Sports
Most of the major sporting codes played in New Zealand have British origins.
[331] Rugby union is considered the
national sport[332] and attracts the most spectators.
[333] Golf,
netball,
tennis and
cricket have the highest rates of adult participation, while netball, rugby union and
football (soccer) is popular among young people.
[333][334] Around 54% of New Zealand adolescents participate in sports for their school.
[334] Victorious rugby tours to Australia and the United Kingdom in the
late 1880s and the
early 1900s played an early role in instilling a national identity.
[335] Horseracing was also a popular
spectator sport and became part of the "Rugby, Racing and Beer" culture during the 1960s.
[336] Māori participation in European sports was particularly evident in rugby and the country's team performs a
haka, a traditional Māori challenge, before international matches.
[337] New Zealand is known for its
extreme sports,
adventure tourism and strong
mountaineering tradition, as seen in the success of notable New Zealander
Sir Edmund Hillary.
[339][340] Other outdoor pursuits such as
cycling, fishing, swimming, running,
tramping, canoeing, hunting, snowsports and surfing are also popular.
[341] The Polynesian sport of
waka ama racing has experienced a resurgence of interest in New Zealand since the 1980s.
[342]
New Zealand has competitive international teams in
rugby union,
rugby league,
netball,
cricket, and
softball. New Zealand participated at the
Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1912 as
a joint team with Australia, before first participating
on its own in 1920.
[343] The country has ranked highly on a medals-to-population ratio at recent Games.
[344][345] The "All Blacks", the national rugby union team, are the most successful in the history of international rugby
[346] and the reigning
World Cup champions
