The majority of the Natives left Plymouth on 29 March ( Eyton and Pie Wynyard followed a week later ) . They arrived in Melbourne in May , where the team played mostly Victorian Rules football , hoping to make more money that way . Although the side had employed Jack Lawlor to coach them in Victorian Rules during their tour of the British Isles , the heavy schedule and high injury count had left little time and energy for such training . As a result , the Victorian Rules matches were a failure ; the players ' unfamiliarity with the rules , combined with the fact that most of the Natives were rugby forwards ( and therefore less suited to the more open Victorian Rules ) , ensured that they failed to perform well on the field and struggled to attract large crowds . The side played nine Victorian Rules matches in total , including one in New South Wales , but won only three of them , all against relatively weak opposition .