Maori rugby hit race barrier in S Africa

[travelling_gerry]

Maori rugby hit race barrier in S Africa

19th February 2009, 8:02 WST


A plan to resurrect the New Zealand Maori rugby side for a one-off match against the Springboks in South Africa's infamous township Soweto is in jeopardy because the team are selected along racial lines.


In a significant irony, Maori players, who were banned from touring South Africa with the All Blacks during the apartheid regime, now appear to find themselves at odds with South Africa's current political system.

The match, proposed as a warm-up for the Springboks before they play the British and Irish Lions in June, has been welcomed by South African coach Peter de Villiers, who described it as imperative in terms of preparing his side for the three-test series.

A South African Rugby Union (Saru) statement on Thursday confirmed it was in consultation with its New Zealand counterpart regarding the fixture but the government's President's Council represented a potential stumbling block.

The council forbids South African rugby teams playing against opponents selected on racial lines, a decree that would include New Zealand Maori.

Saru strategic communications manager Andy Colquhoun said the council's resolution was a "fundamental stumbling block" to the match taking place while there were also financial and logistical issues to address.

A final decision is not expected until the end of March.

New Zealand Maori have no matches scheduled this year after the New Zealand Rugby Union chose to instead enter the Junior All Blacks in the International Rugby Board's Pacific Nations Cup.

The Springboks are due to meet lowly Namibia in Windhoek in late May and wanted the a harder match against New Zealand Maori as a final warm-up.
The series against the Lions starts in Durban on June 20.
NZPA

http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.a...oryName=552572

[Cookie]

its a shame politics comes into play here,especially when SA had a "black quota system" when selecting it team.Also when I know of a few maori players that supported anti-apartied by not touring SA, in earlier years dark players could be made "honourary white players" so that they could tour, but many refused.
Any rugby team regardless of race or colour that plays attractive,passionate and entertaining rugby should be able to play where ever they like.I mean I never used to go to watch the harlem globetrotters because they were black,I went because the were damn good and very entertaining.The NZ Maoris are no different.
I'm non maori but enjoy any indeginous cultures that show pride in who they are and where they originate from,and if playing rugby is one way of displaying that then why not.

[AndyS]

That said though, and putting aside the hypocrisy of the SARU position if quotas still apply, Rugby in NZ is fully integrated. How would people react if someone wanted to start a specifically Non-Maori team?

[GIGS20]

Well....yeah, but the issue is that this smells of hypocrisy from SARU, not that there is an issue in NZ.

If quotas are OK to introduce affirmative action into SARugby, then surely banning a team that is selected on racial lines is hypocritical.

Personally I think the quota position is untenable and counterproductive, and I would prefer to see the affirmative action idea used to grant extra development funding to the indiginous communities in order to help athletes meet a standard which for so long hasn't been available for them to meet. I see nothing wrong in an affirmative action sense with creating a Soweto team, specifically for members of that community (Forgive my ignorance if I've got the township out of kilter, I don't know the situation very well) and give as much financial, coaching, development etc support to those players as is humanly possible since they really haven't recieved anything from SARU in the apartheid years. Send them on tours, play other teams, expose them to high leven coaching and development....heck even pay the players a salary way before that would be done in the established rugby community...that's how you fix the problem, because then the recipients of this support become able to compete with the established clubs on a level playing field.

I always think it's better to raise a person to meet the standard than to lower the standard!

[beige]

That said though, and putting aside the hypocrisy of the SARU position if quotas still apply, Rugby in NZ is fully integrated. How would people react if someone wanted to start a specifically Non-Maori team?

It's different creating a team to develop a community rather than to entrench its dominance...

[AndyS]

But I wouldn't have said that applies in New Zealand, or is that still seen as a racist society?

[beige]

Sorry, I probably worded that poorly - I don't mean racism but there are still some social inequalities that exist.

[Cookie]

That said though, and putting aside the hypocrisy of the SARU position if quotas still apply, Rugby in NZ is fully integrated. How would people react if someone wanted to start a specifically Non-Maori team?

They dont need to start a non maori team in NZ,players just either head to europe where they can still play for the country of their parents origin,or head home to the islands that their parents are from or play for the PIRA team(pacific islands team).
NZ dont have a problem with a Maori team so why should anyone else.

[Cookie]

besides have you had a close look at the maori team lately.Some of them arent very dark.........

[James]

besides have you had a close look at the maori team lately.Some of them arent very dark.........

Yeah its a bit of a joke. They had a couple of guys playing for the NZ Maori a couple of years back who were like 1/64th Maori (or so the Newspaper report said). I suppose it comes down to how you see yourself but I'll bet those guys were in it solely for the game time.

[Darren]

Whilst I think SARU are being bit precious if not pedantic, a quota system for coloureds/blacks is inclusive, where a team of single ethnic origin is exclusive.

That being said, I have no personal problem with a New Zealand Maori team. I also would not have a problem with a New Zealand team made up entirely of decendants of english NZ settlers if it were for exhibition purposes.

[AndyS]

besides have you had a close look at the maori team lately.Some of them arent very dark.........

Indeed. If they somehow decided to create a New Zealand Pakeha (aka the All Whites?) with the same eligibility criteria, I wonder who would be excluded by not having 1/32nd "white" heritage. Then of course there would be the question of what constitutes "white"...

But nonetheless, NZ may not have a problem with a Maori side but that isn't the issue - it is another country having an issue with it. The problem during apartheid wasn't necessarily that Saffers had the issue (although obviously most did), it was that everyone else took grave exception. But there is simply an unavoidable hypocrisy associated with objecting to someone else's racially selected team when you have one of your own. That has to cut both ways, otherwise there could be no objection to SA selecting a whites-only team now that they do not control the political process and are in the minority.

But it is all other peoples business, and it will be what it historically has been. I just can't help wonder though - has it ever, ever happened that the selectors have looked at some Kiwi kid and thought, "Oh, he's eligible for the Maori side, we'll play him there and play this other guy in the Junior All Blacks..."?

[Cookie]

What a shame,when all Devilliers wanted was a build up game of rugby against a competitive side for his team.That is all it should have been about.

And the Maori team has traditionally been made up off players that dont make the ABs or Junior ABs squads(last year was an exception with the Jnr ABs not in the pnc),thats why NZ have never had a problem with it.

[Swee_82]

What a shame,when all Devilliers wanted was a build up game of rugby against a competitive side for his team.That is all it should have been about.

The world really has gone a little bit crazy when De Villiers is the one talking sense.

[jargan83]

The world really has gone a little bit crazy when De Villiers is the one talking sense.

I think people at MI6 and the CIA are still trying to decipher what he was saying at post match press conferences last year.

Agree with the notion that all DeVilliers wanted was a quality hit out before the Lions series and instead gets all this political nonsense that at the end of the day isn't worth it

Politics and Sport do not mix