Move Against Maori Rugby Advisory Board

Chronicle (Levin), 8 September 1948, Page 5

Move Against Maori Rugby Advisory Board

Press Assoeiation)

(Per

WAIROA, Sept. 8. A proposal that the- Maori Advisory /Board should be serappe'd and replaced by a properiyconstituted New " Zealand Mapri Rugby Union under the eontroi of the New Zealand Union was put forward at a meeting of delegates ' at Napier from Masterton "to Wairoa, representing the NgatiKohungunu TribeDuring the course of discussion, the board as at present cpnstituted was trenehantly criticised, it being eiaimed that as the controlling body the boaFd was nothing short of farcial and the earlier it was done away with the better it would be for rugby. The meeting was ealled to discuss means of improving the standard of Maori rugby following opinions that this year's play had been at a low ebb. Straight speaking was a feature of the discussions, much criticism being indulged in eonoerning the selection of Maori representative teams and also the financial losses incurred in Maori tours, speakers claiming that if the Maoris themsolves were permitted t,o make the arrangements much saving in accommodation and other expenses would be shown. At the conclusion of'the discussion, Mr. N. A. McKenzie, chairman of the Hawke's Bay Union, attended and, after hearing - the case presented by those in attendance, assured the meeting of all possible assistance and an undertaking fo- plaee their arguments before the meeting of the New Zealand Union on October 2.