History of rugby union matches between England and New Zealand

The National Rugby Union teams of England and New Zealand have been playing each other in test rugby since 1905, with the first meeting between the two nations being on 2 December 1905, when the All Blacks were in England as part of their European and North America Tour. The All Blacks won 15-0 with their points coming from five tries, of which four were scored by winger Duncan McGregor.[1] Their next meeting was on the All Blacks Invincibles tour of 1924-25. The match was most notable for the sending off of All Black lock Cyril Brownlie, who became the first player to ever be sent off in a test match.[2] In 1936 England defeated the All Blacks for the first time when England winger Prince Alexander Obolensky scored two tries during a 13–0 victory at Twickenham Stadium. The All Blacks have never lost more than two consecutive matches to England (once, on losses in November 2002 and then June 2003), and have dominated the rivalry between the teams. Of the 43 matches between them, New Zealand have won 33 and England 8, with two draws.

Illustration by Frank Gillett showing the first England vs New Zealand game at Crystal Palace attended by a then-record crowd of at least 50,000. It was also the game which earned New Zealand the nickname "All Blacks".

In 2008, the Hillary Shield was introduced as the trophy to be contested in matches between the two teams.

Hillary Shield

The Hillary Shield has been awarded to the winner of England – New Zealand test matches since 2008. The shield is only contested in non-World Cup matches, and is named in honour of Sir Edmund Hillary — the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest. It was also conceived to recognise the links between New Zealand and England. When the shield was unveiled in 2008 by New Zealand's Prime Minister at the time, Helen Clark, and Hillary's widow, Lady June Hillary, Clark said of Hillary "He was part of a British expedition when he conquered Mt Everest shortly after the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II".[3]

Summary

Overall

DetailsPlayedWon by
England
Won by
New Zealand
DrawnEngland pointsNew Zealand points
In England265192361511
In New Zealand162140225470
Neutral venue21104852
Overall4483426341033

Records

Note: Date shown in brackets indicates when the record was last set.

RecordEnglandNew Zealand
Longest winning streak2 (9 Nov 2002 – 12 Jun 2004)9 (12 Jun 2004 – 1 Dec 2012)
Largest points for
Home38 (1 Dec 2012)64 (20 Jun 1998)
Away27 (14 Jun 2014)45 (18 Jun 1995)
Largest winning margin
Home17 (1 Dec 2012)42 (20 Jun 1998)
Away12 (26 Oct 2019)26 (29 Nov 2008)

Results

No.DateVenueScoreWinnerCompetition
12 December 1905Crystal Palace, London0 – 15  New Zealand1905–06 New Zealand tour
23 January 1925Twickenham, London11 – 17  New Zealand1924–25 New Zealand tour
34 January 1936Twickenham, London13 – 0  England1935–36 New Zealand tour
430 January 1954Twickenham, London0 – 5  New Zealand1953–54 New Zealand tour
525 May 1963Eden Park, Auckland21 – 11  New Zealand1963 England tour
61 June 1963Lancaster Park, Christchurch9 – 6  New Zealand
74 January 1964Twickenham, London0 – 14  New Zealand1963–64 New Zealand tour
84 November 1967Twickenham, London11 – 23  New Zealand1967 New Zealand tour
96 January 1973Twickenham, London0 – 9  New Zealand1972–73 New Zealand tour
1015 September 1973Eden Park, Auckland10 – 16  England1973 England tour
1125 November 1978Twickenham, London6 – 16  New Zealand1978 New Zealand tour
1224 November 1979Twickenham, London9 – 10  New Zealand1979 New Zealand tour
1319 November 1983Twickenham, London15 – 9  England1983 New Zealand tour
141 June 1985Lancaster Park, Christchurch18 – 13  New Zealand1985 England tour
158 June 1985Athletic Park, Wellington42 – 15  New Zealand
163 October 1991Twickenham, London12 – 18  New Zealand1991 Rugby World Cup Pool Stage
1727 November 1993Twickenham, London15 – 9  England1993 New Zealand tour
1818 June 1995Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa45 – 29  New Zealand1995 Rugby World Cup Semi-final
1922 November 1997Old Trafford, Manchester8 – 25  New Zealand1997 New Zealand tour
206 December 1997Twickenham, London26 – 26  draw
2120 June 1998Carisbrook, Dunedin64 – 22  New Zealand1998 England tour
2227 June 1998Eden Park, Auckland40 – 10  New Zealand
239 October 1999Twickenham, London16 – 30  New Zealand1999 Rugby World Cup Pool Stage
249 November 2002Twickenham, London31 – 28  England2002 Autumn International
2514 June 2003Westpac Stadium, Wellington13 – 15  England2003 England tour
2612 June 2004Carisbrook, Dunedin36 – 3  New Zealand2004 England tour
2719 June 2004Eden Park, Auckland36 – 12  New Zealand
2819 November 2005Twickenham, London19 – 23  New Zealand2005 Autumn International
295 November 2006Twickenham, London20 – 41  New Zealand2006 Autumn International
3014 June 2008Eden Park, Auckland37 – 20  New Zealand2008 England tour
3121 June 2008AMI Stadium, Christchurch44 – 12  New Zealand
3229 November 2008Twickenham, London6 – 32  New Zealand2008 Autumn International
3321 November 2009Twickenham, London6 – 19  New Zealand2009 Autumn International
346 November 2010Twickenham, London16 – 26  New Zealand2010 Autumn International
351 December 2012Twickenham, London38 – 21  England2012 Autumn International
3616 November 2013Twickenham, London22 – 30  New Zealand2013 Autumn International
377 June 2014Eden Park, Auckland20 – 15  New Zealand2014 England tour
3814 June 2014Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin28 – 27  New Zealand
3921 June 2014Waikato Stadium, Hamilton36 – 13  New Zealand
408 November 2014Twickenham, London21 – 24  New Zealand2014 Autumn International
4110 November 2018Twickenham, London15 – 16  New Zealand2018 Autumn International
4226 October 2019Nissan Stadium, Yokohama, Japan19 – 7  England2019 Rugby World Cup Semi-final
4319 November 2022Twickenham, London25 – 25  draw2022 Autumn International
446 July 2024Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin16 – 15  New Zealand2024 England tour

List of series

PlayedWon by
England
Won by
New Zealand
Drawn
7070
YearEnglandNew ZealandSeries winnerHillary Shield
196302  New ZealandN/A
198502  New Zealand
199701  New Zealand
199802  New Zealand
200402  New Zealand
200802  New Zealand
201403  New Zealand

References