1949 saw the second full tour of South Africa by a representative New Zealand rugby union team (the

New Zealand national rugby union team The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 19 ...

). The All Blacks achieved a record of 13 wins, 7 losses and 4 draws, and they lost the test series 4–0.

Non-selection of Māori players

As they had in 1928 and would do again in 1960, the New Zealand union left Māori players out of the 30-man tour squad to meet

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

conditions set by South Africa. Particularly notable omissions were "

Johnny Smith Johnny Henry Smith II (June 25, 1922 – June 11, 2013) was an American cool jazz and mainstream jazz guitarist. He wrote "Walk, Don't Run" in 1954. In 1984, Smith was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Early life During the Great D ...

Ben Couch Manuera Benjamin Rīwai Couch (27 June 1925 – 3 June 1996) was a New Zealand politician and rugby union player. He was a team-member of the All Blacks and the New Zealand Māori rugby union team in the 1940s. Early life Couch was born in 19 ...

and

Vincent Bevan Vincent David Bevan (24 December 1921 – 26 May 1996) was a New Zealand rugby union player. Early life Bevan was born in the Horowhenua at Otaki, about halfway between Wellington and Palmerston North, and was the son of Winifred Bevan and Le ...

... All three (and Ron Bryers) would surely have otherwise gone to South Africa." Smith's official All Black profile now acknowledges "the unforgivable weakness shown by New Zealand rugby". Kiwi Blake (who was of African American heritage but played for the Māori All Blacks) is quoted as saying that after a trial match he, Bevan and Smith were told by a selector that "If you had been eligible, you would have all gone". Researcher and historian Malcolm Mulholland wrote the All Blacks captain Fred Allen "later mourned the loss of Smith and, in particular, Bevan...as one of the main reasons for the All Blacks' four-nil series drubbing". In 2010 the rugby unions of New Zealand and South Africa, and the South African government, apologised for this selection policy which was implemented at the South Africans' request by the NZRFU, which at the time had said that it "did not want to subject them .e. Māorito possible reprisals". As this tour took place, a simultaneous Australia tour to New Zealand led to the unusual situation of two All Black tests on 3 September 1949, in Durban and Wellington. The All Blacks lost both. One reason for New Zealand affording the Australian series test status was to allow Māori players excluded from South Africa to earn caps.

Matches

:''Scores and results list New Zealand's points tally first.''

References

External links

1949 Tour in Details
{{DEFAULTSORT:1949 New Zealand Rugby Union Tour Of South Africa All Black tour New Zealand national rugby union team tours of South Africa Rugby union tour All Black tour Rugby union tours of Zimbabwe