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Te Ao Hou, June 1959, Page 71

owned a great deal to Steve Watene in an administrative capacity and also able captaincy on the field. Watene captained New Zealand against the Englishmen prior to the war. The present day crop of sportsmen have yielded players of the calibre of Maxwell, Ratima and Turner, also Yates, all internationals. Backs do not seem as numerous as in other years, perhaps because of the type of game played now or the paucity of talent. It is a fact that there are few Maori backs of brilliance these days who could compare with those of the past. However, that seems to be a failing of both codes at present. One could write at length on Maori players in the code so if I have omitted any it is only because space does not permit. But I would like to say this, that the impact of the Maori on League has been to the good in that they have brought a natural ebullience to the game and a variety of “Maori” tricks. All through the lower grades you will find Maoris playing and the League code has done good in that respect in that it has provided recreation for Maoris of all ages.