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Story: Personal grooming

All Blacks and make-up, 2004

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All Blacks and make-up, 2004

In this 2004 cartoon All Black rugby team captain Tana Umaga is shown asking player Justin Marshall to pass the mascara. Marshall bleached his hair and team mate Ma’a Nonu used eyeliner. Their use of hair products and cosmetics prompted derisive comments from some quarters – with Marshall nicknamed 'Meg Ryan' (the name of a Hollywood actress) by some fans – and the suggestion that Nonu be required to conform to the All Black’s tough-guy image.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: DCDL-0006323

by Alistair Nisbet

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Bronwyn Dalley, Personal grooming – Cosmetics, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/cartoon/38760/all-blacks-and-make-up-2004 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Bronwyn Dalley, published 9 November 2012.