The 1909 New Zealand Māori rugby league tour of Australia was a tour made by a group of
New Zealand Māori rugby football
Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league.
Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...
ers who played
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
matches in
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
and
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
. The tour followed on from
another Māori tour of Australia the previous year and a
tour by the New Zealand national side a month earlier. The Māori side played the
Australian national side four times, winning one of the "test" matches.
The tour
Following the first "test", won by the Māori 16-14, about 5,000 of the 30,000 crowd invaded the pitch, upset with the standard of refereeing. Only about a dozen police were present and it took them almost an hour to assist the referee from the ground.
[
Before the fourth "test" nine players from the tour were detained, after Robert Jack claimed he was owed money relating to the 1908 tour. The NSWRL paid Jack his claimed debt, rather than risk the match being called off.][
The team were awarded the O T Punch Cup for their victories over Sydney teams. The cup had been damaged when the crowd invaded the pitch in the first "test".
]
Aftermath
The 1909 side was the first to wear a kiwi emblem on their uniforms. The New Zealand national side is now called the Kiwis.[
]
Squad
Only 19 players were involved in the squad, with a maximum of 18 available for selection at any one time. Seventeen travelled with the main party, however Nirai Chareure broke his collarbone after the first match. Tohe Herangi joined the touring party after the first match and Hone Tuki arrived in time for the first 'test' match.[ NSW selector ]Denis Lutge
Denis "Dinny" Lutge (26 November 1879 – 18 February 1953) was a pioneer Australian rugby league and rugby union player, a dual-code international. He was the second ever captain of the Australian national rugby league team and the first to le ...
was assigned to the team as an advisor.
Match results
Before the side left New Zealand they lost 14-21 to Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
on 10 July 1909 at Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to:
Places Australia
* Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales
* Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse
* Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
in front of 2-3,000 spectators.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1909 New Zealand Maori rugby league tour of Australia
New Zealand Māori rugby league team
Rugby league tours of Australia
Maori rugby league tour of Australia
Maori rugby league tour of Australia