Bryan Williams has welcomed SA Rugby’s plans to issue a formal apology to Maori players who were barred from touring South Africa during apartheid.
Last week, SA Rugby president Mark Alexander confirmed that negotiations are underway with NZ Rugby to host the Maori All Blacks in South Africa in 2026, with the visit expected to coincide with an official apology.
Maori and Pasifika players were excluded from the All Blacks’ 1949 and 1960 tours, while Williams – who is of Samoan heritage – Sid Going and Billy Bush were controversially given “honorary white” status to play in South Africa in 1970 and 1976.
Speaking at the launch of Scrumming Against All Odds, a book that recognises non-white Saru players denied the chance to represent their country, Alexander said it was important to also acknowledge injustices suffered by others.
“The Maori All Blacks – a team rich in heritage and pride – were denied the right to tour South Africa for decades, simply because they were not white,” he said. “That exclusion was a stain on our history and it is long overdue that we confront it with humility and remorse.”
MORE: Maori All Blacks to be honoured in South Africa in 2026
Williams, who became a cult figure during the amateur era, said the apology would carry great significance.
“I think of the history of All Black rugby and George Nepia in 1928, and Johnny Smith in 1949, and other Maori players who were denied the opportunity to go to South Africa,” he told The Platform NZ.
“I’m sure for their whanau [extended family], that’ll be well received. You could say there have already been some apologies, but I don’t think you can ever apologise enough for those sort of awful events.”
Williams also recalled the support the All Blacks received from black and coloured South Africans during apartheid, when the Springboks were an all-white side.
“We became their boys. I guess they saw us as representing the so-called coloured races,” he said. “It really hit home to me what apartheid was about – it was tearing people apart.”
Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images
