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August 12, 2022
League coaching tickets deny Māori top spot
Gideon Porter
Posted On August 12, 2022
The chair of the New Zealand Māori Rugby League says the administration of the game on this side of the Tasman has a lot to do to catch up with Australia’s National Rugby League.
John Devonshire, says having the Māori versus Australian Indigenous Allstars match in Aotearoa for the first time next year shows there is progress being made.
But the fact the Māori team will have an Australian coach because none of the Māori coaches here have the full coaching ticket is a disappointment.
“I want your Māori from top to bottom and at the moment we’re about halfway there and that means as a board, ourselves, the New Zealand Rugby League because I’ll share with you, (coaching) tickets of the New Zealand Rugby League only meet 50 percent of the criteria of the NRL so that tells me the system is broken with the NZRL,” Mr Devonshire says.
He can’t discuss legal action being taken against Māori and New Zealand Rugby League alleging breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and failure to develop Māori and Pacific Island talent, but he believes being part of NZ Rugby League, as still the best option for Māori.
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