Why is New Zealand so Good at Rugby?

New Zealand is so good at rugby because it is the country’s national sport, but there is more to it than a numbers game. During the twenty-first century, rugby became a global game. However, the traditional powerhouses still dominate the rugby landscape. SportsBoom wanted to know why New Zealand is so good at rugby. This is what we found out. 

Reasons why New Zealand is Good at Rugby

One of the principal reasons why New Zealand excels at rugby is because they win tournaments. They did this by innovating and staying ahead of the rest of the world. New Zealand’s club structure worked for the All Blacks, not against like so many countries in the professional era. They are good because they have been the best team under pressure, and always found different ways to win games. 

New Zealand players perform the Haka//Getty Images

The countries with larger populations and the most registered players are usually the best. New Zealand (5.3 million) has roughly the same population as Scotland (5.4m) and Wales (3.1m). The Scots and Welsh have struggled to beat the Kiwis. The All Blacks have never lost to Scotland in 124 years of playing Test matches. The All Blacks have only lost three Tests against Wales since their first meeting in 1905.

Rugby is the national sport of Wales. They have produced many of the finest players. Although association football is played and watched by most of the Welsh population, rugby is their ‘spiritual’ national sport. Rugby is not the national sport of Australia, England, France, or Ireland, but they have traditionally had some of the strongest rugby teams in the game’s long history. 

This has helped New Zealand dominate for so long because other nations spread their playing resources around many other popular sports. Most Australians prefer the Australian Football League (AFL, or Aussie Rules) and the National Rugby league. Football is England’s national sport, while Gaelic sports pull playing resources away from Ireland. 

Rugby union is bigger in South Africa than anywhere on the planet. No country is rugby-mad like South Africans. The Springboks are so good at rugby because they have unlimited player numbers due to their large population (63.1m). Another reason the Kiwis are good at rugby is their ability to poach Pacific Island players.

Rugby is also the national sport of Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga, but because of smaller populations, the Pacific Island nations cannot match the rest of the world. Financial reasons see the island nations lose their players to New Zealand, Australia, England, and France. Many players choose to play for other countries once they can get citizenship because it offers their families a better life. 

New Zealand has predominately been good at rugby because they have consistently had many of the best players in the world. Everything in the country is geared towards the success of the All Blacks. They have often had several of the greatest rugby players in the same generation of All Blacks. 

Dan Carter and Richie McCaw are two of the best rugby players to play the game. They played in the same all-conquering 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup-winning teams. They are the only two rugby players to win the World Rugby ‘Men’s 15s Player of the Year’ award three times. The All Blacks are the only country with multiple winners.