1913 New Zealand rugby union tour of North America

The 1913 New Zealand tour rugby of North America was the second tour by the New Zealand national rugby union outside Australasia. Sixteen matches were played (all won) along with a Test match against United States sides.

1913 New Zealand rugby union tour of North America
The New Zealand team wearing blazers and hats, before their departure to North America
Manager	G.H. Mason [1]
Tour captain(s)	Alex McDonald
Top point scorer(s)	James Graham (66)
Top try scorer(s)	Tom Lynch (17)
Summary	P W D L
Total	16 16 00 00
Test match	01 01 00 00
Opponent	P W D L
United States	1 1 0 0
Tour chronology
Previous tour	1910 Australia
Next tour	1914 Australia

The tour had a relevance for American rugby because it came at a time when the local code, American football, was widely criticized prompted by worries over violent play, serious injuries and evidence of sharp practice by college coaches. That dispute, originated in 1906, had led some colleges (such as Stanford and California, Berkeley Universities) to switch from football to rugby. The All Blacks (which had toured in North America for the first time in 1905) had already made their contribution to the spread of the sport in the west coast.

New Zealand took the tour seriously, with a squad led by veteran player Alex McDonald that won all their matches in North America with large victories, conceding only 6 points in 16 games. The only test was played against the United States, which included players from Stanford and Berkeley.

The impact of such hard defeats induced a depression by the result, widely covered by the media which emphasized the big difference because Californian players and the New Zealand side.

The Californian players are the best we have developed in seven years of intercollegiate rugby - the very best. And the score against them was 51 to 3. The only conclusion is that we have not yet learned how to play rugby. It is still a foreign game.

— The San Francisco Post after the match.[2]

As a result, the University of California returned to football in 1915, although Stanford would remain in rugby, generating an extraordinary performance of the national team in the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, winning the Gold medal in both occasions.[2]