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In an article in today’s New Zealand Herald, rugby writer Gregor Paul lambasts the New Zealand Rugby Union for failing to send an All Blacks team to Fiji this year to help celebrate the Fiji Rugby Union’s centenary.
I agree with him, but would go a step further and say that the failure to send the All Blacks to such an important event is the height of sporting arrogance. It’s downright elitist.
The New Zealand Rugby Union’s explanation, as set out in Paul’s article, proves my point. They say the Test schedule has been set in stone for three years.
But I seem to remember recent extra Tests against Wales and England being added in at relatively short notice, as well as one of the Hong Kong Bledisloe Cup games.
It seems that if the opposition is a member of rugby’s ‘Old Boy’ club, things can happen quickly, but not, it seems, if you’re a minnow.
I am sick of the excuses from the New Zealand Rugby Union. It is completely unforgiveable that the All Blacks have never played a Test in Fiji, Samoa or Tonga.
In the professional era, the folly of this failure is only increased. The fact the Fiji centenary wasn’t factored into the All Blacks schedule shows a lack of care and concern for a close neighbour whose rugby history is, and will forever be, indelibly linked to that of New Zealand, and Australia for that matter.
One of the excuses used by the New Zealand Rugby Union in the past is the lack of a commercial case.
In the case of Fiji (and Tonga) we are talking about destinations within three hours’ flying time of Auckland, and a two or three day stay at most. Flights and accommodation for the team and its entourage would be dirt cheap, and it’s not as if they have to be summonsed from the four corners of the earth.
Thousands of Kiwis would fly over to support the team, adding to revenues via official tour packages.
The FRU would make enough from gate takings to cover costs and the sale of television rights and merchandise would generate additional revenue. Granted, the commercial benefits are not on the scale of a Twickenham Test, but it would not be a loss-making exercise either.
The Scottish team have toured Fiji in 1993, 1998 and 2012. Wales went there in 1986 and 1994. Italy toured in 2000 and 2006.
If it’s good enough for them to spend money on from the other side of the world, then why not the All Blacks, especially given the New Zealand Rugby Union makes a lot more money than the Welsh, Scottish and Italian unions?
The ARU or SARU are not immune to criticism of this type either. It’s been 30 years since the Wallabies last played on Fijian soil. They’ve never been to Tonga or Samoa, or Papua New Guinea for that matter.
In their proud 122 year history the Springboks have never ventured to Namibia, Zimbabwe or Madagascar. The last two places in particular are hotbeds of rugby support. All three countries are well within three hours’ flying time from Johannesburg.
Is it just a coincidence that Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Namibia, Madagascar and Zimbabwe are all third world countries?
I don’t think so, because what we are talking about here is a form of ingrained, institutional elitism. The people who make these decisions don’t even know they’re being elitist – that’s how ingrained it is.
What the New Zealand Rugby Union is saying to Pacific peoples is: ‘We’re not coming to your home because you’re not rich enough.’
This is immoral. The All Blacks have a duty to go these places. A huge amount of their success since the 1980s can be attributed to the Polynesian and Melanesian gene pool borne from these isolated, scattered tropical islands.
The All Blacks are so revered and loved in the islands. They’re gods. The support and affection of the Pacific Island disapora for the All Blacks contributes a great deal to the team’s global following and identity.
This type of debt owed by the All Blacks and New Zealand Rugby Union to the peoples of the islands is increasingly being replicated in Australia.
A quick look at the team sheets for the Waratahs-Brumbies match shows there were 16 players of Pacific Island origin in the two squads. The Wallabies are also revered in the islands, and much of what is written above applies in its entirety to them and the ARU.
The Tongan rugby union centenary will be in 2023, and Samoa’s the following year.
There is plenty of time left therefore for both the ARU and New Zealand Rugby Union to make arrangements to send the All Blacks and Wallabies to these important, historic occasions.
I, like many other rugby supporters will not put up with any more lame excuses for a no-show.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.