Is that racist or what?
[from Wiki]
The Original All Blacks (also known simply as "The Originals") were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. Overall they played a total of thirty-five matches, which included five Tests, and only lost once.
The 1905 All Blacks tour of Britain went on to achieve legendary status within the rugby world and New Zealand in particular. They scored 976 points and conceded only 59, and thus set the standard for all subsequent All Black sides. The tour also saw the first use of the All Blacks name and established New Zealand's reputation as a world class rugby nation.
The team departed New Zealand as the New Zealand Football Team, or, simply The New Zealanders, though names such as Maorilanders and Colonials were also applied. Reference to the team by the name "All Blacks" first appeared during the Originals tour when, according to Billy Wallace, a London newspaper reported that the New Zealanders played as if they were "all backs". Wallace claimed that due to a typographical error, subsequent references were to "All Blacks".
Wallace was the last of the Originals to pass away, so this explanation for the name's origins is widely believed. However, the Express and Echo in Devon, reporting after the Originals match there, referred to "The All Blacks, as they are styled by reason of their sable and unrelieved costume." The new name quickly became popular throughout Britain, though its acceptance into popular culture took a longer time back home in New Zealand. On 5 March when the team returned home, the Herald acclaimed the "New Zealand Footballers", however, the following day its report of the official function was headed "Return of the All Blacks".
[from Wiki]
The Original All Blacks (also known simply as "The Originals") were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. Overall they played a total of thirty-five matches, which included five Tests, and only lost once.
The 1905 All Blacks tour of Britain went on to achieve legendary status within the rugby world and New Zealand in particular. They scored 976 points and conceded only 59, and thus set the standard for all subsequent All Black sides. The tour also saw the first use of the All Blacks name and established New Zealand's reputation as a world class rugby nation.
The team departed New Zealand as the New Zealand Football Team, or, simply The New Zealanders, though names such as Maorilanders and Colonials were also applied. Reference to the team by the name "All Blacks" first appeared during the Originals tour when, according to Billy Wallace, a London newspaper reported that the New Zealanders played as if they were "all backs". Wallace claimed that due to a typographical error, subsequent references were to "All Blacks".
Wallace was the last of the Originals to pass away, so this explanation for the name's origins is widely believed. However, the Express and Echo in Devon, reporting after the Originals match there, referred to "The All Blacks, as they are styled by reason of their sable and unrelieved costume." The new name quickly became popular throughout Britain, though its acceptance into popular culture took a longer time back home in New Zealand. On 5 March when the team returned home, the Herald acclaimed the "New Zealand Footballers", however, the following day its report of the official function was headed "Return of the All Blacks".
