Joe Warbrick
Joseph Astbury Warbrick was a Māori member of the New Zealand national rugby union team on their 1884 tour to Australia. He later captained the 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team that embarked on a 107-match tour of New Zealand, Australia, and the British Isles.
Born in Rotorua, Warbrick played club rugby for Auckland side Ponsonby while boarding at St Stephen's Native School. In 1877, he was selected to play fullback for Auckland Provincial Clubs as a 15-year-old, making him the youngest person to play first-class rugby in New Zealand. He played for Auckland against the visiting New South Wales team, the first overseas side to tour the country, in 1882. Two years later, he was selected for the first New Zealand representative team, and playing mainly as a three-quarter, appeared in seven of the side's eight matches on their tour of New South Wales.
In 1888, Warbrick conceived of, selected, and led the privately funded New Zealand Native team. The squad, which included four of Warbrick's brothers, was originally envisaged to contain only Māori players, but eventually included several New Zealand-born and foreign-born Europeans. Although the team played 107 matches, including 74 in the British Isles, Warbrick took part in only 21 matches due to injury. The tour, the first from the Southern Hemisphere to visit Britain, remains the longest in rugby's history. In 2008, Warbrick and the Natives were inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame.
Warbrick effectively retired from rugby after returning from the tour, with the exception of an appearance for Auckland in 1894, and went on to work as a farmer and tourist guide in the Bay of Plenty. In 1903, he was killed along with several others by an eruption of the Waimangu Geyser.
Background and early career
Joseph Warbrick was born in Rotorua, New Zealand, on 1 January 1862, the third of five children. His father, Abraham Warbrick, was originally from England, while his mother, Nga Karauna Paerau, was Māori and the daughter of a Ngāti Rangitihi chief. After Joe Warbrick's mother died, his father remarried and had seven more children. Four of his brothersAlfred, Arthur, Fred, and Billywent on to tour with Joe as part of the 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team.With his family still based in the Bay of Plenty, Joe Warbrick was sent to board at St Stephen's Native School in the Bombay Hills, where he started playing rugby union. While living in Bombay in 1877, he started playing club rugby with Ponsonby in Auckland, even though the club was based well north of Bombay. Warbrick played well enough for Ponsonby to earn selection for Auckland Provincial Clubs that year despite being only 15 years old. Playing at fullback for them against Otago, he became the youngest person to play first-class rugby in New Zealanda record he still holds as of 2017.
By 1878 Warbrick had left both St Stephen's and Ponsonby and was employed as a public servant. The work required him to relocate regularly, and he moved throughout the North Island for the remainder of his rugby career. By 1879 he was living in Wellington, and represented the provincial team three times that season. He played three further matches for Wellington in 1880, including one against his old province of Auckland. The 1880 match, the first in Auckland for Wellington, was won by the visitors 4–0. Warbrick was renowned for his drop-kicking, and his goal in the match was the only score; many Aucklanders claimed that his performance was the difference between the two sides.
The Australian New South Wales colonial team became the first overseas rugby side to tour New Zealand in 1882 and played seven matches throughout the country. By this point Warbrick was back in Auckland, but this time playing for the North Shore club, and he again won selection for the provincial side. He appeared in both of Auckland's matches against the New South Welshmen: 7–0 and 18–4 victories over the tourists. Warwick remained in Auckland the following year when he toured with the province again, playing in away matches against Wellington, Canterbury and Otago.
1884 New Zealand team
In 1884 a team of New Zealanders, organised by the Canterbury player and administrator William Millton, and Dunedin businessman Samuel Sleigh, was selected to tour New South Wales. This is now officially regarded as the first New Zealand representative rugby side. Warbrick was included in a squad that was selected from throughout the country; the entire endeavour was performed without the oversight of a national body – several provincial rugby unions existed, but the New Zealand Rugby Football Union was not formed until 1892.The squad's 19 players were expected to assemble in Wellington before disembarking for Sydney on 21 May, however Warbrick missed his ship from Auckland and so travelled to Sydney alone. Millton was elected captain, and Sleigh managed the team. The side won all eight of their matches on tour, including the three games against New South Wales. Warbrick appeared in seven matches and scored three drop goals; one of the goals was reportedly kicked from well inside his own half. He played at both fullback and three-quarter, and was noted for his good ball handling and speed, as well as his ability to drop kick.
Later provincial career
After returning from tour, Warbrick moved to Napier, and in 1885 represented Hawke's Bay provincially, including captaining them against Poverty Bay. By 1886 he was back playing for Auckland, and that year captained them in their wins over both Wellington, and also New South Wales – who were again touring the country. He returned to Hawke's Bay for the 1887 season, and played for them against Wellington, Poverty Bay, and Canterbury. Warbrick had returned to Wellington by the 1888 season when he again played for the province.The first British Isles side toured New Zealand and Australia in 1888. The side was privately organised, without the sanction or prohibition of England's Rugby Football Union, and toured New Zealand in April and May that year where they played against a number of provincial sides. Although the team was not representative of the best British and Irish players, it did include three internationals with the rest predominantly county representatives. Warbrick was in the Wellington team that faced the tourists on 13 May. The match was ill-tempered, with each side accusing the other of rough play, and eventually finished as a 3–3 draw.
1888–89 New Zealand Native football team
Preparations
In early 1888 Warbrick announced plans to assemble a Māori side to face the visiting British during their tour, but he later revealed he wanted to take a team of Māori or part-Māori to tour the British Isles. His ambition was for "Māori football" to be as famous as Australian cricket, whose national side had already developed a strong rivalry with the English. It is not known exactly when Warbrick had conceived of the idea for this tour, but it was well before the arrival of the British Isles team in April 1888.The touring British did help demonstrate the feasibility of Warbrick's proposal, which was dauntingno New Zealand side had ever toured the Northern Hemisphere. Hearing of Warbrick's plans, civil servant Thomas Eyton contacted him to offer help managing the tour, which Warbrick accepted. By May 1888, James Scott, a publican, had joined the partnership. The three men decided that Warbrick would be the team's captain, coach and selector, Scott its manager, and Eyton its promoter. Although Warbrick had chiefly sporting reasons for conducting the tour, for Eyton and Scott profit was the major motivation.
A New Zealand Māori side had never been selected – the first official side did not play until 1910 – but Warbrick's experience in provincial rugby ensured that he was well qualified to select the team. He travelled the country trying to find players who were talented and willing to spend a year on tour. The make-up of the team changed significantly between March 1888 and when the team departed New Zealand in August. Warbrick encountered challenges assembling the side; there was opposition from some players to including part-Māori in the squad, which prompted several early recruits to withdraw.
Initially, 20 players were selected for the side, named the "New Zealand Māori team". Some of these players had strong family and playing links to Warbrick. Warbrick was eventually compelled to add five Pākehā players to the squad, which resulted in the side being renamed the "New Zealand Native football team". Warbrick may have wanted a team of exclusively Māori or part-Māori players, but according to historian Greg Ryan, including the Pākehā players was "necessary to strengthen the Native team and create a more effective combination". A further player, Pie Wynyard, was added to the side after they arrived in Britain in November 1888.
Domestic tour and British Isles
The side's first match was against Hawke's Bay on 23 June 1888, with Warbrick playing in the backs. The match was won 5–0, and was followed by a second match a week later in which Warbrick contributed 10 points in an 11–0 victory.The next match was against a strong Auckland side, who defeated the Natives 9–0. The heavy defeat was costly for the Native team, with Warbrick breaking several bones in his foot. It was his last game until November that year, and the loss prompted the addition of Patrick Keogh – one of the five Pākehā in the side – to the squad before its departure from New Zealand.
The team departed New Zealand on 1 August 1888, and sailed to England via Melbourne. After their six-week voyage from Australia, the Native team arrived in England on 27 September 1888. Their first match was against Surrey, on 3 October, but Joe Warbrick was still injured and did not play. The side played regularly – they averaged just over three games per week while in Britain – but Warbrick did not appear until 7 November when the team faced Tynemouth. The match was won 7–1, but Warbrick – who played at fullback – exacerbated his foot injury. He managed to play six matches between mid-December and early January before he was again injured. He appeared against Stockport, a match drawn 3–3, on 12 January, but despite being fit enough to play his form was poor.
Warbrick only played twice more in the following month, and was not fit enough to be selected for the team that faced England on 16 February. The match resulted in a controversial 7–0 loss for the Natives, and included the awarding of two dubious English tries by the referee George Rowland Hill – who was also Secretary of the English Rugby Football Union. The loss and aftermath soured the relationship between Warbrick's team and the RFU – who accused the Natives of poor sportsmanship after they had protested at the awarding of the controversial tries.
By the time the team departed for Australia in late March they had played 74 matches in Britain, winning 49, losing 20, and drawing 5. However, due to injury, Warbrick only appeared in 14 matches; in contrast David Gage featured in 68, and eight other members played more than 50. Warbrick was not the only player to experience injury; the taxing schedule of matches took a toll, and he frequently struggled to find a full complement of 15 fit players. On top of playing relatively few matches in Britain, Warbrick scored only once there – a conversion against Devon.
The high injury toll and congested schedule contributed to complaints about Joe Warbrick's behaviour. His comments to the English press – who directed much of their focus towards him – were viewed negatively by some members of the squad; he was accused of neglecting to acknowledge the contributions of players such as Thomas Ellison, Gage, Keogh, and Edward McCausland but to extol the efforts of himself and his brothers.
Warbrick said of his time in the British Isles: "My impression of England and its people during the tour was a very favourable one, more especially does this apply to private individuals. I found them everywhere very kind and attentive and apparently anxious to make one's visit as pleasant as possible". The term "private individuals" may have been used to exclude from praise both the RFU and London press.
Following the tour he also criticised the partiality of the English referees, and believed that the English administrators displayed a double standard in their treatment of the Natives; the RFU treated the Native team's motives for touring with suspicion, believing the enterprise to be speculative and criticising them for not upholding the amateur principles the RFU liked to espouse. Yet the RFU continued to select Andrew Stoddart for England, despite him touring with the speculative and unsanctioned 1888 British team that travelled to New Zealand and Australia.