nzrugbyhistory.co.nz is an independent information site about the history of rugby in New Zealand. We write about the teams, competitions, trophies and people that have shaped the game here, from the first provincial challenges to the modern professional era. We are not connected to New Zealand Rugby, any provincial union, any Super Rugby club or any national team. The site is run by its owner as a reference resource for supporters, students and anyone curious about how rugby became so central to life in Aotearoa.
What we do
We publish guides and reference articles on New Zealand rugby, past and present. Our coverage falls into a few broad areas:
- National teams – the All Blacks, the Black Ferns and the Māori All Blacks, including captains, coaches, squads, record wins and record defeats.
- Great rivalries – long-running contests such as the All Blacks against the Springboks, France and Australia, and the story of the Bledisloe Cup.
- Domestic rugby – the National Provincial Championship, the Ranfurly Shield and Super Rugby.
- International tournaments – the Rugby World Cup, the Women’s Rugby World Cup and The Rugby Championship.
- The game itself – background pieces on equipment and traditions, such as the rugby ball, boots and jerseys.
Our aim is to explain what happened, when it happened and why it mattered, in plain language. We try to give enough context that a newcomer can follow the story, while keeping the dates, scores and names precise enough to be useful to a long-time follower of the game.
Our principles
Accuracy before everything else
Rugby history is full of numbers: scores, caps, dates, winning streaks, attendance figures. A single wrong digit can undermine an entire article, so we check results and records before we publish and again when we update a page.
Reliable sources
Wherever we can, we check facts against primary and official sources. These include the records kept by New Zealand Rugby and World Rugby, tournament organisers, and public reference works such as Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand and NZHistory. Where sources disagree, which does happen with early matches, we say so instead of presenting one version as settled.
Independence
No team, union, sponsor or brand decides what we write. Our articles are not written to order, and nobody outside the editorial team approves our content before it goes live.
Respect for the game’s heritage
Rugby in New Zealand is tied closely to Māori culture and to the communities that built the game. We write about the haka, Māori rugby and the people involved with care, and we use te reo Māori spellings, including macrons, where they apply.
Keeping pages current
History keeps being made. Records fall, squads change and tournaments change format. We revisit our articles and update them when the facts move on, and we correct mistakes promptly when they are pointed out.
The editorial team
The site is edited by Gareth Winslow, who is the editor and lead writer for nzrugbyhistory.co.nz. Gareth plans the topics we cover, writes and edits the articles, and is responsible for checking facts before a page is published. He also handles corrections and reader feedback.
Gareth’s approach is simple: start with the record, then tell the story around it. Every article is read through in full before it goes live, and nothing is published until the key dates, results and names have been checked.
How we use AI
We use AI tools as an aid in our editorial work, mainly for research support, structuring articles and preparing first drafts. AI never has the final say. Every text is reviewed, checked and edited by a person before it is published, and the editor is responsible for what appears on the site.
You can read more about how this works in our AI policy.
Contact
Have you spotted an error, an outdated record or a detail we have missed? We are glad to hear about it, and a link to the page in question helps us fix things quickly. Suggestions for topics we should cover are welcome too.
You can reach the editorial team through our contact page.