Joe Warbrick played for Auckland against the visiting New South Wales team, the first overseas side to tour the country, in 1882.
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29 Facts About Joe Warbrick
2.
In 1888, Joe Warbrick conceived of, selected, and led the privately funded New Zealand Native team.
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3.
The squad, which included four of Joe Warbrick's brothers, was originally envisaged to contain only Maori players, but eventually included several New Zealand-born and foreign-born Europeans.
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4.
Joe Warbrick effectively retired from rugby after returning from the tour, with the exception of an appearance for Auckland in 1894, and went on to work as a farmer and tourist guide in the Bay of Plenty.
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5.
Joseph Joe Warbrick was born in Rotorua, New Zealand, on 1 January 1862, the third of five children.
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6.
Joe Warbrick played well enough for Ponsonby to earn selection for Auckland Provincial Clubs that year despite being only 15 years old.
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7.
Joe Warbrick played three further matches for Wellington in 1880, including one against his old province of Auckland.
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8.
Joe Warbrick was renowned for his drop-kicking, and his goal in the match was the only score; many Aucklanders claimed that his performance was the difference between the two sides.
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9.
Joe Warbrick was included in a squad that was selected from throughout the country; the entire endeavour was performed without the oversight of a national body – several provincial rugby unions existed, but the New Zealand Rugby Football Union was not formed until 1892.
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10.
Joe Warbrick appeared in seven matches and scored three drop goals; one of the goals was reportedly kicked from well inside his own half.
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11.
Joe Warbrick played at both fullback and three-quarter, and was noted for his good ball handling and speed, as well as his ability to drop kick.
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12.
Joe Warbrick returned to Hawke's Bay for the 1887 season, and played for them against Wellington, Poverty Bay, and Canterbury.
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13.
Joe Warbrick had returned to Wellington by the 1888 season when he again played for the province.
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14.
In early 1888 Joe Warbrick announced plans to assemble a Maori side to face the visiting British during their tour, but he later revealed he wanted to take a team of Maori or part-Maori to tour the British Isles.
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15.
Joe Warbrick's ambition was for "Maori football" to be as famous as Australian cricket, whose national side had already developed a strong rivalry with the English.
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16.
Joe Warbrick travelled the country trying to find players who were talented and willing to spend a year on tour.
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17.
Joe Warbrick encountered challenges assembling the side; there was opposition from some players to including part-Maori in the squad, which prompted several early recruits to withdraw.
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18.
Joe Warbrick was eventually compelled to add five Pakeha players to the squad, which resulted in the side being renamed the "New Zealand Native football team".
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19.
However, due to injury, Joe Warbrick only appeared in 14 matches; in contrast David Gage featured in 68, and eight other members played more than 50.
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20.
Joe Warbrick was not the only player to experience injury; the taxing schedule of matches took a toll, and he frequently struggled to find a full complement of 15 fit players.
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21.
On top of playing relatively few matches in Britain, Joe Warbrick scored only once there – a conversion against Devon.
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22.
Joe Warbrick made few appearances in Australia – two in total – but continued functioning as team captain.
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23.
Joe Warbrick had played an earlier match in Gore – against Mataura District XVI – where he again suffered injury.
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24.
Joe Warbrick retired from rugby at the conclusion of the Natives' tour.
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25.
Joe Warbrick moved to the Bay of Plenty to farm, and occasionally turned out for the Tauranga representative team.
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26.
Joe Warbrick married Harriet Burt with whom he had one daughter, and he later worked as a tourist guide in the Rotorua area, where his brother Alfred was the Chief Government Guide.
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27.
Joe Warbrick had warned one of the tourists not to venture too close to the geyser; however, she insisted on moving closer to get a better photograph.
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28.
Joe Warbrick accompanied her, and barely two minutes later the geyser erupted and killed the entire party.
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29.
In 2008 Joe Warbrick was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame, and is a member of the Maori Sports Awards Hall of Fame.
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