Will The Real All Blacks Please Stand Up?

And the move has led the Welsh club to challenge to action.

“As far as the name ‘All Blacks’ goes, Neath beat New Zealand by 20 or 30 years,” said Neath historian Mike Price.

Neath RFC can trace their origins back to 1871. The team wore dark jerseys before a player, E C Moxham, introduced the famous white maltese cross “to break the monotony”.

The all-black jersey was adopted following the death of Dick Gordon from injuries sustained while playing against Bridgend in 1880.

Gordon died a month after the match and the players decided on a black uniform as a “mark of respect”, Price said.

“It’s quite simple when you look at it,” said Neath chairman Mike Cuddy.

“The Welsh All Blacks were here 20 years before the New Zealand All Blacks.

“We were here first and we’ll fight this. I’ve sent all the information to our legal representative, so we’ll just wait till he gets back to me.”

The New Zealand side weren’t called the All Blacks until the famous tour of 1905, when they lost to Wales 3-0 in Cardiff.

The origins of the nickname are still debated 100 years later. Many historians think it was because of the players’ all-black uniforms, but a popular belief is that it came about because of an English newspaper’s spelling mistake. The reporter said the New Zealand side were so fit and skilful, they were “all backs”. The headline writer accidentally typed “blacks” and the legend was born.