Cavaliers issue ‘should be forgotten’

Press, 13 May 1987, Page 2

Cavaliers issue ‘should be forgotten’

PA Rotorua Cavaliers rugby players who toured South Africa last year should not continue to be treated as public enemies, said the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr Tapsell, yesterday. The Cavaliers issue should be forgotten, Mr Tapsell said, confirming his plans to watch the World Cup play-off for third and fourth place in Rotorua on June 18. “We can’t fight vindictive battles against these people for the rest of our lives.” But he said the New Zealand Rugby Union had to give straight answers when confronted with questions about a possible tour of South Africa by a team after the World Cup. "The union has its in-

tegrity at stake and can’t go on making all these wobbly statements,” he said. The union had to show it was capable of stronger moral judgment. It had come out badly from the Cavaliers tour. Mr Tapsell said he would not go to the World Cup match if rumours of a South African tour were confirmed. He claimed his views did not differ greatly from those of the Prime Minister, Mr Lange, who said on Monday evening that he would not go to any World Cup match because the union had gone against the Government over contact with South Africa. In a sharp attack on the union, Mr Lange has previously said the Govern-

ment would not hold receptions for any cup teams. Mr Tapsell said the issue was not a major one for the Cabinet. Mr Tapsell did not believe the issue would have any electoral significance this year. He did not plan to see any other games in the cup series apart from the Rotorua match.

Mr Tapsell said he had not received an invitation from the Rugby Unipn to see the Rotorua match. Eleven members of the New Zealand World Cup team were on the Cavaliers tour, including the captain, Andy Dalton, who also led the Cavaliers.

Mr Tppsell played for the New Zealand Maoris in 1954 in their eightmatch tour of Fiji.