Otago University Rugby Football Club captain Trevor Turner is confident University has supplied more All Blacks than any other club, despite claims to the contrary. Photo by Linda Robertson.

Get the abacuses out - an old debate has resurfaced following claims Ponsonby Rugby Club has produced more All Blacks than any other club.

Otago University Rugby Football Club captain Trevor Turner is confident his beloved ''Varsity'' is still the frontrunner.

Turner emailed the Otago Daily Times after reading an article last week that claimed Ponsonby would pull ahead of University following Rieko Ioane's debut against Italy.

Supposedly, Ponsonby moved from 44 to 45 All Blacks when Ioane took the field, but Turner disputes that number.

''The way that most clubs measure their All Blacks is if they get their first cap while they are playing for the club,'' Turner said.

''On the basis of that, we have 44 All Blacks who have been capped while playing for the University Rugby Football Club. Ponsonby have 39 at the moment, including Rieko Ioane, so on that basis we've got five more than them currently.

''Now it is not uncommon for clubs to also include All Blacks who have either come to their club, or players that have gone on to become All Blacks after leaving their club. On that basis, Varsity has 68 All Blacks, whereas Ponsonby has 50 now.''

Turner was quick to add he was not suggesting there was some dodgy accounting going on. He wanted to emphasise Ponsonby was a good rugby club.

But University is very proud of its contribution to the national team and protective of what is a wonderful record.

''I think a few years ago [well-known rugby broadcaster] Tony Johnson made the mistake of saying that Ponsonby had the most All Blacks of any club in New Zealand on television and so there was a rebuttal immediately from our club, and there has been a sort of constant rivalry going.

''We don't want to downplay Ponsonby, which is a great rugby club, but we are just ahead of them. We have five more All Blacks than what they've got.''

Ponsonby lists 49 All Blacks on its website - Ioane is yet to be added. Of those 50 players, 11 are listed on the All Black website as having made their All Black debut while playing for other clubs.

That leaves 39 Ponsonby All Blacks.

Ponsonby's Paul Neazor, who crunched the numbers for the club, could not be reached for comment.

He may well have a good explanation for the discrepancy, in which case the debate will continue. And it is interesting to note some of the players at the centre of the tug-of-war actually played for both clubs.

Keith Nelson, for example, is a Ponsonby life member but made the All Blacks while playing for University. Tom Morrison played one test for the All Blacks in 1973 while studying in Dunedin, then shifted north and had five seasons at Ponsonby.