 match , but this didn 't prevent the Natives suffering their largest defeat of the tour : 16 – 4 to the Yorkshiremen . Ellison later described the match as " without a murmur , the biggest beating we received in our whole tour " .   After a victory over Spen Valley District , the team travelled west to play Somersetshire , Devonshire , Taunton , and Gloucestershire , and won all five games . The victory over Somerset was the New Zealanders ' largest of the tour ; they scored nine tries in a 17 – 4 victory . Half @-@ back Keogh played outstandingly for the Natives , while the entire side demonstrated superior passing and combination to their opposition . Devonshire and Tauton suffered heavy defeats by the New Zealanders , before a strong Gloucestershire side was dismissed . After defeating Midland Counties , the Natives returned to London .   The team had two further matches before their international against England . The first was against one of the strongest clubs in England , Blackheath . Andrew Stoddart , who had toured New Zealand and Australia with the 1888 British Isles side , played for the club in their 9 – 3 defeat to the Natives . The New Zealanders won having scored four tries , including two by Keogh . Their next opposition was a United Services side mainly comprising Royal Navy players . The Natives were again victorious , this time 10 – 0 . The match against Oxford University was postponed due to heavy frost , and so the team had a seven @-@ day break from playing – their longest of the tour .   = = England international = =   The match against England was causing the Natives ' players and management problems before it had even begun . The team manager , Scott , was in dispute with the RFU over where the match should be played – the RFU were adamant that the match should take place at Blackheath 's ground , but Scott wanted the game to proceed at The Oval , where a larger crowd , and therefore higher gate receipts , could be secured . The strictly amateur RFU establishment were already suspicious of the profit @-@ making motives of the Natives , and were unwilling to yield on the selection of venue . The RFU was also in dispute with the other Home Unions over the formation of the International Rugby Football Board ( IRFB ) . Following a disputed try in an England – Scotland international match in 1888 , the Scottish authorities had pushed for the establishment of an international body to oversee the game , but the RFU insisted that they would only join if they held a deciding vote , arguing that they deserved this as they were , they asserted , the senior body , and had the most member clubs . Ireland , Wales and Scotland consequently refused to play against England until 1891 , when , following arbitration , the RFU relented and joined the IRFB . The absence of international matches was a factor in England agreeing to face the Natives on 16 February 1889 .   The line @-@ ups selected for the 16 February match were both strong , and close to full strength . Though 12 of the England side had not played internationally before , all were experienced at domestic level . The match was refereed by Rowland Hill , who had also officiated the Natives ' first match in Britain , against Surrey . The opening of the first half was a scoreless affair , with much tackling and scrummaging on the heavy ground . Later in the half England scored two tries through Harry Bedford , but both were disputed by the Natives , who claimed that one of their players had grounded the ball in @-@ goal . England took the two @-@ try advantage into the second half .   Early in the second half a third disputed try was scored by the English . The try and its aftermath caused controversy and a rift between the Natives and the RFU . Ellison attempted to tackle the English player Stoddart , and in the process ripped his shorts off . The Natives quickly formed a circle around Stoddart to allow him to replace his clothing without being seen . While this was happening one of the English players , Frank Evershed , picked up the ball and scored a try . The New Zealanders protested , believing that play had stopped after claiming Stoddart had called " dead ball " – but Hill awarded the try , prompting three of the Native players , Dick Taiaroa , Williams , and Sherry Wynyard , to leave the field in protest . The aggrieved players were eventually persuaded to return , but not before Hill had restarted play . Ellison was very critical of Hill , particularly because he was also Secretary of the RFU . Ellison wrote after the tour that " gross as these errors were , they were insignificant when compared with another that Mr Hill committed at the outset of the game , viz , refereeing at all in that game " . The disputed try was followed by a final try for the English , who ultimately won 7 – 0 .   The RFU , at Hill 's instigation , promptly demanded
Ġmatch Ġ, Ġbut Ġthis Ġdidn Ġ' t Ġprevent Ġthe ĠN atives Ġsuffering Ġtheir Ġlargest Ġdefeat Ġof Ġthe Ġtour Ġ: Ġ16 ĠâĢĵ Ġ4 Ġto Ġthe ĠYorkshire men Ġ. ĠEllison Ġlater Ġdescribed Ġthe Ġmatch Ġas Ġ" Ġwithout Ġa Ġmur mur Ġ, Ġthe Ġbiggest Ġbeating Ġwe Ġreceived Ġin Ġour Ġwhole Ġtour Ġ" Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAfter Ġa Ġvictory Ġover ĠSp en ĠValley ĠDistrict Ġ, Ġthe Ġteam Ġtravelled Ġwest Ġto Ġplay ĠSomers ets hire Ġ, ĠDev ons hire Ġ, ĠT aun ton Ġ, Ġand ĠGlou ces ters hire Ġ, Ġand Ġwon Ġall Ġfive Ġgames Ġ. ĠThe Ġvictory Ġover ĠSomerset Ġwas Ġthe ĠNew ĠZealand ers Ġ' Ġlargest Ġof Ġthe Ġtour Ġ; Ġthey Ġscored Ġnine Ġtries Ġin Ġa Ġ17 ĠâĢĵ Ġ4 Ġvictory Ġ. ĠHalf Ġ@ - @ Ġback ĠKe ogh Ġplayed Ġout stand ingly Ġfor Ġthe ĠN atives Ġ, Ġwhile Ġthe Ġentire Ġside Ġdemonstrated Ġsuperior Ġpassing Ġand Ġcombination Ġto Ġtheir Ġopposition Ġ. ĠDev ons hire Ġand ĠT aut on Ġsuffered Ġheavy Ġdefeats Ġby Ġthe ĠNew ĠZealand ers Ġ, Ġbefore Ġa Ġstrong ĠGlou ces ters hire Ġside Ġwas Ġdismissed Ġ. ĠAfter Ġdefeating ĠMid land ĠCount ies Ġ, Ġthe ĠN atives Ġreturned Ġto ĠLondon Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġteam Ġhad Ġtwo Ġfurther Ġmatches Ġbefore Ġtheir Ġinternational Ġagainst ĠEngland Ġ. ĠThe Ġfirst Ġwas Ġagainst Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġstrongest Ġclubs Ġin ĠEngland Ġ, ĠBlack he ath Ġ. ĠAndrew ĠSt odd art Ġ, Ġwho Ġhad Ġtoured ĠNew ĠZealand Ġand ĠAustralia Ġwith Ġthe Ġ1888 ĠBritish ĠIsles Ġside Ġ, Ġplayed Ġfor Ġthe Ġclub Ġin Ġtheir Ġ9 ĠâĢĵ Ġ3 Ġdefeat Ġto Ġthe ĠN atives Ġ. ĠThe ĠNew ĠZealand ers Ġwon Ġhaving Ġscored Ġfour Ġtries Ġ, Ġincluding Ġtwo Ġby ĠKe ogh Ġ. ĠTheir Ġnext Ġopposition Ġwas Ġa ĠUnited ĠServices Ġside Ġmainly Ġcomprising ĠRoyal ĠNavy Ġplayers Ġ. ĠThe ĠN atives Ġwere Ġagain Ġvictorious Ġ, Ġthis Ġtime Ġ10 ĠâĢĵ Ġ0 Ġ. ĠThe Ġmatch Ġagainst ĠOxford ĠUniversity Ġwas Ġpostponed Ġdue Ġto Ġheavy Ġfrost Ġ, Ġand Ġso Ġthe Ġteam Ġhad Ġa Ġseven Ġ@ - @ Ġday Ġbreak Ġfrom Ġplaying ĠâĢĵ Ġtheir Ġlongest Ġof Ġthe Ġtour Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠEngland Ġinternational Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġmatch Ġagainst ĠEngland Ġwas Ġcausing Ġthe ĠN atives Ġ' Ġplayers Ġand Ġmanagement Ġproblems Ġbefore Ġit Ġhad Ġeven Ġbegun Ġ. ĠThe Ġteam Ġmanager Ġ, ĠScott Ġ, Ġwas Ġin Ġdispute Ġwith Ġthe ĠRF U Ġover Ġwhere Ġthe Ġmatch Ġshould Ġbe Ġplayed ĠâĢĵ Ġthe ĠRF U Ġwere Ġadamant Ġthat Ġthe Ġmatch Ġshould Ġtake Ġplace Ġat ĠBlack he ath Ġ' s Ġground Ġ, Ġbut ĠScott Ġwanted Ġthe Ġgame Ġto Ġproceed Ġat ĠThe ĠOval Ġ, Ġwhere Ġa Ġlarger Ġcrowd Ġ, Ġand Ġtherefore Ġhigher Ġgate Ġreceipts Ġ, Ġcould Ġbe Ġsecured Ġ. ĠThe Ġstrictly Ġamateur ĠRF U Ġestablishment Ġwere Ġalready Ġsuspicious Ġof Ġthe Ġprofit Ġ@ - @ Ġmaking Ġmotives Ġof Ġthe ĠN atives Ġ, Ġand Ġwere Ġunwilling Ġto Ġyield Ġon Ġthe Ġselection Ġof Ġvenue Ġ. ĠThe ĠRF U Ġwas Ġalso Ġin Ġdispute Ġwith Ġthe Ġother ĠHome ĠUn ions Ġover Ġthe Ġformation Ġof Ġthe ĠInternational ĠRugby ĠFootball ĠBoard Ġ( ĠIR FB Ġ) Ġ. ĠFollowing Ġa Ġdisputed Ġtry Ġin Ġan ĠEngland ĠâĢĵ ĠScotland Ġinternational Ġmatch Ġin Ġ1888 Ġ, Ġthe ĠScottish Ġauthorities Ġhad Ġpushed Ġfor Ġthe Ġestablishment Ġof Ġan Ġinternational Ġbody Ġto Ġoversee Ġthe Ġgame Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe ĠRF U Ġinsisted Ġthat Ġthey Ġwould Ġonly Ġjoin Ġif Ġthey Ġheld Ġa Ġdeciding Ġvote Ġ, Ġarguing Ġthat Ġthey Ġdeserved Ġthis Ġas Ġthey Ġwere Ġ, Ġthey Ġasserted Ġ, Ġthe Ġsenior Ġbody Ġ, Ġand Ġhad Ġthe Ġmost Ġmember Ġclubs Ġ. ĠIreland Ġ, ĠWales Ġand ĠScotland Ġconsequently Ġrefused Ġto Ġplay Ġagainst ĠEngland Ġuntil Ġ18 91 Ġ, Ġwhen Ġ, Ġfollowing Ġarbitration Ġ, Ġthe ĠRF U Ġrel ented Ġand Ġjoined Ġthe ĠIR FB Ġ. ĠThe Ġabsence Ġof Ġinternational Ġmatches Ġwas Ġa Ġfactor Ġin ĠEngland Ġagreeing Ġto Ġface Ġthe ĠN atives Ġon Ġ16 ĠFebruary Ġ1889 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġline Ġ@ - @ Ġups Ġselected Ġfor Ġthe Ġ16 ĠFebruary Ġmatch Ġwere Ġboth Ġstrong Ġ, Ġand Ġclose Ġto Ġfull Ġstrength Ġ. ĠThough Ġ12 Ġof Ġthe ĠEngland Ġside Ġhad Ġnot Ġplayed Ġinternationally Ġbefore Ġ, Ġall Ġwere Ġexperienced Ġat Ġdomestic Ġlevel Ġ. ĠThe Ġmatch Ġwas Ġrefere ed Ġby ĠRow land ĠHill Ġ, Ġwho Ġhad Ġalso Ġoffic iated Ġthe ĠN atives Ġ' Ġfirst Ġmatch Ġin ĠBritain Ġ, Ġagainst ĠSurrey Ġ. ĠThe Ġopening Ġof Ġthe Ġfirst Ġhalf Ġwas Ġa Ġscore less Ġaffair Ġ, Ġwith Ġmuch Ġtackling Ġand Ġscr umm aging Ġon Ġthe Ġheavy Ġground Ġ. ĠLater Ġin Ġthe Ġhalf ĠEngland Ġscored Ġtwo Ġtries Ġthrough ĠHarry ĠBedford Ġ, Ġbut Ġboth Ġwere Ġdisputed Ġby Ġthe ĠN atives Ġ, Ġwho Ġclaimed Ġthat Ġone Ġof Ġtheir Ġplayers Ġhad Ġgrounded Ġthe Ġball Ġin Ġ@ - @ Ġgoal Ġ. ĠEngland Ġtook Ġthe Ġtwo Ġ@ - @ Ġtry Ġadvantage Ġinto Ġthe Ġsecond Ġhalf Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠEarly Ġin Ġthe Ġsecond Ġhalf Ġa Ġthird Ġdisputed Ġtry Ġwas Ġscored Ġby Ġthe ĠEnglish Ġ. ĠThe Ġtry Ġand Ġits Ġaftermath Ġcaused Ġcontroversy Ġand Ġa Ġrift Ġbetween Ġthe ĠN atives Ġand Ġthe ĠRF U Ġ. ĠEllison Ġattempted Ġto Ġtackle Ġthe ĠEnglish Ġplayer ĠSt odd art Ġ, Ġand Ġin Ġthe Ġprocess Ġripped Ġhis Ġshorts Ġoff Ġ. ĠThe ĠN atives Ġquickly Ġformed Ġa Ġcircle Ġaround ĠSt odd art Ġto Ġallow Ġhim Ġto Ġreplace Ġhis Ġclothing Ġwithout Ġbeing Ġseen Ġ. ĠWhile Ġthis Ġwas Ġhappening Ġone Ġof Ġthe ĠEnglish Ġplayers Ġ, ĠFrank ĠE vers hed Ġ, Ġpicked Ġup Ġthe Ġball Ġand Ġscored Ġa Ġtry Ġ. ĠThe ĠNew ĠZealand ers Ġprotested Ġ, Ġbelieving Ġthat Ġplay Ġhad Ġstopped Ġafter Ġclaiming ĠSt odd art Ġhad Ġcalled Ġ" Ġdead Ġball Ġ" ĠâĢĵ Ġbut ĠHill Ġawarded Ġthe Ġtry Ġ, Ġprompting Ġthree Ġof Ġthe ĠNative Ġplayers Ġ, ĠDick ĠTai aro a Ġ, ĠWilliams Ġ, Ġand ĠSher ry ĠWyn yard Ġ, Ġto Ġleave Ġthe Ġfield Ġin Ġprotest Ġ. ĠThe Ġagg rieved Ġplayers Ġwere Ġeventually Ġpersuaded Ġto Ġreturn Ġ, Ġbut Ġnot Ġbefore ĠHill Ġhad Ġrestart ed Ġplay Ġ. ĠEllison Ġwas Ġvery Ġcritical Ġof ĠHill Ġ, Ġparticularly Ġbecause Ġhe Ġwas Ġalso ĠSecretary Ġof Ġthe ĠRF U Ġ. ĠEllison Ġwrote Ġafter Ġthe Ġtour Ġthat Ġ" Ġgross Ġas Ġthese Ġerrors Ġwere Ġ, Ġthey Ġwere Ġinsignificant Ġwhen Ġcompared Ġwith Ġanother Ġthat ĠMr ĠHill Ġcommitted Ġat Ġthe Ġoutset Ġof Ġthe Ġgame Ġ, Ġviz Ġ, Ġreferee ing Ġat Ġall Ġin Ġthat Ġgame Ġ" Ġ. ĠThe Ġdisputed Ġtry Ġwas Ġfollowed Ġby Ġa Ġfinal Ġtry Ġfor Ġthe ĠEnglish Ġ, Ġwho Ġultimately Ġwon Ġ7 ĠâĢĵ Ġ0 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠRF U Ġ, Ġat ĠHill Ġ' s Ġinst igation Ġ, Ġpromptly Ġdemanded