page_title: 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team
section_title: Arrival in England and early matches
hierarchical_section_title: 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team / Arrival in England and early matches
caption_attribution_description: English: New Zealand native rugby union team, prior to a match against Middlesex at Lord Sheffield's Park on 20 October 1888. Back row - T. Ayton (Promoter), R. Maynard, G. Goldsmith. Second row - Jack Lawlor, David Stewart, Wiri Nehua, Harry Lee, George Williams, Teo Rene, Wi Karauria, William Warbrick, E. Ihimaira, James Scott (Manager). Third row - Richard Taiaroa, William Elliott, Thomas Ellison, Joe Warbrick (Captain), Edward McCausland, W. Anderson, Patrick Keogh Bottom row - Arthur Warbrick, William Wynyard, David Gage, Fred Warbrick, Charles Madigan, Alexander Webster. George Wynyard and Alfred Warbrick were in London when the photograph was taken. (Description supplied with photograph.).
context_page_description: The 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team was a New Zealand rugby union team that toured Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand in 1888 and 1889. It mostly comprised players of Māori ancestry, but also included some Pākehā. A wholly private endeavour, the tour was not under the auspices of any official rugby authority; it was organised by New Zealand international player Joseph Warbrick, promoted by public servant Thomas Eyton, and managed by James Scott, a publican. The Natives were the first New Zealand team to perform a haka, and also the first to wear all black. They played 107 rugby matches during the tour, as well as a small number of Victorian Rules football and association football matches in Australia. Having made a significant impact on the development of New Zealand rugby, the Natives were inducted into the International Rugby Board Hall of Fame in 2008.
  After a preliminary tour of New Zealand in 1888, the side travelled to England via Melbourne and Suez. The Māori players initially provoked curiosity due to their race, but the British press subsequently expressed some surprise that the side was not as "Māori" as they had expected.
context_section_description: The team were met in Britain by local rugby administrators, including an official of England's Rugby Football Union (RFU). The first match of the tour was against Surrey, where the team became the first New Zealand side to perform a haka, and also the first to wear an all black uniform. 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. "They are not unlike Europeans," a Scottish reporter wrote in November 1888; "that is their resemblance is great when one remembers that they were a savage tribe no further back than a generation". The Surrey match, which was refereed by the RFU secretary George Rowland Hill, was won 4–1 by the Natives after they scored two tries.
  The Natives next defeated both Northamptonshire and Kent, before defeats by Moseley and Burton-on-Trent. Both defeats were unexpected, and in the Moseley match, injuries played a part – the tourists played most of the match at least two men down, as replacements were then not allowed. The team recovered to win their next game, against Midlands Counties in Birmingham. Their next fixture was against Middlesex in a match not open to the public, and hosted by the Earl of Sheffield at Sheffield Park, Uckfield. The Middlesex side contained a number of international players, including Arthur Gould. Middlesex won easily, with the Natives play characterised by poor tackling. The final score was 9–0, with three tries conceded by the New Zealanders. Prior to the match both sides had enjoyed lunch with wine – an indulgence the Natives were not used to. A report in the Auckland Star had this to say of the game:
  The New Zealanders expected to meet a mere exhibition 15 of scratch players, whereas Mr Rowland Hill had carefully collected the best possible team available. Such " passing " as the Home men displayed the Maoris frankly admit they have never previously witnessed. Said McCausland whilst we were on the platform waiting for the London train, "I think they would have just beaten us, even if we had been in good form."
  Following the match against Middlesex, the team travelled to the north, where the strongest English rugby teams were based. Yorkshire and Lancashire dominated the county championship until many of their respective member clubs split from the RFU in 1895 over the issue of "broken time" payments. The New Zealanders lost to Hull F.C. 1–0, defeated Dewsbury, then lost to Wakefield Trinity. After their first draw of the tour (against Northumberland County) they defeated Stockton-on-Tees and Tynemouth. Joe Warbrick appeared in the match against Tynemouth, but aggravated the foot injury that had kept him out of the side until that point. These victories were followed by a 13–4 defeat to Halifax on 10 November. The team then won seven matches in a row, including one against Hawick RFC, their only Scottish opposition of the tour. The last two matches that month were a loss to Swinton and a 9–0 victory over Liverpool and District. The team had played thirteen fixtures during November and won ten of them. By this point, the team was beset by injuries – of the fifteen players that played against Westmorland County on 24 November, five had injuries. The squad comprised only 26 players, and the tourists were often struggling to field a side. Nevertheless, their heavy schedule continued; on 30 November 1888 they left for Dublin, where a match had been organised against the Ireland national team.
caption: A team photo of the 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team while in England prior to a match against Middlesex
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