How the All Blacks perform in debut test at home ground

Jonah Lomu runs out onto Westpac Stadium for the first ever test at the Cake Town. Photo Nick Wilson/ALLSPORT

On Saturday night the All Blacks will run out onto Nelson's Trafalgar Park for the first time.

It will be the 85th different ground the All Blacks have played since their first test in 1903.

The Herald looks back on how the All Blacks performed in their first test at New Zealand's current test venues.

Eden Park

South Africa 9 All Blacks 5, August 27, 1921
According to Men in Black, the ground was packed with 40,000 excited spectators as 'the day was like summer and the hard ground suited the visitors'. After winning the first test a fortnight earlier in Dunedin, the All Blacks were out to secure a famous series win. Billy Sindin scored on an overlap to give the Springboks an early lead before All Blacks lock Les McLean struck back for the home side. Locked up 5-5 at halftime, Gerhard Morkel landed a second half dropped goal which proved to be the winning play. The third test three weeks later in Wellington was a 0-0 draw as the teams shared the series.

McLean Park

All Blacks 51 Samoa 10, June 7, 1996
The All Blacks' debut at the Napier ground was also the debut of fullback Christian Cullen who produced one of the great first tests in the professional era. The Hurricanes player became the fourth All Black to score a hat-trick on debut, matching the feat of teammate Jeff Wilson. Scott McLeod also scored on debut while Andrew Mehrtens finished with 16 points including a first minute dropped goal. The All Blacks didn't return to Napier for another 18 years.

North Harbour Stadium

All Blacks 71 Fiji 5, Jun 14 1997
It was the Jeff Wilson show with the All Blacks winger scoring five tries in the first test of the season. Christen Cullen scored a double while Michael Jones, Tana Umaga and Charles Riechelmann also crossed over in the easy win. The one downside of the test was scenes of Jones being carried off the field after rapturing a knee tendon. It ruled him out of the rest of the year before his final playing season in 1998.

Waikato Stadium

All Blacks 62 Argentina 10, June 28, 1997

The first All Blacks test in Hamilton at the former Rugby Stadium, the hosts took on Argentina in the second test of the series after thrashing the Pumas 93-8 a week earlier in Wellington.

Lee Stensness impressed for the All Blacks while Carlos Spencer stepped in for the injured Andrew Merhtens, finishing the series with more than 50 points. Argentina took a negative approach following the first test defeat and gave away 12 penalties in the opening 20 minutes, Men in Black reports. In the end the All Blacks scored nine tries

Westpac Stadium

Australia 24 All Blacks 23, August 5, 2000
'The Eales test'. All Blacks fan may recall this as a horrible way to open the Cake Tin, but it was a thrilling encounter with Wallabies skipper John Eales kicking a penalty to secure the win on fulltime. Three weeks after Lomu rescued the All Blacks in Sydney - a test rated one of the greatest - New Zealand looked to have the Bledisloe Cup secured thanks to a Christen Cullen double in the first half. Up 20-18 at the break, Andrew Mehrtens and Stirling Mortlock traded penalties as the All Blacks held onto a late 23-21 lead. However the ABs lost two lineouts and Craig Dowd was caught offside to set up a penalty attempt which Eales slotted for the famous win.

Yarrow Stadium

All Blacks 101 Samoa 14, Sep 3, 2008
Taranaki-born Conrad Smith scored a double and Mils Muliaina grabbed a hat-trick as the All Blacks run in 15 tries to two. They cracked with 100 mark for the fifth time in history when Stephen Donald converted a Richard Kahui try in the final play of the test.

AMI Stadium

All Blacks 22 Ireland 19, June 16, 2012
Before Chicago and before the Crotty try in Dublin, the Irish and All Blacks played out a thriller in test rugby's return to Christchurch following the devastating earthquake a year earlier. "At 19-19 and with the All Blacks reduced to 14 men thanks to an act of lunacy by Israel Dagg, this game was Ireland's - and maybe would have been had Jonny Sexton not got underneath a long-range penalty, or if referee Nigel Owens had given a scrum penalty when it looked like the All Blacks had infringed," writes Gregor Paul. "But Ireland have a legacy of hard luck stories and this was another. They couldn't close out and to the credit of the All Blacks, they held their composure in the last three minutes to let Daniel Carter drop the winning goal at the second attempt."

After coming so close to defeating the All Blacks for a first time, Ireland lost the second test 60-0 a week later.

Read the match report

Forsyth Barr Stadium

All Blacks 21 South Africa 11, September 15, 2012
The roofed stadium has been known for producing running rugby but the first test at Forsyth Barr Stadium was a long slog for the All Blacks. According to the Herald's Gregor Paul 'it was physical, it was direct and it was unforgiving" as the All Blacks eventually top control when Springbok Dean Greyling was sent to the bin for an illegal hit on Richie McCaw. The match produced three tries and remains the lowest scoring test at Forsyth Barr Stadium.

Read the match report