Pages tagged with: rugby

In a country where rugby is often referred to as a religion, hosting and winning the first Rugby World Cup was a big deal. The story of how the tournament came about mixes the worlds of sport, politics and money.

Blue Squad member Pete Carrington gives a police view of the first test against the Springbok rugby team in 1981.

The first game, against Poverty Bay on 22 July, saw tour supporters and anti-tour protestors confront each other, face to face, for the first time.

For 56 days in July, August and September 1981, New Zealanders were divided against each other in the largest civil disturbance seen since the 1951 waterfront dispute. The cause of this was the visit of the South African rugby team – the Springboks.

The mid-century decades brought more mass participation in sport, the consolidation of many national competitions, and greater achievement at international level.

The title of 'The Originals' was bestowed on the next New Zealand rugby team to tour Britain, that of 1905-6, but even though it was soon forgotten, the Natives' tour was to have enduring significance for New Zealand rugby and society.

The third and final test would decide the series. Peter Burke, the All Blacks manager later described it as 'a magnificent game' and felt that the All Blacks had a 'job to do for New Zealand rugby and the rugby-loving people of New Zealand'. Once more, off-field events overshadowed the game itself.

Since rugby went professional in 1995 countries like Australia, England and France have challenged New Zealand and South Africa's claims to be the two powerhouses of world rugby.

The rugby played by the Natives was different from the game we know today.

Rugby jerseys drying, 1930s

South Africa's apartheid policies and attitudes created obvious problems for New Zealand rugby, given the prominence of Maori in the sport.

A 1959 poster urges New Zealanders to oppose the exclusion of Maori from the All Black team to tour South Africa in 1960.

In 1872, 'Wirihana' became the first recorded Maori rugby player when he turned out for Wanganui

Before the 1987 Rugby World Cup and the professional era, rugby prided itself on extolling the virtues of friendly rivalry.

Keeping sport and politics separate was becoming increasingly difficult. In July 1969 HART (Halt All Racist Tours) was founded by Auckland University students with the specific aim of opposing sporting contact with South Africa.

In the absence of any body regulating the game in New Zealand, Eyton was free to promote a tour of Britain as a private venture

The All Blacks accepted an invitation to tour South Africa in 1976, a time when world attention was firmly fixed on the republic because of the Soweto riots.

After playing nine matches in New Zealand and two in Melbourne in the southern winter of 1888 (with only two losses), the Natives set off for Britain by steamer.

There were many obstacles along the road to the first Rugby World Cup.

The tour supporters were determined that the first Springbok visit to New Zealand since 1965 would not be spoiled. The anti-tour movement was equally determined to show its opposition to it.