New Zealand - Rugby - Taieri Rugby Club - 1st XV - 1968 Photo Courtesy of Barney McCarthy Rugby - Rugby union, known almost universally in New Zealand as just "rugby", was introduced to the nation by Charles Monro in 1870 - The first recorded game in New Zealand took place in May 1870 in the city of Nelson, between the Nelson rugby club and Nelson College - The first provincial union, the Canterbury Rugby Football Union, was formed in 1879 - New Zealand's first internationals were played in 1882 when the "Waratahs" from New South Wales toured the country - In 1892, following the canvassing of provincial administrators by Ernest Hoben, the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) was formed by the majority of New Zealand's provincial unions, but did not include Canterbury, Otago or Southland - A representative New Zealand team first toured the British Isles in 1905. The side is now known as the "Originals", as the "All Blacks" name emerged during this tour when, according to team member Billy Wallace, a London newspaper reported that the New Zealanders played as if they were "all backs"