By bruski -
July 19th 2009 @ 6:02am
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Why Lote should go to Europe.
There has been a lot of speculation of late regarding the future of Lote Tuquiri. What will he do next? League fans think he will go to the NRL and I think all Rugby fans believe he will go to Europe or Japan to continue with Rugby.
Firstly, he would have to be crazy to go back to the NRL. The media scrutiny on Lote if he chose to continue his career in Australia would be unbearable as I guess it is for many NRL and AFL stars already.
Secondly, the NRL is not really the shining light of the Australian sporting landscape since a lot of incidents have detracted from the good work done by the code as a whole. For the NRL to be a viable option for players to join from Rugby Union it needs at least one or two good years without incident.
Think of how life would be in France for example. Virtual anonymity, wine, cheese and good food with a dose of good Rugby. Oh, don’t forget the great paycheck, better than he would get in the NRL, if recent contract talks are anything to go by. Would you have to be crazy not to want to experience 4 or 5 years in France?
Tuquiri seems to be a man who likes drink, a good time with his mates and has an opinion. Kids seem to love him and he seems to enjoy the limelight to some degree. And he can play!
These are all good things, you would think that these days where most sportsman repeat clichés and present grey personalities, that these would be the sportspeople that we want to keep.
But, why is it we seem to drive them away?
I guess Lote is just one example of a player who is better off overseas due to his personality and the attention that it demands from us, the public. I guess the same could be said for others too…
If we had a few more Tuquiri’s and Wendell Sailor’s and Adam Macdougall’s I think the sporting landscape would be a far better place.
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(3)
LeftArmSpinner said | July 19th 2009 @ 8:52am | Report comment
Lote probably will head o/s, as both financially and media profile dictate. But, he has positioned himself to have this high profile. It always had two edges to it. Just ask the Beckhams!!!!
He proved unable to cope with it and still behave properly and maintain good form on the field!!!!
It aint easy but it is what he was being paid to do. It was in his job description!!!!!!
macavity said | July 19th 2009 @ 6:59pm | Report comment
France is also a very permissive society. just sayin….
Rusty said | July 21st 2009 @ 9:05am | Report comment
He is out of form and has been for years. He may be a great personality but it takes more than that to earn a paycheck at the highest level otherwise we would have 15 comedians running on the field. Not that I am saying there isnt room for a comedian to direct 15 guys on a field – just ask PDV…. It will however be interesting to see what if any interest he garners from overseas given the lack of form, huge paycheck requirement and the tightening of the foreign player numbers in the french market.