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New Zealand Sports mostly
reflects its colonial heritage from Britain. Many of
New Zealand’s most popular sports, specifically
rugby, netball, and cricket, are chiefly played in
countries in the Commonwealth of Nations. Sports are
big in New Zealand and in spite of the country’s
small size, it has basked in great success in
several sports namely the country’s national sport
(Rugby Union), as well as the Rugby League, Americas
Cup Sailing, Cricket, Netball, motor sports and
several other sports. The most popular sport in New
Zealand is the rugby union, which is also its
national sport. Other popular sports are cricket,
which is regarded as the national sport during
summer, soccer rugby league, and netball, which is
the top rating female sport by involvement. |
Golf, rowing, tennis, and several other water sports,
especially sailing are very popular. Winter sports such as
snowboarding and skiing are also big.
Across all sectors of New Zealand society the Rugby union is
popular and many Kiwis relate it with their national
identity and consider it as their national sport. It has the
biggest crowd following of all New Zealand sports.
The All Blacks, the national rugby team of New Zealand, has
the best record of wins any national team globally, and is
presently ranked number 2 in the world.
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The NZ All Blacks won the very
first Rugby World Cup and it will host the World Cup
in 2011. Traditionally, the All Blacks perform a
haka or Maori challenge at the beginning of
international competitions. This exercise has been
copied by many other national squads, namely the
basketball teams and the national rugby league team.
In Australia the rugby league is the prevailing
rugby code while in New Zealand it is the rugby
union which is more popular. The domestic league of
New Zealand is semi-professional and is not high
profile. Nevertheless, the Australian NRL (National
Rugby League), wherein the NZ Warriors play, is
quite popular. Since 1954, the national side of New
Zealand has contended in the Rugby League World Cup.
They are presently the World Champions and had won
their first World Cup on November 22, 2008 in
Brisbane at Lang Park. |
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New Zealand’s national summer sport is cricket, and this
country is one of 10 that participate in cricket Test
matches. The competitions in the provincial regions are not
nearly as popular as is the situation with rugby, but global
matches are followed with much interest by a big percentage
of the population. This is the same as the international
situation of cricket, whereupon the global game is followed
more widely than the national game in all major countries
with cricket.
Historically speaking, the NZ national cricket team has not
been as popular as the NZ national rugby team. In 1930, New
Zealand played its first test match but it took 26 years for
it to win its first match. The NZ national team started to
reap more success in the 70s and 80s. It was in this era
that Richard Hadlee, the first one to take four hundred
wickets and the most famous cricket player of New Zealand,
played.
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