[1] The All Blacks are made up of many races and cultures, and seven of the fifteen starters in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final were of Polynesian descent.
A South African journalist reported that the Springboks were ‘frankly disgusted’ at playing against ‘a band of coloured men'.
[6] One telegraph sent back to South Africa by a journalist stated; Because of this policy many of New Zealand's greatest Māori players, such as George Nēpia, missed out on these tours.
However, it is easy to overlook the fact that many players grow up hoping to one day play for the All Blacks and to miss out would be devastating.
There was one rebel tour by an unofficial team named the Cavaliers in 1986 which embarrassed the New Zealand government who in turn banned the players for two tests.
[20] A recalcitrant apology to Māori came in 2010, but only after the South African Rugby Union did so at the prompting of the republic's then minister for sport, Makhenkesi Stofile.
New Zealand is a vastly culturally diverse nation and the Super Rugby teams and management reflect this.
[24] Andy Haden made the accusation that the Crusaders racially discriminate because they select different races on the basis that they are suited to different positions.
[27] Whether or not this claim was true is still debated, but it did manage to highlight the fact that many people still believe that not all players are equal in skill on the field and that racism could still be present at the top club level.
In 2012 the Auckland Blues manager Pat Lam was racially abused via social media by fans that were unsatisfied with his team's performance.
There have been a few instances of racism at grass roots level, in particular at high school and top amateur divisions.
[32] Their comments included criticism of the Island players' intelligence and that the only reason they succeed in rugby was due to their 'superior brawn'.
One example reported was when a brawl at a game between Celtic and McKenzie was said to have been a reaction to the racial abusing of a Polynesian player.