Before 1981, there had been a number of sporting relations between the All Blacks and the Springbok's, both teams had participated in a number of rugby tours beginning in 1921. However, South Africa's Apartheid regime caused problems, given that in New Zealand, Rugby was a sport with a large number of Maori players. In the 1921 tour, one of the games played by the Springbok's was in Napier against the new Zealand Maori team. A South African Journalist by the name of Charles Blackett sent a cable back to his country describing the shock of Pakeha cheering for the Maori team.
"Bad enough having to play a team officially designated to New Zealand Natives, but the spectacle of thousands of Europeans frantically cheering on a band of coloured men to defeat members of their own race was too much for the Springbok's, who were frankly disgusted." Not only was having South Africa tour New Zealand problematic, but for the All Black's touring South Africa, with it's extreme segregation, threw up even more barriers for Maori players playing in the All Black's squad. The NFRFU (New Zealand rugby football union) did not select Maori players for South African tours until 1970, thinking that this was the best way to deal with racial tension between the two cultures. However, before the 1960 tour of South Africa, 150,000 New Zealanders signed a petition against sending a racially selected team, with the protest phrase being "No Maoris - no tour". The 1960 tour went ahead, but ideals of racial equality were made a reality when the 1967 tour to South Africa was cancelled. The All Black's toured the country in 1970 with a multiracial team, although it was only permitted because the Maori players were labelled by the South African Government as "Honorary Whites", clearly showing the racial attitudes in the country had not lessened. For some, this was enough to spark major protest. Those that opposed contact with South Africa argued that in no way should Maori players be forced to 'change the colour of their skin' to play against another country, and that by continuing the racist tours, New Zealand was condoning Apartheid. Above all, many believed, that by allowing South Africa's racial attitudes effect our own society we were acknowledging and supporting their racist ways. Having already had calls to stop tours to South Africa was a cause of the 1981 tour protests, because their was a general view that Apartheid was not something New Zealand wanted to be a part of. This feeling had begun to take form earlier in the 20th century and grew stronger over the course of the 1900's, as New Zealanders began to see that race relations in their country as well as others, needed work. With each tour and tour cancellation the protests became stronger, before coming to a head in the 1981 tour. |