The 1967 New Zealand rugby union tour of Great Britain, France and Canada was a tour undertaken by the New Zealand national rugby union team (the All Blacks). The series consisted of 17 matches, four of Test status against international opposition. The New Zealand team finished the tour undefeated, the first time they had achieved this in the Northern hemisphere since the 1924–25 Invincible team.
The 1967 tour was hastily arranged, as New Zealand originally intended to tour South Africa. That was called off due to apartheid issues over the Māori members of the New Zealand side, and Britain was chosen as an alternative. This resulted in difficulties arranging matches against club opposition, a tradition of earlier tours, with non-Test games now played solely against regional teams.[1]
The tour captain was Brian Lochore and the 30-man team was managed by former Kiwis' captain Charles Saxton. The tour began in North America, where the All Blacks played two matches, against British Columbia and Eastern Canada. The tourists then travelled to Great Britain where they faced several regional teams along with two Test matches against England and Wales. This was followed by four matches in France, one against the French national team, before returning to Britain to play three games in Scotland, where they played the final Test of the tour against Scotland. They completed the tour with a return to Wales, beating Monmouthshire and then drawing against an East Wales team, before the final fixture against the Barbarians.
The All Blacks should also have played matches in Ireland, including a test match against Ireland on 16 December but they were forced to cancel this section of the tour because of the 1967 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak. The Irish government banned them from travelling to Ireland, and the tour schedule was re-arranged. The All Blacks also had to burn all their kit before leaving London at the end of the tour.[2]
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