The 1972–73 New Zealand rugby union tour of the Britain, Ireland, France and North America was a collection of

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

test match games undertaken by the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

against England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France. The tour also took in several matches against British, Irish, French and North American club, county and invitational teams. This was the seventh tour of the Northern Hemisphere. It was also the first time the All Blacks lost to the invitational

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

team. In the club matches, the team only lost to

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

, North-Western Counties, Midland Counties (West), and the

, and drew with

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

. In the tests played the team won against Wales, Scotland and England, drew with Ireland and lost to France. This was their fifth "Grand Slam tour" after 1905–06 (Lost to Wales), 1935–36 (Lost to Wales and England), 1953–54 (Lost to Wales), 1963–64 (Drew with Scotland). They had to wait until 1978 for a "Grand Slam".

Touring party

*Manager: Ernie Todd *Assistant Manager: Bob Duff *Captain:

Ian Kirkpatrick Ian Andrew Kirkpatrick (born 24 May 1946) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. Described as "supremely athletic, fast, fearless and with an uncanny sense of anticipation", Kirkpatrick is widely regarded as one of the greatest flankers t ...

Backs

Joe Karam Joseph Francis Karam (born 21 November 1951), also known by the nickname of "Clock", is a New Zealand former representative rugby footballer who played for the All Blacks. After retiring from rugby, he became a businessman. However, he is most ...

(Wellington) * Trevor Morris (Nelson-Bays) * Bryan Williams (Auckland) *

Grant Batty Grant Bernard Batty (born 31 August 1951 in Greytown, New Zealand) is a former rugby union footballer. A diminutive but effective wing for the All Blacks, Batty played domestically for Wellington and Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, ...

(Wellington) * Duncan Hales (Canterbury) * George Skudder (Waikato) * Bruce Robertson (Counties) * Ian Hurst (Canterbury) * Mike Parkinson (Poverty Bay) * Mark Sayers (Wellington) *

Bob Burgess Robert Edward Burgess (26 March 1949) is a New Zealand rugby union player and academic. A first five-eighth, Burgess represented Manawatu at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1971 to 197 ...

(Manawatu) * Ian Stevens (Wellington) * Sid Going (North Auckland) * Lin Colling (Otago)

Forwards

* Alan Sutherland (Marlborough) *

Alex Wyllie Alexander John "Grizz" Wyllie (born 30 August 1944) is a New Zealand rugby union former player and coach. Playing career Wyllie began his rugby career playing for Glenmark Rugby Club, in North Canterbury. During his first-class career he playe ...

(Canterbury) * Bevan Holmes (North Auckland) *

(Poverty Bay) * Ken Stewart (Southland) *

Alistair Scown Alistair Ian Scown (born 21 October 1948) was a New Zealand rugby union player. He has five caps as an All Black. All his test appearances were in 1972. Scown is known for being a player involved in what has been described as "the greatest try of ...

(Taranaki) * Hamish Macdonald (Canterbury) *

Ian Eliason Ian Matheson Eliason (6 June 1945 – 24 February 2019) was a New Zealand rugby union player. A lock, Eliason represented Taranaki at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1972 to 1973. He p ...

(Taranaki) *

Andy Haden Andrew Maxwell Haden (26 September 195029 July 2020) was a New Zealand rugby union player and All Black captain. He played at lock for Auckland and New Zealand from 1972 until 1985. He also played club rugby in the United Kingdom and Italy. Lif ...

(Auckland) * Peter Whiting (Auckland) *

Keith Murdoch Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch (12 August 1885 – 4 October 1952) was an Australian journalist, businessman and the father of Rupert Murdoch, the current Executive chairman for News Corporation and the chairman of Fox Corporation. Early life Murdoc ...

(Otago) * Jeff Matheson (Otago) *

Kent Lambert Kent Douglas Lambert is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. A United States Air Force veteran, Lambert was elected to the Colorado General Assembly as a Republican in 2006. Most recently, he represented Senate District 9, which ...

(Manawatu) *

Graham Whiting Graham John Whiting (born 4 June 1946) is a New Zealand former rugby footballer. A prop, Whiting represented King Country in rugby union at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1972 to 1973. ...

(King Country) * Ron Urlich (Auckland) *

Tane Norton Rangitane Will Norton (born 30 March 1942), commonly known as Tane Norton, is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He played at the hooker position. He played for Linwood before he first represented in 1969. In 1977, he captained the All B ...

(Canterbury) * Lindsay Clark (Otago), replacement during tour *

Sandy McNicol Alasdair Lindsay Robert "Sandy" McNicol (15 June 1944 – 20 April 2017) was a New Zealand rugby union player. A prop, McNicol represented Wanganui at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks. Play ...

(Wanganui), replacement during tour

Tour itinerary

Test matches

Tries: Con: Pen: Drop:

Wales

Scotland

England

Ireland

France

Non-International Matches

:''Scores and results list New Zealand's points tally first.''

Barbarians

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:New Zealand New Zealand tour New Zealand tour 1972-73 1972-73 1972-73 1972-73 1972-73 1972-73 1972-73 1972-73 1972-73 1972 in New Zealand rugby union 1973 in New Zealand rugby union 1972–73 in English rugby union 1972–73 in Welsh rugby union 1972–73 in Scottish rugby union 1972–73 in French rugby union 1972–73 in Irish rugby union 1972–73 in European rugby union New Zealand tour New Zealand tour New Zealand tour