Wellington has hosted an indigenous rugby league team from Australia, the first of its kind in 50 years. The Wellington Māori team took on their Australian counterparts, the Wellington Wedgetails, in not only a battle of the pitch but also an exchange of heritage and culture.
Wellington Māori player Tāmati Kahukiwa O’Hagen substituted as a Wedgetail player for the matchup and said he was proud to be a part of a match-up alongside other indigenous players.
“A big mihi to the whānau that’s come over from Aussie for giving us a run and experience the footy of the Aboriginal people. It’s been great,” he says.
Australian player and Wirajudri man John Merritt says this is more than just a game.
“It means a lot coming over, exchanging cultures. It’s different but I love it, it’s been the best experience of my life. I can’t wait for the boys to come over next year and, hopefully, we can keep this going for years to come.”
A meeting of cultures at this level hasn’t taken place for 50 years, and Wellington Māori coach Mike Edmonds says the exchange of cultural dynamics is a part of the experience.
‘Felt the wairua’
“When we were at the pōwhiri yesterday they felt the wairua there. They felt their ancestors and our ancestors, so it was a good combination of the two cultures.”
Well-known rugby league figure Geoffrey Naden was also there in a coaching capacity and said experiencing the Māori culture first-hand left him amazed.
“We’ve seen how you guys do things and we were just in awe of everything over here that you guys do.”
The Australian side hails from Wiradjuri country, located in Dubbo, New South Wales. Due to the same English names of their respective towns, the an idea came that perhaps an indigenous clash would be fun.
Australian coach Nathan Towney says there was no coincidence about this contest.
“We purposely reached out to the Wellington rugby league football club. We sent a cold email saying, ‘look this is what we’d like to do’. Wellington vs Wellington has a nice ring to it for us, Aboriginal vs Māori, and within two hours they emailed back and in a few weeks we had it sorted.”
50 years apart
Edmonds was a player in the last contest between an Aboriginal side and Aotearoa half a century ago and says this is an opportunity to bring back a lost connection.
“The last time an Aboriginal side had come over here was 50 years ago when the Redfern All Blacks had come over here and I played against them. So this is a revitalisation of getting our first nations people over here.”
Despite a loss for the Wellington Māori side, 40-16, both sides aspire to see this game carry on into the future, mostly continuing this binding of people.
Merritt says he’s excited for the future.
Hopefully, we can keep doing this for years to come. We’re the two proudest cultures in the world so, I love it, it’s good.”
Māori player Ngātoki Toru says he is proud of this match-up and believes it is a chance for future players to see the world.
This is the start of something special for all of our rangatahi and for all of our mokopuna to be a part of and, hopefully, this is a platform for them. Yeah, just for them to get amongs it and hopefully carry on this tradition for the future.