Richard Hugh McCaw is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player. He captained the national team, the All Blacks, in 110 out of his 148 test matches, and won two Rugby World Cups. He has won the World Rugby player of the year award a joint record three times and was the most capped test rugby player of all time from August 2015 to October 2020. McCaw was awarded World Rugby player of the decade in 2021. Richie is also the winner for New Zealand sportsman of the decade award, the highest sporting honor a sports individual can achieve in New Zealand.
Sir John James Patrick Kirwan is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player of both rugby union and rugby league.
Rugby Southland is the provincial rugby union who govern the Southland region of New Zealand. Their headquarters are at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill, which is also the home ground of the union's professional team, the Southland Stags who compete in the Mitre 10 Cup Championship Division and challenge for the Ranfurly Shield.
Murray Graham Mexted is a former New Zealand rugby union player who played 34 consecutive tests for the All Blacks from 1979 to 1985. He also played 38 non-test games including 7 as captain. During his time with the All Blacks, he wore the Number eight jersey and was considered an excellent ball winner and an effective defender.
Frank Eneri Bunce is a retired New Zealand rugby union player and coach. He played international rugby for both Western Samoa and New Zealand in the 1990s, appearing in the 1991 and 1995 World Cups. He played in four international matches for Samoa and 55 for New Zealand.
Tony Dale Woodcock is a New Zealand former rugby union player. His position was loosehead prop, and he played 111 tests for the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. Woodcock played for the All Blacks from 2002 to 2015, scoring eight test tries. He was described by The Dominion Post as "widely regarded as the world's premier loosehead", and by The New Zealand Herald as having the "best range of skills of any prop on the planet". He is now the most capped All Black prop of all time, and is the second most capped player in Blues history, behind Keven Mealamu. He was a key member of the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup winning squads, becoming one of only 20 players to have won multiple Rugby World Cups.
The Wanganui Rugby Football Union (WRFU) is the governing body for rugby union in the Whanganui region of New Zealand. The Wanganui Rugby Football Union was formed in 1888.
Tamati Edward Ellison is a New Zealand rugby union footballer.
Liam Justin Messam is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays TOP14 for RC Toulonnais. In Super Rugby, he previously played for the Chiefs, and for Waikato in the ITM Cup. Messam predominantly plays as a blindside flanker but can fill in at Number 8 as well as openside flanker. After the retirement of then Chiefs captain Mils Muliaina, Messam was named the team's new co-captain from 2012 onwards, alongside Aaron Cruden.
Matthew James Andrew Cooper is a former New Zealand international rugby union player. He made his All Black test debut against Ireland on 6 June 1992, setting a then-world record of 23 points on test debut, with the last of his eight caps coming on 3 July 1994 against France.
Israel Jamahl Akuhata Dagg is a former New Zealand rugby union player who played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby. He has also played for the New Zealand Sevens team, and represents Hawkes Bay in the ITM Cup.
Ben John Franks is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He played as a prop. He is one of only 21 players who have won the Rugby World Cup on multiple occasions.
Kieran James Read is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He played as a Number 8 and is a former captain of the All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby union team.
The 1980 New Zealand tour of Wales was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the New Zealand All Blacks against Wales that also took in two international games in North America en route to South Wales. This was a single test tour against each of the countries played, with four games against Welsh club opposition.
Enrique TOPO Rodríguez is an Argentina-born Australian former rugby union player, who today is Co-Founder & Managing Director of the AABC, impresario, professional keynote speaker, mental health management advocate & adviser, freelance writer, Soft Power Adviser, and Bilateral Relationships Consultant.
Munster Rugby has a strong tradition of competitiveness against touring rugby teams. They have played the All Blacks, the national team of New Zealand, 8 times since 1905. In 1978, they became the first Irish team, including the Irish national team, to have won a match the history of competition between the countries, and remained the only Irish team to beat the All Blacks until the national team won their 2016 game.
Aaron Luke Smith is a rugby union player who plays for New Zealand, the All Blacks, in international rugby. He plays at scrum-half in the team and is the most-capped scrum-half to ever play for New Zealand.
Conor Murray is an Irish rugby union player who plays for Munster in the United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup. Internationally, Murray has represented Ireland and the British & Irish Lions, whom he captained temporarily in 2021. He plays as a scrum-half and represents Garryowen in the All-Ireland League.
Graeme Murray Crossman is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A hooker, Crossman represented Bay of Plenty at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1974 to 1976. He played 19 matches for the All Blacks, captaining the side in five games, but he did not gain any test caps. He later coached Bay of Plenty between 1979 and 1984.
Vaea Tangitau Lapota Fifita is a Tongan born New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a lock or loose forward for the Hurricanes in the international Super Rugby competition, and for Wellington in the Mitre 10 Cup. Fifita has played 12 tests for New Zealand at international level, earning his first test cap against Samoa in 2017. His elder brother Leva Fifita is also a professional rugby union player who plays international rugby for Tonga.
