Rugby has always been a huge part of New Zealand’s colonial identity. It encouraged the two qualities that New Zealand society was proud of and revolved around, teamwork and spirit. Playing rugby against South Africa was a huge part of New Zealand’s traditional identity as it was seen as the ultimate challenge as well as a chance to serve the British Empire. However, the anti-tour movement had a different idea. New Zealand could now be seen as a role-model society, because of the protests New Zealand was reborn as racially tolerant and willing to strive for justice in society. All of a sudden New Zealand had emerged as a shining example for other countries to improve race relations and gave New Zealand independence to challenge the way it had always been seen, as a little Britain. This challenge provoked debate regarding the obligations we had to the crown as well as having the voice to decide where we would stand on the issues of apartheid and whether we saw it as a plausible reason to entertain the idea that sport was connected. The Springbok Tour was again not directly responsible for this debate, but seeing that New Zealand could have its own say and attempt to change for the better this meant that New Zealanders could foresee independence from the crown. Not only did the protests gain new Zealanders independence, but also a sense of self-worth and achievement for New Zealanders now realized they had an international voice and it was up to us to decide what was best for our country.