What are the most popular fields of sports in New Zealand? Give examples of the best athletes.

The New Zealand national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, is the representative side of New Zealand in rugby union. Rugby union is regarded as the country's national sport.New Zealand has a winning record against every international rugby team they have played, including the British and Irish Lions.
The team first competed in 1884 against Cumberland County, New South Wales, and played their first Test match in 1903, a victory against Australia. This was followed by a tour of the northern hemisphere in 1905.
ew Zealand' first Tri-Nations game of 2007 was against the Springboks in Durban, South Africa. New Zealand scored two tries in the final ten minutes of the game to win 26-21. The following week against the Wallabies at the MCG in Melbourne the Wallabies upset New Zealand to win 20-15, New Zealand' first loss to Australia since 2004. New Zealand won both following home games to successfully defend the Tri-Nations Series for 2007.

New Zealand entered the 2007 Rugby World Cup as favourites, and trumped their pool beating all their challengers, Scotland, Italy, Romania and Portugal by 40 points or more. However, they then suffered a defeat to hosts France in the first knockout game, the quarterfinals. Following the loss to France coach Graham Henry's job was on the line with then Canterbury Crusaders coach Robbie Deans a likely contender as the next All Blacks coach, but Graham Henry managed to keep his job. Robbie Deans then accepted a position as coach of the Wallabies.
The famous players- Richie McCaw,Kieran Read,Mils Muliaina.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_national_rugby_union_team







Soccer (also known as "football" or "Association football") is less popular in New Zealand than in most other countries. The New Zealand national soccer team has qualified for the FIFA World Cup twice, in 1982 and in 2010; it was knocked out in the first round. The country's only professional soccer team, Wellington Phoenix FC, plays in the A-League which is otherwise an all-Australian competition. The sport is administered by New Zealand Football, which changed its name from "New Zealand Soccer" in 2007 to move in line with common usage around the world. The two major domestic competitions are the New Zealand Football Championship which is played between eight regional teams, and the Chatham Cup which is knock-out competition played between clubs. Neither the Phoenix nor the NZFC franchises play in the Chatham Cup. Soccer is especially popular amongst boys and girls, and is the second most popular participation sport for both boys and girls (aged between 5 and 17 years old) in New Zealand.
The famous players-Chris Killen, Mark Paston, David Mulligan, Tim Brown and Ryan Nelsen.