When the New Zealand soldiers, and Dansey and his Maori Contingent in particular, heard of the Turkish reaction, they roared with laughter, according to a report in The Times. It was before an Easter Sunday rugby match in Paris, organised by a newspaper to provide some Easter entertainment for Parisians tired by war. The division’s best players had been assembled at a base camp and mixed rugby training with instruction courses such as grenade-throwing and machine-gunning. But the war came first and the New Zealanders, wanted for training for the Messines battle, could not go. Some papers, including in New Zealand, reported it as a world record attendance for a rugby match.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 07, 2017 18:11 UTC