All Blacks XV Northern Tour announced

New Zealand Rugby’s (NZR) newest Team in Black, the All Blacks XV, will embark on a 3-week global tour playing in North America, the UK and Europe. Matches against Canada and the Barbarians have been confirmed, with two additional high profile matches to be announced soon.

Confirmation of the tour comes more than two years after the All Blacks XV was launched as NZR’s next senior national representative team after the All Blacks, and despite COVID delays will add a critical high-performance pathway to the All Blacks.

NZR is also in negotiations to add two additional fixtures to the tour, against a national team from a developing rugby nation and a second XV team from a Tier 1 rugby nation with details to be announced in due course.

The All Blacks XV 2022 Northern Tour schedule is:   

• v Canada, Saturday 29 October, venue TBC 
• v Barbarians, Sunday 13 November, Tottenham Stadium, London
• Two additional fixtures TBC

NZR General Manager Professional Rugby & Performance Chris Lendrum said the All Blacks XV was a positive development for players and fans in New Zealand and around the world. 

“The schedule announced today is an exciting addition to the international calendar and we can’t wait to see the team representing New Zealand in what promises to be a series of entertaining, competitive, and high-quality matches. As the next senior national representative side behind the All Blacks, the All Blacks XV will have the same high expectations as our other Teams in Black. Canada, the Barbarians and the exciting prospect of two additional opponents to come, will provide a tough first tour for this team.”

The All Blacks XV follows in the footsteps of similar teams which have assembled throughout New Zealand rugby's history, including the Junior All Blacks, New Zealand A and Emerging Players.

NZR Head of High Performance Mike Anthony said the team would provide additional opportunity for professional players in New Zealand to display their skills on a global stage.

“This will be a high-performance team which will be representing New Zealand overseas and is a hugely exciting opportunity for our players and coaches. We believe the environment and schedule will help develop our next tier of talent. Importantly it will expose players to different playing styles, structures and systems, which can only benefit the development of our players and coaches.

“For our future professional players, it will provide an aspirational goal, and for current players it is a chance to prove themselves on the international stage and push their case for All Blacks selection, or in some cases for a recall.”

Coach and management appointments would be announced in due course, Anthony said

NZR has formed an exclusive partnership with sports promotion company Rugby Live (RL) to arrange, promote and deliver the All Blacks XV matches. NZR has worked with RL on previous occasions including two All Blacks Tests in Chicago, one All Blacks Test in Washington DC and the UK Barbarians match in 2017.

“The All Blacks XV will be a world class, competitive team that we believe will be a drawcard for overseas rugby fans wanting to watch players with the skills, passion and pride that are the hall mark of rugby teams representing New Zealand. We are excited about taking the All Blacks XV to the world,” Rugby Live CEO Ben Dunn said.

The final schedule for the All Blacks XV 2022 Northern Tour will be announced in the coming weeks, with each match launching separately. For all ticket information, sign up to Team All Blacks to receive updates and follow the news on allblacks.com