COMING RUGBY TOUR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22449, 19 June 1936, Page 10

COMING RUGBY TOUR

SOUTH AFRICANS' VISIT POSITION OF MAORI PLAYERS [bt TELEGRAPH —PRESS association] ■WELLINGTON, Thursday An impression has been created that jnembers of tho Maori race will not bo i elected to play in provincial or international games against the South African JRugby team which will visit New Zealand next year, but Mr. S. S. Dean, chairman of the New Zealand Rugb.v Union management committee, states •that this is. not the positon. "The best teams representative of the playing strength of the unions and -of New Zealand will bo selected to play against the visitors and will be picked J'rom both pakeha and Maori players" .Mr. pean states. "There has never been ;any suggestion that our visitors would not play against Maoris and it is to b» regretted that such rumours have been given utterance to. The question whether the South Africans will play a Maori fifteen or a team from the combined ■ universities, of Now Zealand is a policy matter of the New Zealand Union and has not so far been considered by the committee.

"It is hoped to draw up a draft itinerary of games to be played in both Australia and New Zealand at an early date. The committee is only waiting for definite confirmation of sailing date_s from and to South Africa."