Rugby in 1888

The rugby played by the Natives was different from the game we know today. Tries were worth only one point, conversions two, and penalties, dropped goals and goals from a mark three. The game had evolved only partially from its original form, which had concentrated on kicking (the ball, or � more often � opponents' shins) and 'scrimmaging' (something like today's mauling).

Until the 1870s, points had been scored only by kicking the ball over the opposition's goal, which could be done by any form of kick except a punt. A touchdown merely provided the opportunity to 'try' a place kick at goal. The fact that place kicks could be charged as soon as the ball was placed on the ground contributed to low-scoring matches.

In the late nineteenth century, back play was still in its infancy, and tended to be less highly regarded than rushes by forwards with the ball at their feet. Backs were 'those players who stand at the back of the real action � very handy at times in their own manner, but not really of the essence of the game'. They were more often defenders willing to hurl themselves at the feet of charging forwards than they were ball-passing attackers. Until the 1880s, the New Zealand interpretation of the rules was that forwards who heeled the ball back put themselves offside. This made structured backline moves impossible.

Modern Maori rugby has been praised for the quality of its back play, and this reputation can be traced back to the Native team. Like many later New Zealand representatives, their strength was at first seen to be in the forwards, where they used eight players rather than the customary nine. They also utilised specialist positions instead of packing down whoever arrived on the spot first.

Early in the tour the Natives were criticised for not passing the ball enough. Thomas Ellison, who was to captain the first official New Zealand team in Australia in 1893 and write New Zealand's first coaching manual (The Art of Rugby Football, Wellington, 1902), in turn criticised the British enthusiasm for 'hooking, heeling out and passing all day long whether successful at it or not'.

But when the Natives toured New Zealand on their return from Britain, winning seven of their eight matches, they won much praise for their ability to pass 'with remarkable accuracy and quickness between their legs, over their shoulders, under their arms and with their feet'; 'the dodging and fending powers of nearly every one, non plussed their opponents'. It seems that British lessons had been learned, at least temporarily.

Nineteenth Century Sport

The Playing Fields of Empire

'The first Goal for New Zealand'.
Illustrated London News

Thomas Ellison
NZ Rugby Museum