The Original All Blacks

The Original All Blacks

The Original All Blacks (also known simply as "The Originals") were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. They toured the British Isles, France and the United States of America during 1905–1906. Their opening game was against Devon on 16 September 1905 whom they defeated 55–4. Such was the surprise that some newspapers in Britain printed that Devon had scored 55 points and not the All Blacks. They went on to defeat every English side that they faced, including a 16–3 victory over English county champions Durham, and a 32–0 victory over Blackheath. They defeated Scotland, Ireland and England with the closest of the three matches their 12–7 victory over Scotland. The teams only loss of the tour was a 3–0 defeat to Wales at Cardiff Arms Park. The loss was highly controversial after the referee denied a try to All Blacks wing Bob Deans. They went on to defeat all their remaining Welsh opponents and to play France in France's first ever Test match. They returned to New Zealand via North America where they played two matches against Canadian teams. Overall they played a total of thirty-five matches, which included five Tests, and only lost once—the defeat to Wales.

The 1905 All Blacks tour of Britain went on to achieve legendary status within the rugby world and New Zealand in particular. They scored 976 points and conceded only 59, and thus set the standard for all subsequent All Black sides. The tour also saw the first use of the All Blacks name and established New Zealand's reputation as a world class rugby nation. Some of these players eventually defected to participate in the professional 1907–1908 tour of Australia and Great Britain where they played against Northern Union sides in the sport that would eventually become rugby league.