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Poaching Pacific Islander players is weakening rugby

Roar Rookie
27th August, 2015
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Taqele Naiyaravoro scores for the Waratahs. (Photo: A Knight)
Roar Rookie
27th August, 2015
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5111 Reads

Since rugby union became a professional sport in 1995, many rugby union bodies have looked towards the Pacific Islands in order to fill their demand for top level rugby stars.

Both New Zealand and French club rugby are filled with Polynesian players from Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. Due to the success of New Zealand in international rugby many other international teams have tried to mimic their success.

One of the biggest reasons for the All Blacks’ success can be attributed to the number of Polynesians in the New Zealand teams over the last two decades.

The biggest of them all was Jonah Lomu, New Zealand-born and of Tongan descent, a man that changed the landscape of rugby as we know it. The demand for Polynesians and other Pacific Island players has been on the rise ever since.

Poaching is a term used in rugby whereby another international team lures a player to play for that country. Usually the player is eligible through the ‘grandparents rule’ or the residency rule and said player receives a fairly large pay packet in return for changing allegiances.

Many Pacific Islanders have complained to World Rugby (formerly the IRB) about this practice which over time leeches out the talents from the Pacific Islands, thus weakening their international side.

One of the biggest examples would be Manu Tuilagi, a Samoan-born player who moved to England when he was young and now plays for England. This did cause an outcry in the Pacific Islands but, needless to say, this has been happening for a very long time.

Former All Blacks winger Sitiveni Sivivatu, who made a name for himself playing for Waikato in the NPC and later for the Chiefs in Super Rugby, was a much sought out player, both by Fiji and New Zealand where he has been playing since he left high school.

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When the three island teams (Fiji, Samoa and Tonga) decided to form a combined team which was similar to the British and Irish Lions, Sivivatu (then uncapped) was one of the first players picked along with Tongan player Sione Lauaki.

Their performance for the Pacific Islanders team caught the eye of the New Zealand coach at the time, Graham Henry. Henry was impressed with both players, particularly Sivivatu who managed to score two tries against New Zealand in his first game.

This led the Pacific Islands Rugby Association to change the rules to only allow capped Pacific Islanders to play for the Pacific Islands team in the future. This was because they did not want the team to be used as a platform for Tier 1 teams to poach some of their young and rising stars.

Sivivatu went on to represent New Zealand, made his international debut against his country of birth and scored four tries on debut.

Recently, Australia have poached a few Pacific Islanders of their own. Australian centre Tevita Kuridrani was born and raised in Fiji but after making it big in Super Rugby in his debut season, he was fast tracked by ARU into the Wallaby jumper.

The current Wallabies team has six players – Will Skelton, Will Genia, Quade Cooper, Tevita Kuridrani, Henry Speight and Joe Tomane – that were not born in Australia but became a part of the Wallabies via the residency clause.

Additionally, they have recently grasped NSW Waratahs wing Taqele Naiyaravoro, who was born and raised in Fiji but came to Australia to play rugby league. After failing to make the NRL, he joined the Waratahs in Super Rugby and gained stardom in his first season.

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Naiyaravoro eventually left the door ajar by claiming that he would play for his country of birth if he was not picked by the Wallabies for the Rugby World Cup. Despite this, after missing the 31-man touring squad for the World Cup he was added to an expanded 39-man squad to prepare for a one-off match against USA on September 5.

It was a sly move on the part of Cheika as he was well aware that Fiji were waiting on him. By ensuring that Naiyaravoro makes the final 23 roster for the game against USA and plays, he would deny Fiji a weapon that would have strengthened Fiji’s backline. The same backline that is set to face Australia in group play at the Rugby World Cup.

This move will not only start Naiyaravoro’s career as a Wallaby but it will also end it. He is unlikely to make the final 31-member Wallaby squad unless there is an injury. Thus by capping him in the warm-up game against USA, he is denying Fiji the chance to have a good player in their squad.

Additionally he is stopping Naiyaravoro, who will leave for Glasgow later this year, from ever playing international rugby again because the Wallabies do not select overseas-based players in their national team unless they have at least 60 Test caps.

Poaching Pacific Islanders is a ploy used by many international teams to weaken their national teams. Teams that always provide a wildcard factor at the Rugby World Cup. Unfortunately it has now been used again by another Tier 1 team which now begs the question, where do we draw the line?

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