So I just learned this. According to former 1905 team member, Billy Wallace, the nickname emerged because the team played as if they were “All Blacks,” outrunning the competition en route to a 63-0 win. It was more likely that the newspaper had a typographical error, adding an ‘L’ to the original name “All Backs”.

Ok– whether or not this was stereotyping or typographical error- the name stuck and it looks absurd in articles.

Here’s a fun quote from a Reuters article from yesterday: “”The All Blacks are going to play Samoa and it will be the best team we can pick and they will be expected to play like All Blacks.”

Find another nickname New Zealand. I don’t care that your uniforms are black.