 In a return match on 19 January , Yorkshire fielded a stronger side than in the first match and inflicted one of the Natives ' heaviest losses , a 16 – 4 defeat . The team then went undefeated until 16 February , when they faced England . Officials of the strictly amateur Rugby Football Union ( RFU ) had become increasingly concerned at the behaviour of the New Zealanders , regarding them as unsportsmanlike , and tensions reached a nadir in the aftermath of the England international , during which the RFU secretary George Rowland Hill , refereeing the game , awarded a number of controversial tries to England , prompting three of the Natives to temporarily leave the field in protest ; England eventually won 7 – 0 . The Natives apologised afterwards for their behaviour , but the damage was not repaired . The New Zealanders left England without an official send @-@ off , and travelled to Australia where they toured Victoria , New South Wales and Queensland . They then returned to New Zealand , where they displayed a level of combination not seen in their home country before . They went 31 games undefeated before losing their final match , on 24 August 1889 , 7 – 2 to Auckland .   The Natives ' final record in rugby matches was 78 wins , 6 draws and 23 losses . They introduced a number of tactical innovations to New Zealand rugby on their return home , and their tour contributed to the formation of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union in 1892 . Seventeen of the team 's 26 players went on to play provincially in New Zealand , and two , Thomas Ellison and David Gage , subsequently captained the New Zealand national rugby team .   = = Background = =   The idea for assembling a team of Māori footballers to tour Britain was conceived by Joseph Warbrick , a rugby player who had toured with the first New Zealand national team in 1884 . He initially proposed a team of Māori or part @-@ Māori to play the touring British side in 1888 ; this developed into a venture to have a Māori team tour Britain if a preliminary tour of New Zealand were successful . Hearing of Warbrick 's plans , civil servant Thomas Eyton contacted him to offer help managing the tour , which Warbrick accepted . When James Scott , a publican , subsequently joined the partnership , the three men decided that Warbrick would be the team 's captain , Scott its manager and Eyton its promoter .   Warbrick started assembling a team for the tour in early 1888 . He had difficulties assembling a squad due to player availability , and failed to secure the talented Jack Taiaroa due to his university commitments . Some Māori players who initially agreed to play later pulled out when the eligibility criteria were relaxed to allow squad members who were only part @-@ Māori . Twenty Māori or part @-@ Māori players joined the squad ; five Pākehā ( white New Zealand ) players were added after the team lost to Auckland . Due to the inclusion of these Pākehā players the team was renamed from the " New Zealand Maori " to the " New Zealand Native Football Representatives " . The final squad comprised 26 players ( including Warbrick ) ; of these at least five were full @-@ blooded Māori , while fourteen had a Māori mother and a Pākehā father . The parentage of some of the players is unknown .   The team toured New Zealand before departing overseas , playing against Hawke 's Bay , Auckland , Nelson , Wellington , Canterbury , South Canterbury , and Otago . The first game was contested against Hawke 's Bay in Napier on 23 June 1888 . They played nine games in their preliminary tour of New Zealand , and won seven of them . Their last New Zealand match before departure , against Otago played in Dunedin on 31 July 1888 , was won by one try to nil .   The team sailed for Australia from Dunedin , leaving on 1 August 1888 . In Melbourne , Scott recruited Jack Lawlor to train the players in Victorian Rules football in Britain as preparation for possible Victorian Rules matches on their return to Australia . The team played two rugby matches against the Melbourne Rugby Union team , winning the first and drawing the second , before continuing to Britain via Suez . They arrived in London on 27 September 1888 .   = = Arrival in England and early matches = =   The team were met in Britain by local rugby administrators , including an official of England 's Rugby Football Union ( RFU ) . The first match of the tour was against Surrey , where the team became the first New Zealand side to perform a haka , and also the first to wear an all black uniform . That the team was predominantly Māori provoked curiosity from the British press – at the time , most Britons had not seen non @-@ white people – but there was some surprise that the team were not as " Māori " as had been expected . " They are not unlike Europeans , " a Scottish
ĠIn Ġa Ġreturn Ġmatch Ġon Ġ19 ĠJanuary Ġ, ĠYorkshire Ġfielded Ġa Ġstronger Ġside Ġthan Ġin Ġthe Ġfirst Ġmatch Ġand Ġinflicted Ġone Ġof Ġthe ĠN atives Ġ' Ġheaviest Ġlosses Ġ, Ġa Ġ16 ĠâĢĵ Ġ4 Ġdefeat Ġ. ĠThe Ġteam Ġthen Ġwent Ġundefeated Ġuntil Ġ16 ĠFebruary Ġ, Ġwhen Ġthey Ġfaced ĠEngland Ġ. ĠOfficials Ġof Ġthe Ġstrictly Ġamateur ĠRugby ĠFootball ĠUnion Ġ( ĠRF U Ġ) Ġhad Ġbecome Ġincreasingly Ġconcerned Ġat Ġthe Ġbehaviour Ġof Ġthe ĠNew ĠZealand ers Ġ, Ġregarding Ġthem Ġas Ġuns ports man like Ġ, Ġand Ġtensions Ġreached Ġa Ġn ad ir Ġin Ġthe Ġaftermath Ġof Ġthe ĠEngland Ġinternational Ġ, Ġduring Ġwhich Ġthe ĠRF U Ġsecretary ĠGeorge ĠRow land ĠHill Ġ, Ġreferee ing Ġthe Ġgame Ġ, Ġawarded Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġcontroversial Ġtries Ġto ĠEngland Ġ, Ġprompting Ġthree Ġof Ġthe ĠN atives Ġto Ġtemporarily Ġleave Ġthe Ġfield Ġin Ġprotest Ġ; ĠEngland Ġeventually Ġwon Ġ7 ĠâĢĵ Ġ0 Ġ. ĠThe ĠN atives Ġapologised Ġafterwards Ġfor Ġtheir Ġbehaviour Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe Ġdamage Ġwas Ġnot Ġrepaired Ġ. ĠThe ĠNew ĠZealand ers Ġleft ĠEngland Ġwithout Ġan Ġofficial Ġsend Ġ@ - @ Ġoff Ġ, Ġand Ġtravelled Ġto ĠAustralia Ġwhere Ġthey Ġtoured ĠVictoria Ġ, ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales Ġand ĠQueensland Ġ. ĠThey Ġthen Ġreturned Ġto ĠNew ĠZealand Ġ, Ġwhere Ġthey Ġdisplayed Ġa Ġlevel Ġof Ġcombination Ġnot Ġseen Ġin Ġtheir Ġhome Ġcountry Ġbefore Ġ. ĠThey Ġwent Ġ31 Ġgames Ġundefeated Ġbefore Ġlosing Ġtheir Ġfinal Ġmatch Ġ, Ġon Ġ24 ĠAugust Ġ1889 Ġ, Ġ7 ĠâĢĵ Ġ2 Ġto ĠAuckland Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠN atives Ġ' Ġfinal Ġrecord Ġin Ġrugby Ġmatches Ġwas Ġ78 Ġwins Ġ, Ġ6 Ġdraws Ġand Ġ23 Ġlosses Ġ. ĠThey Ġintroduced Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġtactical Ġinnovations Ġto ĠNew ĠZealand Ġrugby Ġon Ġtheir Ġreturn Ġhome Ġ, Ġand Ġtheir Ġtour Ġcontributed Ġto Ġthe Ġformation Ġof Ġthe ĠNew ĠZealand ĠRugby ĠFootball ĠUnion Ġin Ġ18 92 Ġ. ĠSevent een Ġof Ġthe Ġteam Ġ' s Ġ26 Ġplayers Ġwent Ġon Ġto Ġplay Ġprov in cially Ġin ĠNew ĠZealand Ġ, Ġand Ġtwo Ġ, ĠThomas ĠEllison Ġand ĠDavid ĠG age Ġ, Ġsubsequently Ġcapt ained Ġthe ĠNew ĠZealand Ġnational Ġrugby Ġteam Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠBackground Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġidea Ġfor Ġassembling Ġa Ġteam Ġof ĠM Äģ ori Ġfootball ers Ġto Ġtour ĠBritain Ġwas Ġconceived Ġby ĠJoseph ĠWar br ick Ġ, Ġa Ġrugby Ġplayer Ġwho Ġhad Ġtoured Ġwith Ġthe Ġfirst ĠNew ĠZealand Ġnational Ġteam Ġin Ġ18 84 Ġ. ĠHe Ġinitially Ġproposed Ġa Ġteam Ġof ĠM Äģ ori Ġor Ġpart Ġ@ - @ ĠM Äģ ori Ġto Ġplay Ġthe Ġtouring ĠBritish Ġside Ġin Ġ1888 Ġ; Ġthis Ġdeveloped Ġinto Ġa Ġventure Ġto Ġhave Ġa ĠM Äģ ori Ġteam Ġtour ĠBritain Ġif Ġa Ġpreliminary Ġtour Ġof ĠNew ĠZealand Ġwere Ġsuccessful Ġ. ĠHearing Ġof ĠWar br ick Ġ' s Ġplans Ġ, Ġcivil Ġservant ĠThomas ĠEy ton Ġcontacted Ġhim Ġto Ġoffer Ġhelp Ġmanaging Ġthe Ġtour Ġ, Ġwhich ĠWar br ick Ġaccepted Ġ. ĠWhen ĠJames ĠScott Ġ, Ġa Ġpublic an Ġ, Ġsubsequently Ġjoined Ġthe Ġpartnership Ġ, Ġthe Ġthree Ġmen Ġdecided Ġthat ĠWar br ick Ġwould Ġbe Ġthe Ġteam Ġ' s Ġcaptain Ġ, ĠScott Ġits Ġmanager Ġand ĠEy ton Ġits Ġpromoter Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠWar br ick Ġstarted Ġassembling Ġa Ġteam Ġfor Ġthe Ġtour Ġin Ġearly Ġ1888 Ġ. ĠHe Ġhad Ġdifficulties Ġassembling Ġa Ġsquad Ġdue Ġto Ġplayer Ġavailability Ġ, Ġand Ġfailed Ġto Ġsecure Ġthe Ġtalented ĠJack ĠTai aro a Ġdue Ġto Ġhis Ġuniversity Ġcommitments Ġ. ĠSome ĠM Äģ ori Ġplayers Ġwho Ġinitially Ġagreed Ġto Ġplay Ġlater Ġpulled Ġout Ġwhen Ġthe Ġeligibility Ġcriteria Ġwere Ġrelaxed Ġto Ġallow Ġsquad Ġmembers Ġwho Ġwere Ġonly Ġpart Ġ@ - @ ĠM Äģ ori Ġ. ĠTwenty ĠM Äģ ori Ġor Ġpart Ġ@ - @ ĠM Äģ ori Ġplayers Ġjoined Ġthe Ġsquad Ġ; Ġfive ĠP Äģ ke h Äģ Ġ( Ġwhite ĠNew ĠZealand Ġ) Ġplayers Ġwere Ġadded Ġafter Ġthe Ġteam Ġlost Ġto ĠAuckland Ġ. ĠDue Ġto Ġthe Ġinclusion Ġof Ġthese ĠP Äģ ke h Äģ Ġplayers Ġthe Ġteam Ġwas Ġrenamed Ġfrom Ġthe Ġ" ĠNew ĠZealand ĠMa ori Ġ" Ġto Ġthe Ġ" ĠNew ĠZealand ĠNative ĠFootball ĠRepresentatives Ġ" Ġ. ĠThe Ġfinal Ġsquad Ġcomprised Ġ26 Ġplayers Ġ( Ġincluding ĠWar br ick Ġ) Ġ; Ġof Ġthese Ġat Ġleast Ġfive Ġwere Ġfull Ġ@ - @ Ġblood ed ĠM Äģ ori Ġ, Ġwhile Ġfourteen Ġhad Ġa ĠM Äģ ori Ġmother Ġand Ġa ĠP Äģ ke h Äģ Ġfather Ġ. ĠThe Ġparent age Ġof Ġsome Ġof Ġthe Ġplayers Ġis Ġunknown Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġteam Ġtoured ĠNew ĠZealand Ġbefore Ġdeparting Ġoverseas Ġ, Ġplaying Ġagainst ĠHaw ke Ġ' s ĠBay Ġ, ĠAuckland Ġ, ĠNelson Ġ, ĠWellington Ġ, ĠCanterbury Ġ, ĠSouth ĠCanterbury Ġ, Ġand ĠOt ago Ġ. ĠThe Ġfirst Ġgame Ġwas Ġcontested Ġagainst ĠHaw ke Ġ' s ĠBay Ġin ĠNap ier Ġon Ġ23 ĠJune Ġ1888 Ġ. ĠThey Ġplayed Ġnine Ġgames Ġin Ġtheir Ġpreliminary Ġtour Ġof ĠNew ĠZealand Ġ, Ġand Ġwon Ġseven Ġof Ġthem Ġ. ĠTheir Ġlast ĠNew ĠZealand Ġmatch Ġbefore Ġdeparture Ġ, Ġagainst ĠOt ago Ġplayed Ġin ĠDun edin Ġon Ġ31 ĠJuly Ġ1888 Ġ, Ġwas Ġwon Ġby Ġone Ġtry Ġto Ġnil Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġteam Ġsailed Ġfor ĠAustralia Ġfrom ĠDun edin Ġ, Ġleaving Ġon Ġ1 ĠAugust Ġ1888 Ġ. ĠIn ĠMelbourne Ġ, ĠScott Ġrecruited ĠJack ĠLaw lor Ġto Ġtrain Ġthe Ġplayers Ġin ĠVictorian ĠRules Ġfootball Ġin ĠBritain Ġas Ġpreparation Ġfor Ġpossible ĠVictorian ĠRules Ġmatches Ġon Ġtheir Ġreturn Ġto ĠAustralia Ġ. ĠThe Ġteam Ġplayed Ġtwo Ġrugby Ġmatches Ġagainst Ġthe ĠMelbourne ĠRugby ĠUnion Ġteam Ġ, Ġwinning Ġthe Ġfirst Ġand Ġdrawing Ġthe Ġsecond Ġ, Ġbefore Ġcontinuing Ġto ĠBritain Ġvia ĠS uez Ġ. ĠThey Ġarrived Ġin ĠLondon Ġon Ġ27 ĠSeptember Ġ1888 Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠArri val Ġin ĠEngland Ġand Ġearly Ġmatches Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġteam Ġwere Ġmet Ġin ĠBritain Ġby Ġlocal Ġrugby Ġadministrators Ġ, Ġincluding Ġan Ġofficial Ġof ĠEngland Ġ' s ĠRugby ĠFootball ĠUnion Ġ( ĠRF U Ġ) Ġ. ĠThe Ġfirst Ġmatch Ġof Ġthe Ġtour Ġwas Ġagainst ĠSurrey Ġ, Ġwhere Ġthe Ġteam Ġbecame Ġthe Ġfirst ĠNew ĠZealand Ġside Ġto Ġperform Ġa Ġha ka Ġ, Ġand Ġalso Ġthe Ġfirst Ġto Ġwear Ġan Ġall Ġblack Ġuniform Ġ. ĠThat Ġthe Ġteam Ġwas Ġpredominantly ĠM Äģ ori Ġprovoked Ġcuriosity Ġfrom Ġthe ĠBritish Ġpress ĠâĢĵ Ġat Ġthe Ġtime Ġ, Ġmost ĠBritons Ġhad Ġnot Ġseen Ġnon Ġ@ - @ Ġwhite Ġpeople ĠâĢĵ Ġbut Ġthere Ġwas Ġsome Ġsurprise Ġthat Ġthe Ġteam Ġwere Ġnot Ġas Ġ" ĠM Äģ ori Ġ" Ġas Ġhad Ġbeen Ġexpected Ġ. Ġ" ĠThey Ġare Ġnot Ġunlike ĠEuropeans Ġ, Ġ" Ġa ĠScottish