The All Blacks against every nation, decade by decade: 673 Tests, 23 opponents and the runs that matter this month

The All Blacks have played 673 Tests against 23 different opponents since the first, in Sydney in 1903. They have won 515, lost 135 and drawn 23. But an overall win rate of about 77 percent hides how differently those rivalries have run. Against Scotland New Zealand have never lost in 33 Tests across 121 years. Against South Africa they have lost 46 times, and in this decade they are losing more often than they win.

This is every rivalry, decade by decade, with the runs, the turning points and what the All Blacks face this month, when the northern tour takes them to Murrayfield, Cardiff and Twickenham.

Every opponent

Opponent	Tests	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win %	First Test	Home wins	Away and neutral wins
Australia	183	130	45	8	73.2	1903	68/85	62/98
South Africa	114	64	46	4	57.9	1921	34/48	30/66
France	68	52	15	1	77.2	1906	31/35	21/33
England	47	36	9	2	78.7	1905	15/17	21/30
British & Irish Lions	41	30	7	4	78.0	1904	30/41	0/0
Argentina	41	36	4	1	89.0	1985	17/19	19/22
Ireland	40	34	5	1	86.2	1905	14/16	20/24
Wales	38	35	3	0	92.1	1905	10/10	25/28
Scotland	33	31	0	2	97.0	1905	10/10	21/23
Italy	18	18	0	0	100.0	1987	4/4	14/14
Fiji	8	8	0	0	100.0	1987	7/7	1/1
Samoa	7	7	0	0	100.0	1993	6/6	1/1
Tonga	7	7	0	0	100.0	1999	4/4	3/3
Canada	6	6	0	0	100.0	1991	3/3	3/3
Japan	6	6	0	0	100.0	1995	1/1	5/5
USA	4	4	0	0	100.0	1913	0/0	4/4
World XV	3	2	1	0	66.7	1992	2/3	0/0
Namibia	3	3	0	0	100.0	2015	0/0	3/3
Romania	2	2	0	0	100.0	1981	0/0	2/2
Pacific Islanders	1	1	0	0	100.0	2004	1/1	0/0
Portugal	1	1	0	0	100.0	2007	0/0	1/1
Georgia	1	1	0	0	100.0	2015	0/0	1/1
Uruguay	1	1	0	0	100.0	2023	0/0	1/1

Win percentages count a draw as half a win. Records run to the second Bledisloe Cup Test in Sydney on 17 October 2026. The 1992 matches against a World XV, played to mark the New Zealand Rugby Union's centenary, are counted as Tests by New Zealand Rugby and are included.

South Africa: the rivalry that has never settled

Decade	1920s	1930s	1940s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s
Won-lost-drawn	3-3-1	1-2-0	0-4-0	3-1-0	4-3-1	2-6-0	2-1-0	11-5-1	16-8-0	17-3-1	5-10-0

The Springboks are the only nation with a respectable record against the All Blacks over the long run: 46 wins and four draws in 114 Tests. The first meeting, in Dunedin in 1921, went to New Zealand 13-5; the second, in Auckland, went to South Africa 9-5, and the series was shared.

For most of the 20th century South Africa held the upper hand. New Zealand did not win a series there until 1996, lost all four Tests of the 1949 tour, and won only two of eight meetings in the 1970s. The professional era turned it around. In the 2000s and 2010s New Zealand won 33 of 45, including the biggest win of the rivalry, 57-0 at Albany in 2017.

The 2020s have swung back the other way, hard. New Zealand have won five and lost ten this decade, including the 2023 World Cup final, a 43-10 defeat in Wellington in September 2025, the heaviest home loss in All Blacks history, and three defeats in four Tests on this year's tour, the last of them 43-28 in Baltimore. The longest New Zealand winning run against South Africa is eight Tests.

Australia: the most-played rivalry, and a 13-Test winning run

Decade	1900s	1910s	1920s	1930s	1940s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s
Won-lost-drawn	4-0-1	7-2-0	0-3-0	8-2-1	4-2-0	10-3-0	9-1-1	7-2-1	12-6-1	13-10-0	18-8-0	23-5-2	15-1-1

New Zealand have played Australia 183 times, more than any other team and more than the next two combined. The first Test of all, in Sydney in 1903, was against Australia, and so was the most recent. New Zealand have won 130, with eight draws.

The 1920s were the low point, three Tests and three defeats, and the 1990s were the most even modern decade, 13-10, with the heaviest defeat, 28-7 in Sydney in 1999, falling in it. Since then the Bledisloe Cup has rarely left New Zealand. This decade New Zealand have won 15 of 17. The last Australian win was 24-22 in Brisbane in November 2020, and the All Blacks have won the 13 Tests since, including 43-21 in Sydney last month. The biggest win in the rivalry is 43-5, in Sydney in 2020.

Home advantage matters more here than in any other rivalry: New Zealand have won 68 of 85 at home but 62 of 98 in Australia, where they have played more often.

The British and Irish Lions: 41 Tests, and a lost decade

Decade	1900s	1930s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s
Won-lost-drawn	3-0-1	3-1-0	6-1-1	4-0-0	4-3-1	4-0-0	2-1-0	3-0-0	1-1-1

The Lions have toured New Zealand 12 times since 1904 and every one of the 41 Tests has been played in New Zealand. The All Blacks have won 30 of them, but the Lions' successes are famous ones. The 1971 tourists won the series 2-1, the only series the Lions have ever won in New Zealand. The 1993 Lions won the second Test 20-7, New Zealand's heaviest defeat against them. And the 2017 tourists drew the series 1-1, with a 24-21 win in Wellington and a 15-15 draw at Eden Park. The 1983 side, beaten 4-0 and by 38-6 in the last Test, came off worst.

France: from 0-3 to a 14-Test winning run, and back

Decade	1900s	1920s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s
Won-lost-drawn	1-0-0	1-0-0	0-1-0	8-0-0	2-3-0	9-1-0	4-4-0	11-3-1	12-0-0	4-3-0

France first played New Zealand in Paris on New Year's Day 1906 and did not beat them until 1954, 3-0 in Paris. The rivalry has been the most dramatic of the northern ones: the 1987 World Cup final (won 29-9), the 1999 semi-final and the 2007 quarter-final in Cardiff (both lost). New Zealand won 14 straight between June 2009 and 2018, including all 12 Tests of the 2010s, before France won 40-25 in Paris in 2021. Since then France have won three of seven, the most recent 30-29 in Paris in November 2024. New Zealand won 34-32 in Christchurch in July this year.

England: closer than the record suggests

Decade	1900s	1920s	1930s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s
Won-lost-drawn	1-0-0	1-0-0	0-1-0	1-0-0	4-0-0	3-1-0	2-1-0	6-1-1	8-2-0	7-2-0	3-1-1

England's first win came at Twickenham in 1936, 13-0, the day Alexander Obolensky scored his two famous tries. In 47 Tests New Zealand have won 36, but England have won two of the last ten and drawn another, 25-25 at Twickenham in 2022: the 2019 World Cup semi-final, 19-7, and 33-19 at Twickenham in November 2025. They meet again at Allianz Stadium on Sunday 22 November, New Zealand time. New Zealand's biggest win, 64-22 in Dunedin in 1998, came against an England side missing most of its regular players.

Ireland: 111 years, then five defeats in eight

Decade	1900s	1920s	1930s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s
Won-lost-drawn	1-0-0	1-0-0	1-0-0	1-0-0	1-0-0	3-0-1	1-0-0	4-0-0	8-0-0	8-2-0	5-3-0

New Zealand played Ireland for the first time in Dublin in 1905 and were unbeaten against them for 111 years: 27 wins and a 10-10 draw in 1973. Then Ireland won 40-29 in Chicago in November 2016, and the rivalry changed. Ireland have won five of the 12 Tests since, including a first series win in New Zealand in 2022. New Zealand beat them 28-24 in the 2023 World Cup quarter-final in Paris and have won the last four, including 40-21 in Auckland in July.

Wales: 34 wins in a row

Decade	1900s	1920s	1930s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s
Won-lost-drawn	0-1-0	1-0-0	0-1-0	0-1-0	4-0-0	2-0-0	5-0-0	2-0-0	8-0-0	10-0-0	3-0-0

Wales beat New Zealand three times in the first 48 years of the rivalry: 3-0 in Cardiff in 1905, the only defeat of Dave Gallaher's Originals; 13-12 in 1935; and 13-8 in 1953. They have not beaten New Zealand since. The All Blacks' current run of 34 wins is the longest by any team against any opponent in their history, and it covers every meeting for 73 years. The next is at the Principality Stadium on Sunday 15 November, New Zealand time.

Scotland: the 121-year wait

Decade	1900s	1930s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s
Won-lost-drawn	1-0-0	1-0-0	1-0-0	1-0-1	4-0-0	3-0-1	8-0-0	6-0-0	4-0-0	2-0-0

Scotland have played New Zealand 33 times since 1905, and drawn twice: 0-0 at Murrayfield in 1964 and 25-25 there in 1983. They have never won. The All Blacks have won the last 21 meetings, though the last four were all decided by eight points or fewer. Murrayfield is sold out for the 34th, at 3.10am on Sunday 8 November, New Zealand time.

Argentina: 27 straight, then four defeats in five years

Decade	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s
Won-lost-drawn	4-0-1	4-0-0	4-0-0	16-0-0	8-4-0

Argentina drew with New Zealand in Buenos Aires in 1985, 21-21, and then lost 27 in a row. When they finally won, 25-15 in Sydney in November 2020, it opened the floodgates: 25-18 in Christchurch in 2022, their first win in New Zealand, 38-30 in Wellington in 2024, and 29-23 in Buenos Aires in August 2025, their first at home. New Zealand still lead the series 36-4-1.

The rest

Italy (18 Tests), Fiji (8), Samoa (7), Tonga (7), Canada (6), Japan (6), the United States (4), Namibia (3), Romania (2), the Pacific Islanders, Portugal, Georgia and Uruguay have never beaten the All Blacks. They account for most of the record scores: 145-17 against Japan at the 1995 World Cup in Bloemfontein is the highest score in All Blacks history, and the All Blacks have passed 100 points against Italy (101-3, 1999), Samoa (101-14, 2008), Tonga (102-0, 2000), the United States (104-14, 2021) and Portugal (108-13, 2007).

The only other side to beat New Zealand is the World XV, which won the first of three centenary Tests in Christchurch in 1992, 28-14.

What the decades show

Three things stand out from the table.

First, the All Blacks' "golden" decades are not the same for every rival. Against South Africa and Australia the best years were the 2000s and 2010s; against Wales and Scotland every decade since the 1960s has been perfect.

Second, the 2020s are the most competitive decade New Zealand have faced since the 1990s. They have lost to South Africa, Argentina, Ireland, France and England in the same decade for the first time, and their record against South Africa this decade is the worst since the 1970s.

Third, the runs that matter this month are the unbeaten ones. Scotland have waited 121 years, Wales 73. If either streak ends in November, it will be the story of the year.

Sources: New Zealand Rugby, All Blacks statistics (stats.allblacks.com), every Test 1903-2026; Wikipedia, List of New Zealand rugby union Test matches; RUGBE analysis.