We were told to lose: 1956 Maori player

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A player in the 1956 New Zealand Maori team claimed on Monday that a government minister told them to lose the match against the Springboks to prevent All Blacks sides being barred from South Africa.

Muru Walters, the fullback in the 1956 team who is now an Anglican bishop, said then New Zealand Minister of Maori Affairs Ernest Corbett visited the Maori side in its dressing room before the match and told the players they should lose "for the future of rugby."

Corbett, who died in 1968, purportedly said the All Blacks may otherwise never be invited back to South Africa.