 sets of father and son All Blacks and 32 sets of brothers.

 

 

For more information on the All Blacks, visit http://www.allblacks.com/ or http://www.rugbymuseum.co.nz