 reporter wrote in November 1888 ; " that is their resemblance is great when one remembers that they were a savage tribe no further back than a generation " . The Surrey match , which was refereed by the RFU secretary George Rowland Hill , was won 4 – 1 by the Natives after they scored two tries .   The Natives next defeated both Northamptonshire and Kent , before defeats by Moseley and Burton @-@ on @-@ Trent . Both defeats were unexpected , and in the Moseley match , injuries played a part – the tourists played most of the match at least two men down , as replacements were then not allowed . The team recovered to win their next game , against Midlands Counties in Birmingham . Their next fixture was against Middlesex in a match not open to the public , and hosted by the Earl of Sheffield at Sheffield Park , Uckfield . The Middlesex side contained a number of international players , including Arthur Gould . Middlesex won easily , with the Natives play characterised by poor tackling . The final score was 9 – 0 , with three tries conceded by the New Zealanders . Prior to the match both sides had enjoyed lunch with wine – an indulgence the Natives were not used to . A report in the Auckland Star had this to say of the game :   The New Zealanders expected to meet a mere exhibition 15 of scratch players , whereas Mr Rowland Hill had carefully collected the best possible team available . Such " passing " as the Home men displayed the Maoris frankly admit they have never previously witnessed . Said McCausland whilst we were on the platform waiting for the London train , " I think they would have just beaten us , even if we had been in good form . "   Following the match against Middlesex , the team travelled to the north , where the strongest English rugby teams were based . Yorkshire and Lancashire dominated the county championship until many of their respective member clubs split from the RFU in 1895 over the issue of " broken time " payments . The New Zealanders lost to Hull 1 – 0 , defeated Dewsbury , then lost to Wakefield . After their first draw of the tour ( against Northumberland County ) they defeated Stockton @-@ on @-@ Tees and Tynemouth . Joe Warbrick appeared in the match against Tynemouth , but aggravated the foot injury that had kept him out of the side until that point . These victories were followed by a 13 – 4 defeat to Halifax on 10 November . The team then won seven matches in a row , including one against Hawick RFC , their only Scottish opposition of the tour . The last two matches that month were a loss to Swinton and a 9 – 0 victory over Liverpool and District . The team had played thirteen fixtures during November and won ten of them . By this point , the team was beset by injuries – of the fifteen players that played against Westmorland County on 24 November , five had injuries . The squad comprised only 26 players , and the tourists were often struggling to field a side . Nevertheless , their heavy schedule continued ; on 30 November 1888 they left for Dublin , where a match had been organised against the Ireland national team .   = = Ireland , further English matches , and Wales = =   The Ireland fixture was played at Lansdowne Road , Dublin , on 1 December 1888 . Both teams had a number of leading players out injured – the Irish were forced to make four changes to their original selection . Ireland led 3 – 0 at half @-@ time after scoring a converted try , but the Natives improved considerably in the second @-@ half , scoring four tries . Patrick Keogh scored the first two tries , and his play was praised by the local press . The third try scored was by Thomas Ellison after a counter @-@ attack by George Williams . The try was not converted , but the strong finish from the New Zealanders gave the visitors a 13 – 4 victory . The Irish press were surprised by the loss and strongly criticised their team , but Ireland did go on to defeat Wales two tries to nil in the 1889 Home Nations Championship . Following their defeat of Ireland , the Natives played Trinity College and then North of Ireland . The match against Trinity College was drawn 4 – 4 , and despite Keogh not playing , the Native side played much better than their previous fixture . The team then travelled to Belfast , where they defeated North of Ireland 2 – 0 on 5 December ; scoring two tries to nil .   After returning to England , the Natives faced Lancashire in Manchester , where they lost 1 – 0 . Two days later they drew with Batley Bulldogs , despite their opposition scoring five tries . Their next match was against Yorkshire , who were one of the strongest counties in the country , and went on to win the inaugural County Championship that season . Yorkshire fielded a weakened team , and were subsequently defeated 10 – 6 by the Natives , who scored six tries . After a further two victories , the team travelled to Wales , where they lost 3 – 0
Ġreporter Ġwrote Ġin ĠNovember Ġ1888 Ġ; Ġ" Ġthat Ġis Ġtheir Ġresemblance Ġis Ġgreat Ġwhen Ġone Ġremembers Ġthat Ġthey Ġwere Ġa Ġsavage Ġtribe Ġno Ġfurther Ġback Ġthan Ġa Ġgeneration Ġ" Ġ. ĠThe ĠSurrey Ġmatch Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġrefere ed Ġby Ġthe ĠRF U Ġsecretary ĠGeorge ĠRow land ĠHill Ġ, Ġwas Ġwon Ġ4 ĠâĢĵ Ġ1 Ġby Ġthe ĠN atives Ġafter Ġthey Ġscored Ġtwo Ġtries Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠN atives Ġnext Ġdefeated Ġboth ĠNorth am pt ons hire Ġand ĠKent Ġ, Ġbefore Ġdefeats Ġby ĠM ose ley Ġand ĠBurton Ġ@ - @ Ġon Ġ@ - @ ĠTrent Ġ. ĠBoth Ġdefeats Ġwere Ġunexpected Ġ, Ġand Ġin Ġthe ĠM ose ley Ġmatch Ġ, Ġinjuries Ġplayed Ġa Ġpart ĠâĢĵ Ġthe Ġtourists Ġplayed Ġmost Ġof Ġthe Ġmatch Ġat Ġleast Ġtwo Ġmen Ġdown Ġ, Ġas Ġreplacements Ġwere Ġthen Ġnot Ġallowed Ġ. ĠThe Ġteam Ġrecovered Ġto Ġwin Ġtheir Ġnext Ġgame Ġ, Ġagainst ĠMidlands ĠCount ies Ġin ĠBirmingham Ġ. ĠTheir Ġnext Ġfixture Ġwas Ġagainst ĠMiddles ex Ġin Ġa Ġmatch Ġnot Ġopen Ġto Ġthe Ġpublic Ġ, Ġand Ġhosted Ġby Ġthe ĠEarl Ġof ĠSheffield Ġat ĠSheffield ĠPark Ġ, ĠU ck field Ġ. ĠThe ĠMiddles ex Ġside Ġcontained Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġinternational Ġplayers Ġ, Ġincluding ĠArthur ĠGould Ġ. ĠMiddles ex Ġwon Ġeasily Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe ĠN atives Ġplay Ġcharacter ised Ġby Ġpoor Ġtackling Ġ. ĠThe Ġfinal Ġscore Ġwas Ġ9 ĠâĢĵ Ġ0 Ġ, Ġwith Ġthree Ġtries Ġconceded Ġby Ġthe ĠNew ĠZealand ers Ġ. ĠPrior Ġto Ġthe Ġmatch Ġboth Ġsides Ġhad Ġenjoyed Ġlunch Ġwith Ġwine ĠâĢĵ Ġan Ġindul gence Ġthe ĠN atives Ġwere Ġnot Ġused Ġto Ġ. ĠA Ġreport Ġin Ġthe ĠAuckland ĠStar Ġhad Ġthis Ġto Ġsay Ġof Ġthe Ġgame Ġ: Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠNew ĠZealand ers Ġexpected Ġto Ġmeet Ġa Ġmere Ġexhibition Ġ15 Ġof Ġscratch Ġplayers Ġ, Ġwhereas ĠMr ĠRow land ĠHill Ġhad Ġcarefully Ġcollected Ġthe Ġbest Ġpossible Ġteam Ġavailable Ġ. ĠSuch Ġ" Ġpassing Ġ" Ġas Ġthe ĠHome Ġmen Ġdisplayed Ġthe ĠMa oris Ġfrankly Ġadmit Ġthey Ġhave Ġnever Ġpreviously Ġwitnessed Ġ. ĠSaid ĠMcC aus land Ġwhilst Ġwe Ġwere Ġon Ġthe Ġplatform Ġwaiting Ġfor Ġthe ĠLondon Ġtrain Ġ, Ġ" ĠI Ġthink Ġthey Ġwould Ġhave Ġjust Ġbeaten Ġus Ġ, Ġeven Ġif Ġwe Ġhad Ġbeen Ġin Ġgood Ġform Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠFollowing Ġthe Ġmatch Ġagainst ĠMiddles ex Ġ, Ġthe Ġteam Ġtravelled Ġto Ġthe Ġnorth Ġ, Ġwhere Ġthe Ġstrongest ĠEnglish Ġrugby Ġteams Ġwere Ġbased Ġ. ĠYorkshire Ġand ĠLanc ash ire Ġdominated Ġthe Ġcounty Ġchampionship Ġuntil Ġmany Ġof Ġtheir Ġrespective Ġmember Ġclubs Ġsplit Ġfrom Ġthe ĠRF U Ġin Ġ1895 Ġover Ġthe Ġissue Ġof Ġ" Ġbroken Ġtime Ġ" Ġpayments Ġ. ĠThe ĠNew ĠZealand ers Ġlost Ġto ĠHull Ġ1 ĠâĢĵ Ġ0 Ġ, Ġdefeated ĠD ews bury Ġ, Ġthen Ġlost Ġto ĠWake field Ġ. ĠAfter Ġtheir Ġfirst Ġdraw Ġof Ġthe Ġtour Ġ( Ġagainst ĠNorth umber land ĠCounty Ġ) Ġthey Ġdefeated ĠStock ton Ġ@ - @ Ġon Ġ@ - @ ĠTe es Ġand ĠT yn emouth Ġ. ĠJoe ĠWar br ick Ġappeared Ġin Ġthe Ġmatch Ġagainst ĠT yn emouth Ġ, Ġbut Ġaggravated Ġthe Ġfoot Ġinjury Ġthat Ġhad Ġkept Ġhim Ġout Ġof Ġthe Ġside Ġuntil Ġthat Ġpoint Ġ. ĠThese Ġvictories Ġwere Ġfollowed Ġby Ġa Ġ13 ĠâĢĵ Ġ4 Ġdefeat Ġto ĠHalifax Ġon Ġ10 ĠNovember Ġ. ĠThe Ġteam Ġthen Ġwon Ġseven Ġmatches Ġin Ġa Ġrow Ġ, Ġincluding Ġone Ġagainst ĠHaw ick ĠRFC Ġ, Ġtheir Ġonly ĠScottish Ġopposition Ġof Ġthe Ġtour Ġ. ĠThe Ġlast Ġtwo Ġmatches Ġthat Ġmonth Ġwere Ġa Ġloss Ġto ĠSw inton Ġand Ġa Ġ9 ĠâĢĵ Ġ0 Ġvictory Ġover ĠLiverpool Ġand ĠDistrict Ġ. ĠThe Ġteam Ġhad Ġplayed Ġthirteen Ġfixtures Ġduring ĠNovember Ġand Ġwon Ġten Ġof Ġthem Ġ. ĠBy Ġthis Ġpoint Ġ, Ġthe Ġteam Ġwas Ġbes et Ġby Ġinjuries ĠâĢĵ Ġof Ġthe Ġfifteen Ġplayers Ġthat Ġplayed Ġagainst ĠWest mor land ĠCounty Ġon Ġ24 ĠNovember Ġ, Ġfive Ġhad Ġinjuries Ġ. ĠThe Ġsquad Ġcomprised Ġonly Ġ26 Ġplayers Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġtourists Ġwere Ġoften Ġstruggling Ġto Ġfield Ġa Ġside Ġ. ĠNevertheless Ġ, Ġtheir Ġheavy Ġschedule Ġcontinued Ġ; Ġon Ġ30 ĠNovember Ġ1888 Ġthey Ġleft Ġfor ĠDublin Ġ, Ġwhere Ġa Ġmatch Ġhad Ġbeen Ġorganised Ġagainst Ġthe ĠIreland Ġnational Ġteam Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠIreland Ġ, Ġfurther ĠEnglish Ġmatches Ġ, Ġand ĠWales Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠIreland Ġfixture Ġwas Ġplayed Ġat ĠLans down e ĠRoad Ġ, ĠDublin Ġ, Ġon Ġ1 ĠDecember Ġ1888 Ġ. ĠBoth Ġteams Ġhad Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġleading Ġplayers Ġout Ġinjured ĠâĢĵ Ġthe ĠIrish Ġwere Ġforced Ġto Ġmake Ġfour Ġchanges Ġto Ġtheir Ġoriginal Ġselection Ġ. ĠIreland Ġled Ġ3 ĠâĢĵ Ġ0 Ġat Ġhalf Ġ@ - @ Ġtime Ġafter Ġscoring Ġa Ġconverted Ġtry Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe ĠN atives Ġimproved Ġconsiderably Ġin Ġthe Ġsecond Ġ@ - @ Ġhalf Ġ, Ġscoring Ġfour Ġtries Ġ. ĠPatrick ĠKe ogh Ġscored Ġthe Ġfirst Ġtwo Ġtries Ġ, Ġand Ġhis Ġplay Ġwas Ġpraised Ġby Ġthe Ġlocal Ġpress Ġ. ĠThe Ġthird Ġtry Ġscored Ġwas Ġby ĠThomas ĠEllison Ġafter Ġa Ġcounter Ġ@ - @ Ġattack Ġby ĠGeorge ĠWilliams Ġ. ĠThe Ġtry Ġwas Ġnot Ġconverted Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe Ġstrong Ġfinish Ġfrom Ġthe ĠNew ĠZealand ers Ġgave Ġthe Ġvisitors Ġa Ġ13 ĠâĢĵ Ġ4 Ġvictory Ġ. ĠThe ĠIrish Ġpress Ġwere Ġsurprised Ġby Ġthe Ġloss Ġand Ġstrongly Ġcriticised Ġtheir Ġteam Ġ, Ġbut ĠIreland Ġdid Ġgo Ġon Ġto Ġdefeat ĠWales Ġtwo Ġtries Ġto Ġnil Ġin Ġthe Ġ1889 ĠHome ĠNations ĠChampionship Ġ. ĠFollowing Ġtheir Ġdefeat Ġof ĠIreland Ġ, Ġthe ĠN atives Ġplayed ĠTrinity ĠCollege Ġand Ġthen ĠNorth Ġof ĠIreland Ġ. ĠThe Ġmatch Ġagainst ĠTrinity ĠCollege Ġwas Ġdrawn Ġ4 ĠâĢĵ Ġ4 Ġ, Ġand Ġdespite ĠKe ogh Ġnot Ġplaying Ġ, Ġthe ĠNative Ġside Ġplayed Ġmuch Ġbetter Ġthan Ġtheir Ġprevious Ġfixture Ġ. ĠThe Ġteam Ġthen Ġtravelled Ġto ĠBelfast Ġ, Ġwhere Ġthey Ġdefeated ĠNorth Ġof ĠIreland Ġ2 ĠâĢĵ Ġ0 Ġon Ġ5 ĠDecember Ġ; Ġscoring Ġtwo Ġtries Ġto Ġnil Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAfter Ġreturning Ġto ĠEngland Ġ, Ġthe ĠN atives Ġfaced ĠLanc ash ire Ġin ĠManchester Ġ, Ġwhere Ġthey Ġlost Ġ1 ĠâĢĵ Ġ0 Ġ. ĠTwo Ġdays Ġlater Ġthey Ġdrew Ġwith ĠBat ley ĠBulldogs Ġ, Ġdespite Ġtheir Ġopposition Ġscoring Ġfive Ġtries Ġ. ĠTheir Ġnext Ġmatch Ġwas Ġagainst ĠYorkshire Ġ, Ġwho Ġwere Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġstrongest Ġcounties Ġin Ġthe Ġcountry Ġ, Ġand Ġwent Ġon Ġto Ġwin Ġthe Ġinaugural ĠCounty ĠChampionship Ġthat Ġseason Ġ. ĠYorkshire Ġfielded Ġa Ġweakened Ġteam Ġ, Ġand Ġwere Ġsubsequently Ġdefeated Ġ10 ĠâĢĵ Ġ6 Ġby Ġthe ĠN atives Ġ, Ġwho Ġscored Ġsix Ġtries Ġ. ĠAfter Ġa Ġfurther Ġtwo Ġvictories Ġ, Ġthe Ġteam Ġtravelled Ġto ĠWales Ġ, Ġwhere Ġthey Ġlost Ġ3 ĠâĢĵ Ġ0