Complex sentence: That the team was predominantly Māori provoked curiosity from the British press--at the time, most Britons had not seen non-white people--but there was some surprise that the team were not as "Māori" as had been expected.
Split into simpler sentences: That the team was predominantly Māori provoked curiosity from the British press; at the time, not many British people had seen a non-white person. There was some surprise that the team were not as "Māori" as had been expected.