Wellington – A New Zealand Maori rugby team was instructed by a government minister to throw a game against South Africa in 1956 to prevent All Blacks sides from being banned from touring the country, a former player has said.
Muru Walters, a fullback in the 1956 team, said the then Minister of Maori Affairs Ernest Corbett had visited players of the team in their dressing room and told them to lose the match “for the future of rugby”. The directive from Corbett, who died in 1968, had “ripped the guts out of the spirits of our team”, Muru told local radio, and the Springboks went on to win 37-0 at Auckland’s Eden Park.
“What he said was: ‘You must not win this game or we will never be invited to South Africa again,'” Walters said. “I thought he was joking, but then another official came in and said the same thing … ‘For the future of rugby, don’t beat the South Africans.'”
The New Zealand Rugby Union is celebrating the centenary of the first official Maori team later this year and have organised international matches against Ireland and England in June. Maori groups, however, have also requested an apology from the union for bowing to South African directives and omitting non-white players from touring teams to the country in 1928, 1949 and 1960.
He waited 54 years to break the story. Wonder if there is anyone alive to back up his claim. And the question remains, did they throw the game? or was their guts just ripped out, which would obviously make it difficult to play rugby.
Toe ons ‘n Minister van Bantoe Sake gehaad het in die 50’s en 60’s was die hel los. Hulle kon wegkom met ‘n Minister van Maori Sake.
It wouldn’t surprise me.
Maybe that’s why the Lions haven’t won a game yet.
The minister of Sport thinks if we have an all SA top 5, the Anzac’s won’t play with us anymore, so he asked the Lions and the Cheetahs to take it easy on the poor Antipodeans.
Great theory huh?
“I thought he was joking, but then another official came in and said the same thing … ‘For the future of rugby, don’t beat the South Africans.’”
Was this official by any chance named Suzie?
Pretty darn arrogant, were they that convinced they’d win?
Fark, the guy claiming this to be true is a Bishop in some church, a man of the cloth. I wonder if that minister was an ex-pat?
#4
Suzie isn’t an official, she is a hostess. Very gracious I hear…
it came out the capt of the then maori team says he is not aware of such an instruction
8 – Sharky, I really don’t believet this. Why say it now after all these years? Dont sound right really.
9 – typo first one in a long time 😀
believe
Ag flok…. hoekom worry hulle nie liewer maori game nie…..
grootpienk.
😆
Maori did not throw game says lock
Yahoo!Xtra Sport – April 14, 2010, 7:44 am
New Zealand Maori lock Tiny Hill has denied reports that the 1956 side were instructed to lose their match against the touring South African side.
Hill has told the Press today that Corbett never made the comments and blames poor tactics for the loss.
“As far as I was concerned, Ernie Corbett was never in the dressing room at all, because I know him and I come from Taranaki. I don’t remember him being there,” he told the newspaper.
“This is news to me. I don’t know what the hell is going on. There was nothing like that at all.
“We went out there to play the game; we used the wrong tactics on the day. We tried to play it like University the week before … We never got the ball over the advantage line. They were on attack most of the time and we had to defend most of the time. That was the problem.”
After the 1956 game Hill famously told his pack they had “played like girls”.
I’ll write about this tour when done with the 1965 tour but the Springboks totally outplayed the Maori on the day and won by 37-0. This match, in my opinion, is a classical example of why NZ could not won the WC since 1987. The Maori can not handle emotional and psychological pressure and their typical reponse is to bonk out.
In 1956 throughout the Springbok tour, from Whangarei to Invercargill, one continually heard the the refrain: “I’d love to see these boys play the Maori’s.” For months evry Maori in the country were planning expeditions to Auckland to go and witness the Maori’s smashing up the boks. The pressure on the teamwas immense and the couldn’t handle it. Does that ring a bell maybe France 2007? Maybe Australia 2003?
Terry McLean writes about this match: ” Maori rugby, even in its worst years, was never as bad as this match”. So much was expected of the players and by the look of their early fumblings and inability to front up they mentally bonk out of the match before it even started.
#7
*Sig* Yes saint, I know…
13 – Mclook, Thanks for that. I could hardly believe it when I read that article. This clears it up.
There was another brief on this story during 18h00 news on TV tonight. Maru Walters insist it happenned and they interviewed him but not the lock (Hill, who denies it). The Maori now want an official apology from the New Zealand goverment. Ha, ha, ha, ha.
Look like the Maori are now pitching in on blame apartheid for poor performances. What they don’t see is the absolute arrogance of the statement namely that the goverment was so sure they would win the Springboks that they actually instructed them to loose. Remember at that stage New Zealand still had not won a series (ever, in New Zealand and in SA) against the Springboks.
The future of SA vs NZ tours was a geniune concern in 1956 and I could believe that some might have been of the opion that it might not be good for the future if the Maori win; and may have talked about it but I certainly don’t believe it was an official goverment instruction.
At the base of that line of thinking is of course the percetion that the South African don’t want Maori in the team because they are scared of them and feel they might not be able to win the All Blacks if they have Maori’s in the team. Talk about absolute arrogance and ignorance and this whole saga is certainly in my mind at the top end of the scale.
Ah yes, the bitter fruits of rasicm. Less we forget…
16 – McLook, Just why has it came out now? Something does not sound right to me. If this player had a issue with it why did he not come out with it years back? Of if he was afraid to do so then, why not in 1994? You would have thought he would have spoke up then. So coming out with it now just seems sensational to me.
It is the centurion year of Maori rugby (or something like that) and Maori history is big news. This poor fell probably played only one match for the Maori’s which they lost and he in all probabblity wanted to share the limelight but had nothing too stand on so he went about and created sensation around his only game. That me being cynical.
Apart form the above mentioned I can’t think why now. Why never before. Trying to be part of the limelight if you ask me. Very lame to say the least.
Sounds like a case of jumping on the bandwagon. Maybe his congregation is dwindling or shrinking and he needs publicity.
McLook, this statement of yours “The Maori can not handle emotional and psychological pressure and their typical reponse is to bonk out.”
Are you sure that you have the facts to back that statement up or you merely placing you prejudice on show here?
Well, Fender that’s my theory based on what I’ve read, seen, and experienced working with Maori’s and based on NZ performances in the WC. If you read what Terry McLean have written about this particular match you’ll notice simalar conclusions hidden between the lines.
This will remain my theory until I see evidence to the contrary. Just because you think the theory is prejudice does not make it wrong. Fact is they bonked out in that match against the 1956 Springboks because of the nations expactations and so did the 1995, 2003 and 2007 All Black teams during those respective WC tournaments. If you can provide me with a better reason why thoses sides bonked out I’ll be happy to consider that and adjust or change my theory.
#22 Mclook
Ja, reading between the lines can be a particularly dangerous thing ’cause sooner or later that damn train is gonna show up and you don’t really want to get caught between them lines then, boy!
But I suppose you’re entitled to your prejudice. Just for the record though: Buck Shelford was also a bonker-outer then was he?
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