The All Blacks XV is the second national
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 it ...
team of New Zealand, after 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, ...
. New Zealand's second national team has had numerous names in its history: Junior All Blacks, New Zealand XV, New Zealand A, New Zealand B, All Blacks XV.
Matches played as the 'All Blacks XV' are not test matches, usually against a touring side or when on tour, and against non-top tier rugby nations.
History
In 1991 a New Zealand XV played both Romania and USSR in the ‘test’ fixtures of their tours to New Zealand.
In 1991 a New Zealand B team played Australia B during their
short tour.
In 1992 a New Zealand XV team beat England B in a pair of non-cap games during the tourists' 8-game tour.
In 1998 a New Zealand A team played the England
touring side.
In 2005 a New Zealand A team played two matches against Australia A.
In 2006, the second team was re-branded as the Junior All Blacks, inheriting the nickname of the previous New Zealand U23 team. This second XV participated in the 2006, 2007 and 2009
Pacific Nations Cup
The Pacific Nations Cup is an international rugby union competition held between three Pacific states: Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. The 2019 edition of the tournament will also include the national teams of Canada, Japan and United States. First hel ...
. In 2008 the
Maori All Blacks played in this tournament. The Junior All Blacks were put into a hiatus shortly after the 2009 tournament. The side was then reinstated in 2019, but their first set of games were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022 the team was re-branded once again as the All Blacks XV for matches against Ireland A and the Barbarians.
* "The All Blacks XV was launched as NZR’s next senior national representative team after the All Blacks, as a critical high-performance pathway to the All Blacks. As the next senior national representative side, the All Blacks XV will have the same high expectations as the other Teams in Black ... The All Blacks XV follows in the footsteps of similar teams which have assembled throughout New Zealand rugby's history, including the Junior All Blacks, New Zealand A and Emerging Players."
Current squad
The All Blacks XV squad
Junior All Blacks (NZ Juniors (U23s))
The NZ Juniors (U23s), popularly known as the ''Junior All Blacks'', had been active from 1958 to 1984 playing 7 international matches. They were disbanded in 1984 and replaced by a non-age restricted team called the ''New Zealand Emerging Players''. The Emerging Players were active in 1985 and 1986 but only played internal tours in fixtures against New Zealand provincial sides. In 2006, the team was formally reintroduced and repurposed as the second national team
Junior All Blacks
when they competed in the inaugural Pacific Nations Cup
The Pacific Nations Cup is an international rugby union competition held between three Pacific states: Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. The 2019 edition of the tournament will also include the national teams of Canada, Japan and United States. First hel ...
.
Junior All Blacks (U23s) results
See also
* New Zealand national schoolboy rugby union team
The New Zealand Schools rugby union team, commonly referred to as the New Zealand schoolboys rugby team, is composed of secondary school students in New Zealand.
Many of the players have gone on to play for professional clubs or provinces or for ...
* New Zealand national under-19 rugby union team
* New Zealand national under-21 rugby union team
The New Zealand Under 21s rugby union team was a national representative team for players aged under-21. In 2008, in accordance with new IRB rule, the New Zealand Under 21s and the Under 19s were both permanently replaced by the New Zealand Unde ...
* Junior All Blacks
* Maori All Blacks
* 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, ...
References
{{Pacific Nations Cup
Junior
Second national rugby union teams