Rugby football was first introduced to New Zealand in 1870 by Charles John Monro, son of the then-Speaker of the House of Representatives, David Monro.[2] He encountered the game while studying at Christ's College Finchley, in East Finchley, London, England, and on his return introduced the game to Nelson College, who played the first rugby union match against Nelson football club on 14 May.[3] A visit to Wellington by Munro later that same year resulted in an organised match between Nelson and Wellington. By the following year, the game had been formalised in Wellington, and subsequently rugby was taken up in Wanganui and Auckland in 1873 and Hamilton in 1874 . In 1875, the first representative team was formed, being a combined-clubs Auckland team which toured the South. It is thought that by the mid-1870s, the game had been taken up by the majority of the colony.
The Original All Blacks (also known simply as "The Originals") were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. They toured the British Isles, France and the United States of America during 1905–1906. Their opening game, on 16 September 1905, was against Devon whom they defeated 55–4. They went on to defeat every English side that they faced, including a 16–3 victory over English county champions Durham, and a 32–0 victory over Blackheath. They defeated Scotland, Ireland, and England with the closest of the three matches their 12–7 victory over Scotland. The team's only loss of the tour was a 3–0 defeat by Wales at Cardiff Arms Park. A try claimed by winger Bob Deans was not awarded by the referee and later became a subject of controversy. However, Wales were generally considered the better team with the All Blacks playing particularly poorly in the first half of the game. They managed narrow wins against four Welsh club teams and went on to play France in France's first-ever Test match. They returned to New Zealand via North America where they played two matches against Canadian teams. Overall they played a total of thirty-five matches, which included five Tests, and only lost once—the defeat by Wales.