Film: opposing views - 1981 Springbok tour

The All Black and the pilot

A 1981 All Black, Doug Rollerson, and flour-bomb pilot Marx Jones provide opposing views on the tour in this 2006 interview. Both are adamant that they were right in the stance they took at the time.

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TVNZ
Extract from 1981 tour special on Close up, 4 July 2006

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Film: opposing views - 1981 Springbok tour, URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/video/1981-springbok-tour-opposing-views, (Manatū Taonga — Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 9-Feb-2015

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Anonymous Posted: 22 Aug 2021

If these protesters were so dedicated to their cause they should of got on a plane and did there protesting in South Africa at the government and person’s they were protesting about not a rugby game in New Zealand that has no control how another country governs all it did was piss off kiwis trying to enjoy the rugby but they wouldn’t of done that because they weren’t that dedicated to travel too place of the cause just easier to be a pest at a footy game in no way whatsoever did there protest have any bearing on the end of apartheid it was other issues that did that 80% of those protesters were just keen on a confrontation proud tour supporter .

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Different anonymous Posted: 17 Aug 2025

It's quite telling that the conservative, pro-tour commenter has abysmal grammar and a narrow grasp on literacy, nor do they have any reasonable evidence to back up their ill-prepared argument. I'm a 16 year old procrastinating doing my history assessment and even I can come up with a counter to their argument in half a second. There were approximately 150,000 people who protested the tour, and records including media footage from the time show that a large majority of those protesters were normal New Zealanders from all walks of life. Most people aren't wealthy enough to spontaneously book flights to another country just to make a stand on an issue they care about. Furthermore, apartheid era South Africa had a history of brutally suppressing opposition to their regime with incidents like the Sharpeville Massacre, in which police opened fire on unarmed peaceful protesters without warning. Most people aren't willing to risk their lives like that, but they did what they could to end apartheid, which was putting pressure on the South African government by condemning sporting contact with them. Sporting interactions are inherently cordial despite their competitive aspect, because sports are a form of entertainment and social connection. This is why in politics sports has a similar role to diplomacy, and why New Zealand and strong sporting ties with countries we are also politically close to, such as Australia. You wouldn't play rugby with the Third Reich, so you shouldn't play it with apartheid era South Africa. Dear Anonymous, please think for more than half a second before making mindless comments like this one, and if you have a half-decent rebuttal I'll be happy to hear it.

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Film: opposing views - 1981 Springbok tour

The All Black and the pilot

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The All Black and the pilot

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