Pacific nations need elite rugby, says Rokocoko
By Chris Barclay, 24 Nov 2010 Chris Barclay is a Roar Guru
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- All Blacks, International Rugby, Joe Rokocoko, Rugby Union
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All Blacks winger Joe Rokocoko wants rugby union’s developing nations to gain greater exposure to rugby’s elite in order to advance their development.
Rokocoko was Fiji’s most vociferous supporter when his homeland drew with Wales last weekend, cheering them on from New Zealand’s team hotel in Dublin last Friday – and he made no apology for disturbing his fellow guests.
“I loved it. I was the loudest,” the 68-Test All Blacks veteran said.
“It just proves the more games the smaller southern hemisphere nations get over here the better they’re going to get.”
The Nadi-born wing was immensely proud of Fiji’s performance in securing a 16-all draw at Millennium Stadium – an outcome inspiring dread in Wales given the All Blacks are looming on Sunday (NZT).
And Rokocoko was also impressed with the efforts of fellow Pacific Islanders Samoa after they held Ireland and England to 10 and 13 point margins respectively on their end of year tour.
“The results have shown in the past few weeks… It used to be a 50-plus score, now it’s down 20-plus max and even closer,” he continued.
“The more these guys get exposed to the bigger teams… They’ll get used to the pace of the game, they know what to expect in set pieces at international level.”
Fiji and Samoa have developed a habit of embarrassing Wales – Western Samoa, as they were then known, stunned the crowd at the Arms Park when winning 16-13 at the 1991 World Cup; two tournaments later they triumphed 38-31 at Millennium.
In the last World Cup in France, it was Fiji who had the rugby-loving nation mourning when a 38-34 victory in Nantes condemned Wales to an exit before the knockout stages.
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November 24th 2010 @ 6:48am
Poth Ale said | November 24th 2010 @ 6:48am | Report comment
Say it ain’t so, Joe.
November 24th 2010 @ 7:56am
rj said | November 24th 2010 @ 7:56am | Report comment
Pacific nations need their players to stop deserting them and playing for the All Blacks.
November 24th 2010 @ 2:01pm
Bayboy said | November 24th 2010 @ 2:01pm | Report comment
Most of the PI players playing for the All Blacks were much younger than Cooper when they immigrated to New Zealand.
Going by your words, Kefu, Ioane, Cooper, etc should not be playing for Australia
November 25th 2010 @ 8:38am
rj said | November 25th 2010 @ 8:38am | Report comment
Well done Bayboy, you understood my point.
November 25th 2010 @ 9:56am
djfrobinson said | November 25th 2010 @ 9:56am | Report comment
RJ.
I think that a player of one decent e.g. Samoan should be allowed to play for his adopted home if that’s his choice. Just as Cooper should be allowed to play for his adopted home.
Any pacific island boy believing he is a New Zealander should have the right to play for New Zealand.
I also think that those players should also be allowed to play for the pacific islands if the All Blacks do not have a requirement for their services anymore (being their first choice) but if they chose to play for their island first should not be illegible for the all blacks.
This will free up a lot of players not required by the All Blacks to be allowed to play for their ancestral nation if they so choose.
I believe the same of the Wallabies as well
November 25th 2010 @ 12:59pm
rj said | November 25th 2010 @ 12:59pm | Report comment
Spare me your patronising solutions. People like you are part of the problem. Don’t you want the Pacific nations to be strong?
November 25th 2010 @ 1:15pm
djfrobinson said | November 25th 2010 @ 1:15pm | Report comment
RJ
So you’re saying that Samoans born in New Zealand are not New Zealanders?
Are you prepared to kick out the New Zealanders (Born and Bred) playing in the Australian team?
Currently New Zealand allows all pacific islanders or those of pacific island decent to choose what country they want to play in. Some choose the islands others choose New Zealand.
The solution works.. But guys like you would have all Samoans playing rugby union in New Zealand be forced to play for Samoa…
Interesting
November 24th 2010 @ 8:18am
Geoff Brisbane said | November 24th 2010 @ 8:18am | Report comment
And the Walalbies and the Poms/Welsh etc
November 24th 2010 @ 8:20am
Poth Ale said | November 24th 2010 @ 8:20am | Report comment
Can we have one, please?
November 24th 2010 @ 8:43am
Blinky Bill of Bellingen said | November 24th 2010 @ 8:43am | Report comment
The solution with the cheque book is a myth.
November 24th 2010 @ 9:11am
djfrobinson said | November 24th 2010 @ 9:11am | Report comment
I’ve always believed that the island nations should be included in Super Rugby since Super Rugby is going to the conference system they can simply have 5 teams made up from Samoa, Fiji and Tonga.
I’m not sure how the teams should be split but let’s face it we would get good crowds even in the smaller centres.
The problem is that the SANZAR countries don’t want to share the pie so to speak the island nations won’t bring in much TV revenue but perhaps SANZAR could apply to the IRB for some additional funding if they take on the endeavour to bring the pacific nations into the competition.
November 24th 2010 @ 1:14pm
Jason said | November 24th 2010 @ 1:14pm | Report comment
The problem is Island based Super Rugby franchises would be financial millstones.
November 24th 2010 @ 9:45am
formeropenside said | November 24th 2010 @ 9:45am | Report comment
And this is what should have been happening with the super rugby expansion over the last few years rather than pointless made up Aussie teams being shoehorned in.
November 24th 2010 @ 10:03am
Geoff Brisbane said | November 24th 2010 @ 10:03am | Report comment
Yep good point. Got to have the depth from within is my reckoning (or send them where they will get good exposure and come back with great experience)
November 24th 2010 @ 10:21am
King of the Gorgonites said | November 24th 2010 @ 10:21am | Report comment
Samoa and Fiji are gonig to pose big threats to Wales and SA in there groups come next year.
the PIs may well dleiver big things next year.
can tonga match it with france? a lto harder task. but stragner things have happened.
a golden period in island rugby may be just around the corner.
November 25th 2010 @ 9:39am
kovana said | November 25th 2010 @ 9:39am | Report comment
Did you know that Tonga have already defeated france before? So its not so far fetched at all.
November 25th 2010 @ 12:16pm
Mike G said | November 25th 2010 @ 12:16pm | Report comment
& the Wallabies…1973 I think???
November 25th 2010 @ 1:16pm
True Tah said | November 25th 2010 @ 1:16pm | Report comment
yep lowest point in Australian rugby history
although it did prompt Toutai Kefu’s dad to migrate to Queensland.
November 24th 2010 @ 10:35am
Steve said | November 24th 2010 @ 10:35am | Report comment
The Melbourne Rebels should have been an international squad with one third Australian, a third PIs, and the last third whoever from where-ever.
This would have kept a depth of talent in the other Australian teams (still don’t think Australia has enough players for 5 competitive teams), developed the PI nations’ talents and exposure, and given rugby in Australia some more interesting players through the rest of world players – how about some Argentinians, Italiians and Romanians? US players?
November 24th 2010 @ 10:43am
djfrobinson said | November 24th 2010 @ 10:43am | Report comment
Steve
I disagree. If Super Rugby does not allow for a significant number of teams in the Islands themselves e.g. 5 across the islands with clear pathways for those playing in local competitions to make it into the super pacific teams then we risk swallowing up pacific Rugby Union.
The idea is to keep the top talent from those nations in their nations rather than having New Zealand / Australia suck up their top talent
November 24th 2010 @ 1:07pm
Steve said | November 24th 2010 @ 1:07pm | Report comment
Very true and I hope we get there eventually, but what was on offer this year was the Rebels, and that is the current missed opportunity.
November 24th 2010 @ 2:15pm
djfrobinson said | November 24th 2010 @ 2:15pm | Report comment
I agree Steve we have missed a big opportunity but still Super Rugby is doing well and there is hope for the future
November 25th 2010 @ 1:52pm
Ralph said | November 25th 2010 @ 1:52pm | Report comment
I dunno about this accusation of sucking up the talent.
You make it sound as if they pass through the islands snatching children.
People move to places they can get work. It’s not just happening in rugby or the pacific islands. Country towns in many places see their young people leave for the big smoke every year.
Some find good employment opportunities. Even in sport.
November 25th 2010 @ 1:04pm
GrecoGuy said | November 25th 2010 @ 1:04pm | Report comment
Why should us punters support a team full of international ring-ins so that we can assist the PI talent go through the revolving door of the franchise up to greener pasture in the NH competitions? Rebels will have a tough time as it is competing in the Super series for patrons let alone saddling it as a PI development side.
November 25th 2010 @ 2:59pm
Steve said | November 25th 2010 @ 2:59pm | Report comment
Because it would keep a healthier and deeper pool of talent in Australia’s other four established teams. The ranks of potential Wallabies are a lot thinner than New Zealand’s or SA’s back up player pool. Spread the talent too thin and it may be many more years before an Australian side wins the S15. That can’t help rugby’s struggle for eyballs and dollars. Aussies back winners.
Because it would grow the game for the PIs, and that benefits Australia and the rest of the world by making a bigger pool of competitive test matches, not the usual 5 nations / Tri Nations team beating a tough, rugged but ultimately underdone PI side. A Pac Islands S15 side is far, far away from ever being established.
So is a Five Nations (counting Argentina) – just does not have the viewer interest to include them. And everyone would know the result – when did Samoa or Fiji last beat Aust /NZ/ SA? Or push them close?
Because it might make a more interesting S15 comp team- see reasons above – rather than another 30 man squad of Aussies, most of whom are unknowns. Interesting teams and comps get media coverage.
Because it might ease the NZ and SA angst at Australia getting a fifth team when the support for rugby and the player pool is so much less than those two countries. Not that Kiwis need or warrent another team.
November 24th 2010 @ 10:58am
soapit said | November 24th 2010 @ 10:58am | Report comment
i reckon the winner of the pacific nations cup should get to play in the tri/quad/quin nations the next year.
November 25th 2010 @ 9:40am
kovana said | November 25th 2010 @ 9:40am | Report comment
Yep…. Thats a great idea.
I also suggested that the 2 finalists in the Pacific RUGBY CUP, should be allowed to play in the Super Rugby Comp.
November 25th 2010 @ 11:19am
soapit said | November 25th 2010 @ 11:19am | Report comment
i’m actually not a fan of pacific nations in super rugby just because i think it will consign them to only being as good as a provincial side.
November 25th 2010 @ 3:07pm
Steve said | November 25th 2010 @ 3:07pm | Report comment
where they would be soundly beaten every year – sadly. So not very interesting except for the die-hard fans who would watch the Wallabies play Estonia B if it was on (ok a bit of hyperbole)