item details
NameBoard game, 'Political Football'
ProductionShalbury Games; manufacturer(s); 1981; Auckland
Classificationboard games
Materialscardboard, paper, plastic
DimensionsOverall: 53mm (height), 305mm (length)
Registration NumberGH003895
Credit lineGift of Mark Strange, 1992
Overview
This tongue-in-cheek board game was created in response to the 1981 Springbok rugby tour of New Zealand.
It's only a game
The game features a cartoon of the key groups during the tour – police, rugby supporters, and anti-tour protesters. The backdrop is Parliament, Wellington, from which Prime Minister Robert Muldoon reiterates his stance that politics should stay out of sport.
Tour supporters
Roughly half New Zealand supported the tour and attended the games. Along with the New Zealand Rugby Football Union, they argued that sport and politics shouldn’t mix.