 In 1966, before a tour by the New Zealand rugby team, the South African government asked New Zealand to field an all-white team (thereby excluding Māori players); the New Zealand Rugby Football Union refused and cancelled the tour. As rugby was very popular among white South Africans, this caused concern in that community. The England cricket team was in New Zealand at the time, and Billy Griffith, by then the secretary of the MCC, when questioned said that the MCC would also cancel in similar circumstances. Despite these events in other world sports, South Africa continued to play international cricket. Efforts to put pressure on the International Cricket Conference (ICC) failed, and even when South Africa withdrew from the Commonwealth in 1961 (theoretically forfeiting the national team's Test status), their traditional opponents continued to play-official Tests against them despite opposition from India, Pakistan and the West Indies.
