In 1921 New Zealand Māori and the Springboks butted heads for the first time. Sixty years later they played each other at the same venue, McLean Park, Napier. Both games were shrouded in controversy because of the referees’ decisions that cost New Zealand Māori the games. The other two tours when New Zealand Māori played the Boks were in 1956 and 1965. South Africa was the one side that New Zealand Māori required no encouragement to play to their best. New Zealand Māori players were well aware of how the indigenous population of South Africa was being treated under the apartheid system.