Speech to Maori Rugby Centenary luncheon

I am happy to host this Māori Rugby Centenary luncheon - because both Rugby and being Māori, are foremost in my heart.

And those qualifications I feel, gives me the right to pontificate, and to express my views with gay abandon on both those subjects - Rugby and being Māori.

The New Zealand Māori Rugby Centenary is an important milestone for Maoridom and for Māori Rugby.

It recognises the contribution of many players who have added to the mana of the jersey. And I am happy that Te Puni Kōkiri has been working very closely with the NZRU and the NZ Māori Rugby Board on the Centenary celebratory programme.

I would like now to begin my remarks today with reference to a bit of the history.

One hundred years ago, on 21 May 1910, the first game for the New Zealand Māori Rugby team took place in Rotorua. 

And here at the outset I want to tell the story about Tamati Rangiwāhia Erihana (a.k.a. Tom Ellison).

Tom Ellison, was of Ngai Tahu and Te Atiawa descent and was educated at that famous Māori Rugby School, Te Aute College... Yeeahh!  Tom played for the 1st XV (Senior Adult Grade) in 1883 and 1884. 

Tom Ellison was somewhat of a pioneer for Māori Rugby. 

His first international honours came with the New Zealand Native Football team, a professional side, which toured Great Britain and Australia in 1888 - 89. 

It was a hard tour with 107 matches in 53 weeks, 16 of which were spent travelling.  Ellison scored 113 points, including 43 tries, on the tour.

In 1893 Ellison captained the first official New Zealand team. 

Before it toured Australia, he proposed to the first annual general meeting of the NZ Rugby Football Union that the uniform be - a black jersey with the silver fern monogram, a black cap and stockings and white knickerbockers. 

This was similar to the old Native team uniform, and with a switch to black shorts in 1902, it became the familiar All Blacks uniform.

In 1902 he published the book "The Art of Rugby Football" a coaching manual.  It also includes comments on teams and tours with which he was involved.

Tom Ellison contributed a considerable amount to New Zealand Rugby and was considered by many, as a leader and role model. 

I feel that Tom's contribution to the development of rugby as a means to aspire to great heights, cannot be understated.

And he is remembered and celebrated - particularly through his legacy in his mokopuna - the young All Black, Tamati Ellison and Tamati's brother the Hurricane prop Jacob Ellison.

Anyway my informants tell me that - the New Zealand Native Football team had originally been called the New Zealand Māori team. 

But after 5 Pākeha were selected to join the touring party it was renamed by its promoter as the New Zealand Native team (on the basis that all 26 team members were New Zealand born).

What this shows is just how prominent Māori were at the beginning - developing Rugby in New Zealand. 

So maybe, the Māori All Blacks really started with the New Zealand Native team, in 1888, or conversely, maybe New Zealand International Rugby started with Māori All Blacks. 

Either explanation stands out in the stark contrast to the status of Māori Rugby within the Rugby Union today.

Let me describe it this way.

When I was a kid - born into country life, I played my first game of rugby for my school at the age of 6 years. 

I might add that I only touched the ball twice in the whole game - and one of those times was when I retrieved the ball for a lineout. 

However, I was on the field, got to wear the jersey, and felt damn good!

Like all the kids in the Hawkes Bay, I grew up with Rugby - it dominated our lives - we kept those big charts on the wall monitoring our All Blacks, or the touring Lions or the Springboks on those long (several months) tours.

The big question we wrestled with was, when we get through our primary school rugby, and our college rugby, what would we rather be - an All Black or a Māori All Black?

We often had this discussion amongst ourselves, which of the two goals would we really, really, really, want to achieve.  In our world they were equal - we were so proud of our All Blacks, but - a Māori All Black surely has something extra, something special - something us.

So I ask the question now?  Is that still how Māori kids think - that the Māori All Blacks and All Blacks are equal? 

I think not.  In fact, they just call the team - the Māori team - the term Māori All Blacks - hardly ever rolls off anybody's lips anymore!

And when I consider this dilemma - at least it's a dilemma for me - I consider it even more incredible since the Māori All Blacks have been beating most of the international teams that they get to play against.

So if it's not about their team prowess and their ability to be a winning team - then why has the Rugby Union allowed them to be relegated down to about level 5 in the rugby hierarchy? 

Māori Rugby seems to be ranked below - the All Blacks, the Under 21s, Super 14 and the NPC. 

Is this a conscious decision and Māori Rugby is no longer wanted, or it's not PC anymore! 

Or - is it just neglect in the wake of the development of Super 14 Rugby, Provisional Rugby, and other forms of national teams.

My personal view is that Māori Rugby is a taonga - an icon - a part of our Rugby history, and unique to this country.  It has its own flair, and seemingly enjoyed by all Rugby lovers.

I remember attending many meetings in the past with my dear friend, the late Alby Pryor, seeking ways to reinstate Māori Rugby to its earlier glory within the realms of the Rugby Union and New Zealand rugby circles.

I believe this can be done and we should seize the opportunity to do so - during this centenary year of Māori Rugby. 

But before I get carried away, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Rugby Union Board and the Māori Rugby Board for developing the programme celebrating 100 years of Māori Rugby for this year.

It not only includes 3 International matches for the Māori All Blacks, but also a junior Māori Rugby development programme, as well as some inter-regional tournaments, showcasing up and coming Māori Rugby talent.

These deliberate initiatives must be continued into this coming decade. 

I believe it is now time for the Rugby Union to promote the Māori Rugby Board within the Union's activities, and that they should now be concerned with arranging an international fixture or fixtures for the Māori All Blacks every year.

This should be done on the grounds:

• that the Māori All Blacks win games against international teams;
  
• that the Māori All Blacks have made a major contribution to the development of Rugby over the past 100 years;
  
• that Māori Rugby has flair far beyond the pick and go, pick and go, pick an go Rugby; and
  
• that we New Zealanders believe that NZ Māori Rugby is good for the country and is an integral part of our genre de vie (our lifestyle).

Such a venture, however, will cost money.  So the decision to do so should be deliberate and immediate - isolating a portion of the sponsored income to the Rugby Union - specifically for this purpose.

And now, having convinced you all here today, that we are all on target, and of the same mind - I have a further proposal.

It is time that the Māori All Blacks were given the opportunity to compete with their Polynesian cousins, to earn a place to compete in the Rugby World Cup.

In my view Māori are like the Scots, the Welsh and the English.  Māori are a nation of tribes - within the nation and country of New Zealand, Aotearoa.

Similarly the Scots are a nation of Clans within a country - the United Kingdom, and share a Westminster government.

The only difference is that most of the Scots live in the north of the UK while Māori are scattered throughout the length and breadth of Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Nevertheless, the Scottish nation comes from Scotland and the Māori nation has always lived in New Zealand.  Like the Scots, Māori also have their own language and a distinctive culture expressed through that language.

So it is time now to make the case and to take it to the IRB - that the Māori All Blacks - be a team that participates in the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Whoever said you shouldn't mix politics with sport must have been dreaming!

And so my challenge is to the Rugby Union and to the rugby public - that I make before you all today so that, that quality, that feature of our New Zealand lifestyle, that we have seen fit to gather here to celebrate - Māori Rugby - can breathe again and can regain its place in our rugby world.

And I would be perfectly willing to join the NZRU to present their views to the IRB. And once again I thank you - the NZRU for the Centenary programme celebrating Māori Rugby this year.