The All Blacks social media power rankings

Sonny Bill Williams rocking the bowl cut. Photo / Instagram/sonnybillwilliams

We all know what the All Blacks can do on the rugby field. They are often considered as one of the greatest sports teams on the planet.

But how good are they in the rough and tumble world of social media?

Not so great according to ESPN's annual World Fame 100, released yesterday, which lists the biggest sporting names in the world based on search score, endorsements and social media following. Not a single All Black or New Zealander made the list.

To investigate the state of social media in the country's biggest sports team, I did the deepest of deep dives into the social media accounts of all 33 players in the recently announced All Blacks squad to face France – from Sonny Bill Williams' Twitter dad jokes to Scott Barrett's seemingly endless fishing photos on Instagram.

Here's the extremely important, definitive list of every current All Black ranked by their social media game.

33. Karl Tu'inukuafe

New Zealand, meet Karl Tu'inukuafe.

Favourite things to post about: Nothing.

Twitter: No account found
Instagram: 149 followers (private)

32. Luke Whitelock

Only needs 35k more Instagram followers to catch big brother Sam. Luke Whitelock's account is currently the subject of a NZH investigation as to potentially being fake.

Favourite things to post about: Family and begging people to follow him (based on his only two posts).

Twitter: No account found
Instagram: 405 followers

31. Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi

You'll need more than one tweet to get your followers into triple figures, triple T.

Favourite things to post about: Being excited for a game (based on his only tweet).

Twitter: 54 followers
Instagram: 2.9k followers (private)

30. Shannon Frizell

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A post shared by Shannon Frizell (@kingnoni676)

Despite having fewer followers than Tahuriorangi, Frizell is ranked higher for his prolific use of the 'shaka brah'.

Favourite things to post about: Rugby, boomerang videos, chillin with the boys.

Twitter: No account found
Instagram: 2.8k followers

29. Nathan Harris

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A post shared by Nathan Harris Coaching (@nateharris92)

Nice fishing pics bro.

Favourite things to post about: Fishing, rugby injuries, food.

Twitter: 1.4k followers
Instagram: 3.4k followers

28. Joe Moody

Fun fact: Moody's first ever Instagram post was a picture of him smacking a Waratahs player in the face back in 2014. It seems to be one of his favourite things to do. Also, Joe Moody models?!

Favourite things to post about: Hunting, trucks, modelling – standard manly stuff.

Twitter: No account found
Instagram: 13.2k followers

27. Ofa Tu'ungafasi

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Tu'ungafasi's Insta game is like his golf swing: it needs some work.

Favourite things to post about: Rugby, gym.

Twitter: 3.5k followers
Instagram: 12.2k followers

26. Jordan Taufua

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A post shared by Sa Jordan Taufua (@taufooz)

Good at playfully dancing in front of a camera.

Favourite things to post about: Rugby, his rugby boys.

Twitter: 3.8k followers
Instagram: 13.9k followers

25. Jeffery Toomaga-Allen

Extra points for having a cute family and hashtagging his kid's name.

Favourite things to post about: Family, rugby, gym.

Twitter: 5.2k followers
Instagram: 12.2k followers

24. Scott Barrett

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A post shared by Scott Barrett (@scottbarrett93)

Nice fishing pics bro.

Favourite things to post about: Fishing (a lot of fishing), hunting, rugby.

Twitter: No account found
Instagram: 20.2k followers

23. Liam Squire

Nice fishing pics bro.

Favourite things to post about: Fishing, hunting, rugby.

Twitter: No account found
Instagram: 21k followers

22. Brodie Retallick

Nice fishing pics bro.

Favourite things to post about: Fishing, family, rugby.

Twitter: No account found
Instagram: 26.4k followers

21. Richie Mo'unga

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Bit of a gamer from the looks of his Instagram follows – more Fortnite posts please. Also has a cute family.

Favourite things to post about: Family, rugby.

Twitter: No account found
Instagram: 25.1k followers

20. Codie Taylor

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Also has a cute family. Negative points for not hashtagging his kid's name.

Favourite things to post about: Family, rugby.

Twitter: 476 followers
Instagram: 31.5k followers

19. Vaea Fifita

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A post shared by 𝐕𝐀𝐄𝐀 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐓𝐀 (@vaea.fifita)

More cuteness and more rugby.

Favourite things to post about: Family, rugby, gym.

Twitter: 913 followers
Instagram: 33.1k followers

18. Owen Franks

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The quintessential rugby/gym poster. Franks' lawyer today said he's "not a big social media guy", two hours after Franks posted a video of him at the gym.

Favourite things to post about: Rugby, gym, with a sprinkling of family.

Twitter: 1.8k followers but it appears to have been hacked, because I doubt Franks is out here retweeting Arabic memes and dodgy nsfw spam accounts.
Instagram: 38.1k followers

17. Sam Whitelock

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Captain fantastic is not so fantastic on the socials.

Favourite things to post about: Rugby, family, gardening/farm stuff, strawberry milkshakes.

Twitter: No account found. There is however, a Twitter account for his undies – "the 2nd most famous undies in New Zealand behind Dan Carter."
Instagram: 35.4k followers

16. Jack Goodhue

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Goodhue is low key, one of the funniest All Blacks on social media and deserves more followers. Which is why he ranks this high in this very important rankings, despite only having 6.8k followers. He's also a very exciting rugby talent, and a legitimate threat to break the SBW-Crotty All Black midfield partnership. #teamgoodhue.

Favourite things to post about: Giving teammates a hard time, self-deprecating jokes, rugby.

Twitter: 139 followers
Instagram: 6.8k followers

15. Ngani Laumape

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"Watching Jeremy Kyle lol woweeee pretty intense lol"

Favourite things to post about: Rugby, family, NBA, penguins, daytime TV musings.

Twitter: 1.6k followers
Instagram: 52.6k followers

14. Anton Lienert-Brown

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Very thankful and #blessed to be playing rugby for a living.

Favourite things to post about: Rugby, being blessed, being thankful.

Twitter: 2.8k followers
Instagram: 54.6k followers

13. Ryan Crotty

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Better at golf and social media than Tu'ungafasi.

Favourite things to post about: Rugby, cute couple pics, cute French bulldog pics.

Twitter: 8.4k followers
Instagram: 75.9k followers

12. Jordie Barrett

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Nice fishing pics bro. Golf swing quality: to be determined.

Favourite things to post about: Fishing, rugby, golf, gym.

Twitter: No account found
Instagram: 76.4k followers

11. Sam Cane

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Might be too nice.

Favourite things to post about: Rugby, cute couple pics, food.

Twitter: 55.2k followers
Instagram: 89.2k followers

10. Aaron Smith

We're coming up on two years now since Smith's social media All Blackout, following his overblown toilet tryst. To kick off the top ten, let's take a moment to pour one out for one of the most interesting All Black's socials. Rest in tweets.

Favourite things to post about: I can't remember :(

Twitter: We have ourselves to blame
Instagram: Shame on us

9. Damian McKenzie

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Coldplay fan. Enough said.

Favourite things to post about: Rugby, rugby friends, Coldplay.

Twitter: No account found
Instagram: 122k followers

8. Waisake Naholo

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Solid emoji game. And his Twitter account is not just Instagram reposts, which is always a bonus.

Favourite things to post about: Rugby, solo adventures with his bulldog.

Twitter: 11.6k followers
Instagram: 93.9k followers

7. Ben Smith

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As you would expect from "Ben from accounts": warm, family friendly, vanilla.

Favourite things to post about: Rugby, family, gardening.

Twitter: 29.3k followers
Instagram: 128k followers

6. Rieko Ioane

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Best selfie-taker in the All Blacks.

Favourite things to post about: Rugby, family, American sports.

Twitter: 5.2k followers
Instagram: 151k followers

5. Ardie Savea

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Best hair in the game. Owns two gorgeous Siberian Huskys. King of Winterfell.

Favourite things to post about: Family, rugby, wolves.

Twitter: 31.6k followers
Instagram: 160k followers

4. Nehe Milner-Skudder

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Cutest All Blacks couple goes to: Nehe Milner-Skudder and Hanna Tevita. An All Black and an actress – doesn't get much better than that.

Favourite things to post about: Rugby, cute couple pics.

Twitter: 15.4k followers
Instagram: 181k followers

3. Beauden Barrett

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First-fives get all the girls, attention, points, and followers. But to be fair, Barrett has a pretty fire Instagram account so he makes up for his No.10 privilege. Also, nice fishing pics bro.

Favourite things to post about: Fishing, rugby, golf, cute couple pics, cute Barrett bro pics.

Twitter: 91.8k followers
Instagram: 337k followers

2. TJ Perenara

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Perenara was one of the few athletes to speak out against Israel Folau's homophobic comments on social media. And he has shown through his actions, that he is passionate about his support of the LGBTQI community and is willing to use his platform to effect change. Sometimes, there are bigger things in life than rugby, and fishing. Oh and he also streams his Fortnite gaming sessions on Twitch – something for everyone.

Favourite things to post about: Rugby, family, gaming, equality.

Twitter: 41.5k followers
Instagram: 145k followers

To anyone, young Māori/Pasifika people especially, who may be struggling with their identity - please know that it is ok to be you. You are perfect as you are. Do not let these comments keep you from being yourself. Polynesia has been sexually diverse since forever.

— Tj Perenara (@Tj_Perenara) April 18, 2018

1. Sonny Bill Williams

Grateful and excited at the opportunity to put on the All Black jersey once again 🙏🏽🖤 ... feeling the love from my girls too 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/c0BwYLmXK2

— Sonny Bill Williams (@SonnyBWilliams) May 20, 2018

There was only ever going to be one winner here. Williams is not only one of the most explosive and exciting athletes New Zealand has ever seen, he's also pretty funny, a family man, and seems like an overall good guy. He's also the most followed Kiwi athlete on Twitter – a must follow by the way.

Favourite things to post about: Rugby, family, his faith, light-hearted jabs at the media.

Twitter: 825k followers
Instagram: 451k followers

I’ve been asked a lot lately ‘what is Ramadan’ for me, Ramadan is a time to empty our stomachs and feed our souls #PeaceAndLove my friends ❤️

— Sonny Bill Williams (@SonnyBWilliams) May 18, 2018