Born To Dare

The Tudor "Born To Dare" manifesto reverberates across the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team - from the Haka to their test matches.

- Asaph Low

In the world of team sports, several names have immortalised themselves as legends of the game thanks to their sporting success and dominance across the decades. The Reds of Manchester United and Ferrari are household names of football and Formula 1, while across the Atlantic Ocean, the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Yankees and the New England Patriots come to mind. In the world of rugby, that title belongs to the New Zealand All Blacks.

What is it like to be daring from birth, to possess courage and fearlessness in pushing norms and boundaries? Some crumble under pressure, while others live up and soar beyond expectations. The New Zealand All Blacks rugby national team are on a different level, up for anything from when they don their iconic silver fern-crested black jersey and perform the world-famous Māori haka to laying their bodies on the line in fearsome rugby test matches. 

If anyone is wondering, the games are regarded as test matches because every player’s and team’s physicality, skill level, endurance and mental ability are laid bare on the pitch with nowhere to hide. This spirit resonates with Tudor’s “Born To Dare” manifesto. Earlier in May, the All Blacks Sevens and Black Ferns Sevens — the New Zealand rugby sevens men’s and women’s teams — were in Singapore to compete and conquered the HSBC SVNS Singapore. The Tudor Singapore team hosted some of the players and Men’s Folio had the privilege of hearing from the players first-hand before the tournament about their pride in performing the haka and donning the iconic black jersey, and what “Born To Dare” means to them.

THE TUDOR MANIFESTO IS “BORN TO DARE”. HOW DOES THIS RESONATE WITH YOU AND MAYBE THE TEAM AS WELL?