Sparkling Maori Benefit Rugby

Two star-studded teams, consisting of New Zealand's top Maori rugby players, took the field at Rugby Park on Easter Saturday to open the 1964 season in Gisborne with a sparkling exhibition of football.

Under the captainship of All Blacks Pat Walsh and Waka Nathan, the teams were playing a benefit game organised by the Gisborne Maori Rugby Club.

Included in the 5000 spectators were former members of the 28th Maori Battalion, who were in Gisborne at the time attending their national reunion.

Played on a hard fast ground, in perfect weather, the game was entertaining from the first whistle to the last, with the carefree Maoris taking the ball from one end of the field to the other with dazzling movements.

The final score resulted in a win for Waka Nathan's Auckland Maoris by 36 points to 19.