On a similar issue, we've had Tau Potiki in his Chch Press column alleging it was unfair the All Whites got so much publicity when this year's NZ Maori side deserved it more for winning a few games on their tour. Apparently, drawing at the World Cup isn't on the same level as winning against England in rugby.
Here's my letter in response they wouldn't print. Thought I was being very polite at the beginning too. I submitted a much shorter version later on after they told me it was too long:
NZ MAORI VS ALL WHITES
Sir,
Although I entirely agree with Tau Potiki (July 2) that the NZ Maori team deserve plaudits for their outstanding recent results in internationals during their centenary year, I disagree with the validity of some of his comparisons with the national attention accorded the recent success of the All Whites at the World Cup.
To denigrate the achievement of our national football side in leaving the tournament undefeated by comparing it to a hypothetical situation of the All Blacks drawing all their games at the Rugby World Cup and thus not deserving respect, is a back-to-front analogy. A more valid one is that made by Italian midfielder Daniele de Rossi in a press conference before playing the All Whites: "To fail to get a result against New Zealand would be like the All Blacks drawing with Italy at the Rugby World Cup," i.e. a poor result for New Zealand but a great one for Italy. We occupy a position in world soccer comparable to Italy in rugby.
Also, the All Whites' results were truly exceptional in the context of football's status in this country, our modest previous international results and the number of strong teams in international football. So the camparison with the NZ Maori Rugby team doesn't work in that repect either. NZ Maori have a long record of international success and have won the great majority of their previous tour matches over the last century. In fact they lost only four of their matches between 1994- 2004 (in which time they beat England and Scotland) and beat the Lions in 2005. The number of strong international rugby teams can also be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Finally, a national representative side such as the All Whites playing in the world's biggest finals tournament will quite naturally garner more attention than an ethnically-based team playing "friendlies" (as such games are termed by other codes). There were three Maori players in the All Whites starting eleven anyway, more than the proportion of our population that are Maori.
Big Pete 652010-07-08 09:44:59
Big Pete 65, Christchurch
) opinion though, they might as well hand them out next week.