1598
Kicking things off is one of the more obvious records held by one of the players considered to be among the greatest of all-time.
This is the most points in test rugby scored by a single player, a number posted by former first-five Dan Carter during his 13-year All Blacks career.
His test match points tally is made up of 29 tries, 293 conversions (a world record in itself), 281 penalty goals (another world record in itself), and eight drop goals.
191 of the points were scored across four Rugby World Cup's, a tournament where he holds the record for most conversions (58).
He also holds the Tri Nations/Rugby Championship records most points (554), most tries as a first-five (five), most conversions (76), most penalty goals (120), and most points in a season (99 points in 2006), while in the Bledisloe Cup, he holds the records for most points (366, also a world record for most points against an opposing side), most conversions (48), most penalty goals (82), most points in a series (54 in 2009), and most penalty goals in a series (16 in 2012).
If all these point scoring statistics aren't enough to impress you, then take into consideration that with Carter now retired from international rugby on 1598 test points, the next player on the all-time point scoring list who is still an active international test player is 32-year-old Georgian fullback/halfback Merab Kvirikashvili, who is only sitting on 745 points from 95 test matches - still 853 points behind Carter while in the twilight of his career.
With no current international player anywhere near Carter in terms of points scored, the All Black legend is set to stay as a multiple world record holder for a very long time.
148
Sticking to the theme of more well-known records, this is the record number of test caps amassed by legendary former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw.
The first of these caps came in the form of a man-of-the-match performance in a 40-29 win over Ireland in Dublin in 2001, and finished in a 34-17 Rugby World Cup final victory over Australia at Twickenham last year.
In that time period, McCaw achieved a plethora of world records, establishing himself as one of, if not the, greatest of all-time. Some of these include:
- Most test wins (131)
- Most test matches against one nation (37 against the Wallabies, losing just six of those)
- Three-time World Rugby Player of the Year three times (joint record-holder with Dan Carter)
- Most test matches as captain (110, remains only player to have captained his country for over 100 matches)
- Most test tries by a forward from a tier one nation (26)
- Most international test tries by a flanker (second most of all-time by a forward)
- Most tries by any player against a tier one opponent (11 tries against Australia)
- Only player to have captained a nation to two Rugby World Cup victories
Similarly to Carter, due to the longevity and consistency of top class performances required by players to achieve the records McCaw has collated, it is unlikely a player will topple many of McCaw's records any time soon.
14
The All Blacks currently hold the Rugby World Cup record for most hat-tricks scored by one nation, with 14 lots of three five pointers being scored in matches across eight World Cup's by 12 different players.
The first All Black hat-trick at a Rugby World Cup went to Craig Green, who put four tries past Fiji en route to a 74-13 victory in the inaugural World Cup back in 1987 at Christchurch's Lancaster Park. English-born John Gallagher also scored four tries against the Pacific Islanders in that match.
Since then, the All Blacks have managed at least one hat-trick at every World Cup, with a trio of tries coming from Terry Wright (1991 vs USA), Marc Ellis, Eric Rush (both 1995 vs Japan), Jeff Wilson (1995 vs Japan, 1999 vs Italy), Jonah Lomu (1995 vs England), Mils Muliaina (2003 vs Canada), Doug Howlett (2007 vs Italy), Joe Rokocoko (2007 vs Romania), Zac Guildford (2011 vs Canada), and Julian Savea (2015 vs Georgia, France).
14 is also the magic number for the national side when it comes to the highest number of dual Rugby World Cup winners from one nation, with 14 All Blacks (Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Kieran Read, Ma'a Nonu, Conrad Smith, Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock, Sonny Bill Williams, Jerome Kaino, Sam Whitelock, Owen Franks, Ben Franks, Colin Slade and Victor Vito) taking part in both the 2011 and 2015 World Cup victories.
74
Ever since the inception of the Tri Nations back in 1996, and even after the inclusion of Argentina in 2012, the All Blacks have been the most dominant side in the competition, as their 14 titles from 21 tournaments suggests.
Perhaps the figure that best indicates their dominance in the southern hemisphere's premiere international rugby tournament, however, would be their 74 wins from the 99 matches they've played over the course of the past 21 seasons.
To put that into perspective, Australia have just 42 wins from the same number of games, while South Africa have 40 victories to their name.
The Pumas' inclusion into the competition four years ago hasn't slowed down the All Blacks' dominance, with the Argentines recording just three wins from 27 matches, converting into a winning percentage of just 12.96%.
The All Blacks are also the only team in the competition to have a positive points difference on the all-time standings.
They have scored 1010 more points than they have conceded, while the Wallabies have a points difference of -299, South Africa has -316, and Argentina's short existence has seen them hand over 395 more points to the opposition than they have scored themselves.
With the form the All Blacks were in during this year's edition of the competition, it seems unlikely their dominance will halt in the near future.
18
It goes without saying.
18 consecutive wins dating back to the August 2015.
The first, a victory over the Wallabies at Eden Park - the 18th, under the exact same conditions.
It's the most by a tier one nation, and could be improved by four if the All Blacks can dominate their European tour next month.
