Sanzaar, an athletic No. 8 who played 72 All Blacks matches between 1979 and 1985, believes NZ Rugby, which was initially identified as Sanzaar's preferred candidate to host the event, should hold the 12 tests over a six-week period. The other three games would be played over five days each.
The proposal was rejected by New Zealanders who wanted more time between matches to watch television. It is therefore likely that only two of the three proposed 5-day matches will take place.
In addition, there was no agreement on how many matches Australia would play. Originally, Australia was scheduled to play four tests, but after negotiations with South Africa broke down, they agreed to reduce this to three matches. The third test was cancelled due to security concerns caused by the apartheid system in South Africa at the time.
There were also issues surrounding the format of the matches. While New Zealand suggested a round-robin style draw for the three remaining tests, Australia wanted them to be held as full-length matches. In the end, both countries compromised and agreed to use a series format for the final two tests.
Murray Mexted made his debut for New Zealand against France in 1979. He played three more tests that year, but didn't appear again until 1981 when he appeared in two matches.
All of these games were won by the New Zealand XV. The first Test match recognized by both national unions was played on October 26, 1985, when the All Blacks toured Argentina. The sides have met 27 times in complete tests, with the All Blacks winning 26 and losing one.
The most recent meeting was a 35-29 victory for New Zealand at Buenos Aires in 2015. It is also the only time they have been tied on points after each side had scored twice.
Argentina won the first two matches before being defeated 26-24 by New Zealand at Buenos Aires in 1986. This was followed by a 17-13 win for the Pumas in 1987 before another loss to the All Blacks, this time by just three points (36-33).
They next faced off in 1990, with New Zealand running away with an easy 38-10 victory at Wellington. Argentina then beat Australia 16-15 in Melbourne, but this was their last success for nearly 10 years. They were finally able to secure a win over New Zealand in 1995, but it wasn't until 2001 that they ended the All Blacks' record run of victories. Since then they have lost every match against their southern hemisphere rivals.
New Zealand has dominated the series, winning 26 times to Argentina's 3. But Argentina has beaten New Zealand twice in recent years - in 2015 and in 2017.
The All Blacks, as they are commonly called, have participated in Test rugby since their first match against Australia in 1903. Richie McCaw holds the world record most Test appearances with 148 for the side between 2001 and 2015. He is followed by Jonah Lomu (147) and Brian Lochore (146).
McCaw retired from international play after the 2015 World Cup, but will be offered a job as a television analyst by New Zealand Rugby Union. This means that he will not be able to play again for his country. He has said that he does not want this job and will leave it to someone else if/when he decides to quit.
In terms of overall game time, McCaw is followed by Dan Carter (7,279 minutes) and Colin Meads (6,924 minutes) - both of whom played for the All Blacks between 1993 and 2005.
Of the other players who have represented New Zealand at least 100 times, William McElroy has the most games under his belt (152 matches from 1904 to 1915). Charles Fisher (149), John MacKinnon (148), and Robert Frickleton (146) follow him. None of these players is still active in Test rugby today.
The All Blacks, New Zealand's men's national rugby union team, have played 53 matches in the nine Rugby World Cup tournaments from 1987 to 2019, with one match canceled and unplayed. They won the tournaments in 1987, 2011, and 2015. The most recent tournament they have participated in was held in Japan in 2019.
New Zealand is one of the founding members of the International Rugby Board (now known as World Rugby), and has won the rugby world cup championship three times. In 1987, 1991, and 1995, they were undefeated champions, and in 2011 they finished with a 100% record.
They are the only country to have achieved this feat. In addition to winning the last three World Cups, New Zealand has also won the Bledisloe Cup, which is contested between Australia and New Zealand, seven times out of eight meetings. The only exception being in 2003 when Australia defeated New Zealand 32-26 in Sydney due to security concerns following the September 11 attacks.
Australia has won the other two Rugby World Cups, in 1999 in Wales and 2015 in England. Both countries share the honor of having won the inaugural World Cup back in 1987. France joined the IRB in 1992, and Russia in 1998. There are no plans for either country to participate in any further World Cup tournaments.
Mexted was in South Africa yesterday night mentoring young players at the International Rugby Academy, where he is the managing director. He stated he didn't know much about the trust while speaking from Rustenberg, west of Pretoria. "I just want to help out as much as I can and see what happens," he said.
The former Wales international revealed last week on Twitter that he had been approached by the IRB about coaching their game but had turned them down because he wanted to stay in South Africa.
"Would love to be a SA Lion coach one day - would have to be the right job with the right money though!" he wrote.
Mexted has worked with several clubs in Wales including Llanelli, Pontypool and Newbridge before moving to Japan's Suntory Sungoliath in 2008. He returned to Wales after only one season to take charge of South Africa's sevens team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The event is not part of the official World Series of Rugby, but it did give him experience of working with athletes from different countries and cultures.
He was named as head coach of the Lions earlier this year but withdrew his name from consideration later in the month after it was announced that Welshman Wayne Parnell will be taking charge of the squad.
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