New Zealand

Rugby in New Zealand had no national side to speak of when a squad was pulled together for a privately arranged tour of New South Wales in 1884, and it won all eight matches it played. the 1924–25 team that won every game of its own tour of the British Isles and France was remembered as The Invincibles.

Eden Park in Auckland became the team's home ground, and the All Blacks have not lost there in 53 consecutive tests going back to 1994. 1987, won on home soil against France; 2011, a single-point final also against France; and 2015, when victory over Australia made New Zealand the first side to win the tournament three times. The Rugby Championship, and the Tri Nations before it, has gone to New Zealand twenty times.

Against Australia, the All Blacks have held the Bledisloe Cup in 53 of its contests. The rivalry with South Africa carries no trophy of its own but is often called the fiercest in the sport. it was under coach Graham Henry, appointed after a quarter-final exit in 2003, that the side rebuilt into the one that won in 2011 and 2015.