 In 1888, Warbrick conceived of, selected, and led the privately funded New Zealand Native team.The squad, which included four of Warbrick's brothers, was originally envisaged to contain only Māori players, but eventually included several New Zealand-born and foreign-born Europeans.Although the team played 107 matches, including 74 in the British Isles, Warbrick took part in only 21 matches due to injury.