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Everyone remembers their first day at school or a new job, this feeling of fear of either looking out of place or making a mistake. Everyone has days like this. But not everyone becomes an All Black. Over 139 years, just over 1,200 men have worn the jersey of one of rugby’s most iconic and dominant teams.

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They won over 77% of their Test matches, more than any other men’s team. They have won three Rugby World Cups; no men’s team has won more. Their practice and culture have become synonymous with success not only in sports, but in the world at large.

They are outstanding. But when you first join this sacred club, the last thing you want to do is stand out. On my first day, I was excited but scared at the same time, says Richard Kahui, recalling his arrival at the camp in 2008, when he was 23 years old.

“I didn’t want to disappoint – not be late for a meeting or lose the ball in training. The first thing you do is meet the team manager, receive your room key and all new uniforms. It’s as exciting as Christmas.”

The uniform symbolized belonging to the team. But later that evening, two senior players – Conrad Smith and Keven Melamu – were waiting for Kahui in the team room with a black book that would reveal the special meaning of becoming an All Black.

The call-up

Today, players can be called to international duty simply by adding them to a WhatsApp group chat. In 2004, Smith learned more publicly about his choice. New head coach Graham Henry was keen to bring in new talent after New Zealand lost to Australia in the semi-final of the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

I was alone in the apartment and wasn’t even going to listen to the announcement, but I realized it was time and turned on the radio with a sandwich in my hand, says Smith, who had only played one season of professional rugby at this point.

Casey Laulala, the opposition centre, was named in alphabetical order, and I remember thinking that maybe this wasn’t for me. Then it came to S and my name was called so I put my sandwich down and my phone started working.

Four years later, Kahui didn’t even have a radio. He had to call All Black Stephen Donald, his best friend, who put his phone on speaker and placed it next to the speaker so Kahui could listen to the announcement.

Donald’s name was said before mine so I could hear his family’s screams before I calmed down, he says. Then, as it went even lower, my name came out. My phone started ringing. My mom and dad were crying and I almost cried. I found out about it like everyone else.

The haka

The All-Blacks’ ceremonial war dance before a match is one of rugby’s iconic spectacles. They insist this is not being done to piss off the opposition; rather, it’s for yourself. Some of his most significant performances take place in private, away from cameras and confrontation.

There’s a process when you’re brought into a group and the haka plays a big part in that, especially on tour when there’s a group of new players, Smith says.

On my tour, there were seven or eight of us debuting, maybe more. You talk about yourself and your journey – where you are from and a little about yourself. Everyone welcomes you. During your first hack, you meet experienced players and do it. We’ve got a full team, it’s so special and you’re not just talking about the haka, you’re talking about the jersey, the heritage, the proud history of the All Blacks and now is your chance.

A Haka and a Welcome: The New Zealand Rugby World Cup team Tradition

The message was don’t be scared by it, you are meant to be here and you are now the keeper of the jersey so leave your mark on it. Kahui’s experience was similar. The squad welcomes everyone into the room and does a big haka, welcoming you to the team, he says. Even talking about it makes you feel funny.

It’s one of those energetic and emotional moments in your life and at the end you shake everyone’s hand. When you leave that room, you are not treated or spoken of differently—you are completely black. Rugby fans can book Rugby World Cup Quarter Final Tickets on our website at exclusively discounted prices.

“You can sit at the same table with someone like Richie McCaw. You feel like you have every right to do what everyone else is doing. it was like one of those special days in your life.”

The little black book

Leaving your legacy and marking your time in the famous black jersey is a fundamental message for all newcomers. This goes beyond metaphor. All black people are literally writing their own history. When Smith and Melamu approached Kahui on his first day, Smith – by then a senior player – handed him a black book.

There are a few things that only All Black players get. One of them is a black book that contains all the information you heard about at the meeting, says Kahui. But it also has all these blank pages. You need to keep a diary of your time as an All Black.

After the meeting, Conrad Smith let me look at his book. There was the date and the teams he played for, what he felt, what it meant. It was truly amazing to get inside his book and his mind. They say it’s your book so take care of it and when you play your first game you give it away and they put a picture of you playing in it and you have it for the rest of your life.

The book was introduced after Graham Henry took charge of the team following the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Smith believes cultural change is necessary and praises Gilbert Inoka for helping bring about that change. Over time, Enoka established himself as the All-Blacks’ head of leadership and mental performance. However, at first his ideas were viewed with suspicion, and he had to pretend to be a massage therapist.

The Little Black Book: A Symbol of the New Zealand Rugby World Cup team

He was the initiator of the introduction of the little black book. According to Smith, opinions about the book varied, but the main idea was that it symbolized the All Blacks. The first few pages were dedicated to the heritage and a little about history and achievements.

The book explains how New Zealand’s many cultures were united by their shared love of the black jersey and the silver fern. Then there were blank pages and the choice was yours, Smith adds. You didn’t have to write in it you could draw pictures and do whatever you wanted in it.

I started writing notes for each game. I think you understand that passing one test is something special, so you need to make sure you want to play 10 or 20. Just wrote things that I really liked about the games. It’s not because they were any less special, but because I developed my own routine.

Smith and Cowie have been rivals for the midfield spot, but the culture the All Blacks have instilled is one of senior players helping future stars. I think you don’t appreciate how much you can help someone and you do it because you’ve been there before, Smith says. I knew how important it was for Tana Umaga to talk to me when I started my All-Black career when I sat quietly and told me that everyone was nervous.

“It made an impression on me, so I knew when I was in that position, I was going to do it. It was the same for me with Richard, a guy I really respect and appreciate.”

The winning culture and Rugby World Cups

Smith and Kahui both joined the All-Black squad under the shadow. Despite being the world’s leading Test team, since winning the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 they have lost their next five tournaments. A crushing defeat to France in the 2007 quarter-finals was the last straw. Something had to change.

That 2007 team was as good, if not better, than the [Rugby World Cup-winning] teams of 2011 and 2015, said Smith, a veteran of all three tournaments. We just didn’t have the right mentality and didn’t prepare as well for the World Cup as we did in 2011 and 2015.

We realized that at the World Championships there were shortcomings in this, and we had to correct it. Even though our mentality was great and we were able to keep the All Blacks at that level, we still had to adapt it for the Rugby World Cup.

We had to admit that the uniqueness of the tournament could pose new challenges for us. In 2011, Smith and Kahui started the tightest game in New Zealand rugby history; one that challenged even the most prepared team.

Four years after a shock defeat to the French in the last eight, they faced the same opponents again in the final on home soil. A win would end a 24-year wait for the game’s biggest prize.

We worked hard on things like the mental ability to stay in the blue and not in the red, Kahui says. Blue is about calmness and being in the present moment without thinking about the outcome. Red is negative thoughts, where you think, What if? Rugby fans can book Rugby World Cup Final Tickets on our website at exclusively discounted prices.

The Unlikely Hero: Stephen Donald’s Journey to Rugby World Cup Glory

Few imagined the possibility of what actually happened. Injuries have ruled out first and second halfbacks Dan Carter and Colin Slade. 34 minutes into the match, All Blacks third-ten player Aaron Cruden also disappeared.

An old friend of Kiya Kahui. Weighing half a stone, Donald was fishing for whitebaits on the Waikato River when Henry called him and asked him to join the team ahead of the semi-final. Now, with the jersey several sizes too small on his back and the huge weight of the nation’s expectations on his shoulders, he was faced with the task of winning the Rugby World Cup.

Donald duly converted the decisive penalty in a nervy 8-7 victory. Cowie says the lessons learned from a series of Rugby World Cup disappointments – when the tournament required an extra level of preparation and fortitude coupled with the All-Black’s storied culture – have paid off.  

A Legacy of Planning and Preparation: The All Blacks’ Road to Rugby World Cup Glory

In training in 2009 and 2010, we did a scenario drill where he was down two linebackers, he says. So, in 2011, when we lost three, it seemed like we were preparing for this. Looking back, I can see how much effort went into the planning and process of winning the Rugby World Cup. This is not a matter of one year. You have four years to get things right. The planning on the part of the staff and management was phenomenal.

Both Smith and Kahui have since retired. There are new custodians of their famous black jerseys and a new legacy to be written. The next two weeks will show whether they have a record fourth Rugby World Cup and another glorious chapter in All Black history in the pages of their own black books.

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The Rugby World Cup Quarter Finals await us next weekend. The losers go home and the winners go through two glory games. The stakes and standards have just been raised to new levels. So who will win?

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Wales v Argentina

Saturday, 14 October

Wales’ progress comes at a price. No.8 Taulupe Faletau’s loss against Georgia has been compounded by Gareth Anscombe’s injury, which may keep him out of action just yet. They are both key players. But Warren Gatland and his team have a happy habit of acting when necessary. They have a fantastic track record of improving their level in the later stages of competition.

Gatland will remind them of the opportunities ahead of them. They have a very winning game for a place in the World Cup semi-finals. Midfielder Sam Costelow is inexperienced. He was making only his third start when he replaced Anscombe against Georgia. But I think he played smart and scored his goals well.

Argentina looked better against Japan in their last Group D game, but up until this point I thought they lacked cohesion and rhythm. This game, coming a day after Wales’ game against Georgia, won’t help them overall. It was a really tight match, with a lot of running open rugby in the hot Nantes conditions. I think it will be very difficult for them to ask for a transfer to Wales.

Ireland vs New Zealand

New Zealand is a very dangerous beast. They bounced back from their opening day defeat to France by scoring a total of 36 tries in victories over Namibia, Uruguay and Italy and showcasing their loose and smart rugby.

But in a top Test match against Ireland, who have never put a foot wrong in the tournament, more is needed. You have to be able to back up those moments of genius with relentless physicality and impeccable consistency, and I just don’t think the All Blacks have that equipment.

Scotland are a very good team. They came to Saturday’s match motivated. They discussed the possibility of defeating Ireland. But they couldn’t rely on them. Ireland’s dominance began in the front row with Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan and Thad Furlong, but their entire forward group was formidable. Captain Peter O’Mahony has been a totem for them as he plays game after game. Harry Ringrose was also commanding in the centre.

And Ireland have a 16th player with fans at the Stade de France. They beat South Africa there two weeks ago, beat Scotland on Saturday and they play New Zealand there at the weekend. Paris became a home away from home with thousands of fans in the stands and streets. The team feeds off the fans, the fans feed off the team, and they have a very personal connection. Ireland have been too good for too long and had too much momentum for the All Blacks.

Rugby World Cup Quarter Finals England vs Fiji

Sunday, 15 October

This is a very close call. Fiji played better than England for most of the group stages. They finished well in the win over Australia, and in the opening weekend they potentially made a mistake in managing Paula Raddrana, missing out on a win against Wales. Portugal’s defeat in the last Group C match was less impressive, although by then I think they were already looking to England for the last eight.

Fiji reached the quarter-finals thanks to a landmark win over Twickenham less than two months ago. That result, and England’s tight win over Samoa in their own final pool stage game, showed Steve Borthwick’s side struggling with the ball movement and power that typifies the Islanders’ game.

England’s Path to Success in the Rugby World Cup Quarter finals

England need to play to their strengths and break through the set-piece before they spin the ball wider. For that you need George Ford calling the shots from the semi-finals onwards and I don’t think having Owen Farrell out there will help. Of course, they didn’t work well together against Samoa after some promising performances against Argentina and Japan in Farrell’s absence.

England have more experience in the Rugby World Cup play-offs with veterans from Japan’s 2019 campaign in the squad, but let’s not overstate the difference. Rugby fans can book Rugby World Cup Quarter Final Tickets on our website at exclusively discounted prices.

Fiji have Levani Botia, who has played in the last three Champions Cup finals. They have Joshua Tuisova, who played in the Olympic final. Half of their team plays rugby with major European clubs and are accustomed to playing high quality rugby every week. The other half is now experiencing some of the best rugby in the southern hemisphere thanks to Fijian team Drua’s involvement in Super Rugby.

They are tactically astute and disciplined in defense, while maintaining an edge in attack, even if some old inconsistencies remain. I think England’s forwards will almost take them home, but they will have to be a lot more crisp and clinical compared to the Samoa game.

France vs South Africa

Home versus home, I think this is the toughest game of the last eight games. The support of the native country speaks in favor of France. At times we wondered if the circumstances and expectations would prove too much for them, but head coach Fabien Galthie, team manager Rafael Ibanez and defense coach Sean Edwards appear capable of handling the pressure.

This is a brain trust of coaches who have been on the biggest stages and biggest games and know how to manage the build-up. We saw it on opening night when they beat New Zealand at the Stade de France, and we saw it when they completed the Grand Slam last year against England on the same stage.

We also saw this in Marseille last year when they beat South Africa 30-26 in a great game. France lost Antoine Dupont to a red card that day and still won. Dupont is still recovering from a facial fracture suffered against Namibia and may not be quite ready for the game. Any team will miss the best player in the world, but Maxim Luku, who entered the field at the age of nine, became an excellent backup.

South Africa has the tools to beat France. Their defense is so quick and they rebound the ball so hard that they can protect the scoring line and slow down France’s ball flow. But France have the threats to the entire team and the intelligence and composure to find them and dethrone the defending champions.

Beaumont hails special France atmosphere as spectacular pool phase ends

World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont hailed the 2023 Rugby World Cup as a sign of better friendship between France and rugby and promised to give unions more opportunities to close the gap in the competition.

Over the course of 40 matches, 20 teams played in nine stadiums across France, captivating crowds and winning hearts and minds as the country united behind the tournament. On the field, history was made as Chile made their debut, Portugal claimed their first win and Fiji reached their first quarter-final in 16 years to kick off the tournament.

Under the banner of rugby’s greatest celebration of unity, the world is participating in record numbers in stadiums, rugby villages, living rooms, cafes, bars and online. France Rugby World Cup 2023 has captured the imagination and warmed the hearts of this rugby-loving nation said Beaumont.

“With an average attendance of 47,000 across nine beautiful stadiums, more than a million fans living in rugby villages and an unprecedented social presence of almost one billion fans, this will be a social Rugby World Cup.”

France’s Pool A final match against Italy attracted 13 million viewers on French television channel TF1, peaking at 14.5 million, representing the broadcaster’s second-largest audience of the year, just behind Les Bleus’s opening match against New Zealand.

A Thriving Rugby World Cup Quarter Finals and a Pledge of Inclusion

Notably, the French rugby audience is the country’s largest since they last hosted the tournament in 2007. Meanwhile, Beaumont reiterated his pledge to give trade unions greater confidence and the ability to be more competitive on the world stage, saying the sport was united in a bid to open the door to a new dawn.

At this stage of the competition we say goodbye to 12 teams, said Beaumont. I want to assure everyone that they like Portugal. Samoa, Tonga, Uruguay, Chile and Georgia may have disappeared, but they are certainly not forgotten.

“We must and will do everything possible to provide greater confidence and the opportunity for regular high-level competition for these teams. They are central to our discussions on a revamped international calendar that will benefit the many rather than the few. This will in turn enable us to come to the 2031 Rugby World Cup in the USA with a truly competitive and unpredictable Rugby World Cup that is great for fans, broadcasters and commercial partners.”

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