1960 New Zealand rugby union tour of Australia and South Africa

1960 New Zealand rugby union tour of Australia and South Africa
Summary	P W D L
Total	31 25 02 04
Test match	05 02 01 02
Opponent	P W D L
South Africa	4 1 1 2
Rhodesia[1]	1 1 0 0

The 1960 New Zealand rugby union tour of South Africa, was a series of rugby union matches played by the New Zealand national rugby union team (the All Blacks) in South Africa and Rhodesia.

It was a very controversial tour, because the South African authorities imposed the exclusion of Māori players from the team. This racist policy created much controversy in New Zealand. (See Halt All Racist Tours and History of rugby union matches between New Zealand and South Africa.)

Later tours

New Zealand Rugby Union then refused any other tour for the succeeding ten years until

The Howard Morrison Quartet released "My Old Man's an All-Black", a parody of My Old Man's a Dustman, which noted the absence of Māori players from the touring side:

Oh, my old man’s an All Black,
He wears the silver fern,
But his mates just couldn’t take him
So he’s out now for a turn.
Fi Fi Fo Fum, there’s no Horis in this scrum.^[4]

American satirist Tom Lehrer was touring New Zealand in April 1960 when Prime Minister Walter Nash officially refused to intervene in the New Zealand Rugby Football Union's plans to tour South Africa with only white players. On introducing his own song "Fight Fiercely, Harvard" in the Auckland Town Hall, he said "At this juncture of the evening's symposium, I wish to pay tribute to the New Zealand Rugby Football Union--for not allowing a little thing like human dignity to interfere with the great principles of the game."^[5] He would go on to pen original lyrics on the subject, which were published in the Auckland Star:

When the early missionaries first brought Rugby to New Zealand,
It became the state religion right away,
And to the ten commandments has been added an eleventh,
And it says: No matter what -- thou shalt play!

CHORUS:
Oh, Mr Nash, why so rash?
Is the Rugby Union so hard up for cash?
Though you talk about the Maori
In your phrases sweet and flow'ry
I'm afraid you've missed the point, Mr Nash.

When the team goes to South Africa, we all must act politely,
So to all their local problems, let's be mute.
It might be a friendly gesture as a token of affection
If we brought along some blacks for them to shoot.

CHORUS: Oh, Mr Nash, etc.

No, it doesn't really matter what New Zealand may have lost,
As long as Kiwi Rugby players are supreme,
And just think how glad they'd make us if they came back with the title
Of the World's Greatest Non-Pigmented Team!

CHORUS: Oh, Mr Nash, etc.^[6][7]

Notes