The All Blacks
The All Blacks is the nickname for the New Zealand national union rugby team.
How It's Used
“The first rule of Lions selection is to judge individuals on how they fare in big games away from home, out of their comfort zones. By that yardstick, the likes of Kearney and Fitzgerald still have something to prove, although Kearney's brave performance in the cold Wellington rain against the All Blacks in June also sticks in the memory.” —Robert Kitson, “Irish Accent for McGeechan’s Lions,” The Guardian (UK), October 21, 2008. "The qualities offered by the All Blacks in the winning of the Hillary Shield have held good down the years: subdue and penetrate. Wales possessed them during the decade of the dragon, the 1970s; England had the same inner confidence as they built towards the 2003 World Cup. But there was an imperative this year to New Zealand: the need for a proven coaching team to justify their continued employment and proven players to show their countrymen that last year's World Cup was not to haunt them." —David Hands, "Johnson's stricken supertanker finds itself in deep and dangerous waters," The Times (UK), December 1, 2008. "It has calmed down in the past few weeks, but the player-coach rift has been a major issue at the Force for some months. The former All Blacks coach is an intriguing character, with a deep knowledge and passion about everything rugby, but he can alienate the more sensitive of players with his forthright, sometimes obsessive, manner. Mitchell doesn't appreciate mugs, and he tells it as it is. That can destabilise those he perceives are not up to standard, and can create division within the player group." —Greg Growden, "Firepower, player power, darkest hour: Force need to fire on field," The Sydney Morning Herald, February 6, 2009. "The All Blacks have a firm offer to play a Bledisloe Cup test in Hong Kong next year and are also being courted by the German Rugby Union to play in Hamburg. Other proposals are also on the table, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi having touted their interest to host the All Blacks and Miami a potential venue for a clash with Argentina." —"Germany in Hunt for ABs," The New Zealand Herald, November 8, 2009. "Hosea Gear (11) 8/10 Once again finished the season as Wellington's leading tryscorer with 11 from as many games. Needs to improve his kicking and passing skills if he is to regain his All Blacks status but few NPC wings can handle his speed and strength." —"They Came, They Saw, They Did the Usual," The Dominion Post, November 13, 2009. Links Related on eAlmanac
The All Whites
Beyond eAlmanac
Wikipedia article on the All Blacks
The All Blacks Official Web site
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