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The announcement that Jarryd Hayne would be throwing his hat in the ring for the Fijian rugby sevens team drew a lot of opinions from commentators from around the world.
Some of those opinions have been positive and some negative, which is to be expected under such circumstances. However, there is a certain irony at the negative noise made by a number of Australian rugby commentators.
A few notable former Wallabies like Andrew Slack, Greg Martin and Peter Fitzsimons have declared Hayne to be selfish for his decision to join the Fijian team. The view was typically supported with some cliché about Hayne “taking a spot from a kid in a village and ruining his dreams of representing his nation”.
So you ask, what made these comments ironic?
Two things stick out.
First, the conversation was also punctuated with discussions about whether Australian rugby could tempt Hayne to play here. So it would seem that the deep concern for “some kid in a village” in Fiji, might be tempered with a fair whack of self-interest on the part of the Australian rugby community.
Even more curious given that Hayne is actually a rugby league and NFL player, who has to our knowledge never demonstrated any interest in playing the 7 or 15-man codes for Australia.
Second, Fiji is much, much better than Australia at rugby sevens. The Fijians have just won their third world series, are the second most capped team in the World after New Zealand, and are currently ranked second in the World in the 7s ranking system.
In contrast Australia’s record on the same outcomes are zero, sixth and sixth. The Fijians are far, far better at this game than Australia is, so it is reasonable to assume that they had a plan and purpose in mind when they picked up Hayne.
Yet Aussie rugby commentators presume to tell them who to select for their team? I find that extraordinarily patronising.
It would seem that if a Fiji Sun Online story the issue is anything to go by, many Fijians might feel the same way. The story was specifically lambasting Peter Fitzsimons, who managed to not only be patronising, but to inadvertently fail to understand that the word “bastard” is not used as a term of endearment in all cultures when he described the bloke who would miss out as “some poor bastard in Fiji”.
Fitzsimons subsequently apologised to the Fijian people for his use of the word, but then partly blamed the CEO of the Fijian rugby union and the journalist who wrote the story, for not better explaining the Australian usage of the word. All the while he failed to address the underlying perception that he and other Australian commentators have created around the issue. Here are a couple of quotes which should give you a clue.
“He is simply bitter that the Australians cannot have him on their side whether it’s a return to rugby league or a switch to rugby union.”
The following comment was also made.
“Who does he think he is to dictate to us what we can do or can’t do. Ryan and his team are working towards preparing the best squad for the Rio Olympics in August.”
Seriously, if Australian rugby commenters were deliberately trying to make Australians look like a bunch of arrogant, overbearing neo-colonialists to the Fijians, they couldn’t have done a better job than they have with their behaviour on the matter of Hayne.
What Australians need to remember is that Fiji and the other Pacific Nations have provided this country with a lot of outstanding rugby players and it is arguable whether the current Wallabies would have got to where they are in the World Cup or World Rugby Rankings if it wasn’t for them.
Despite the fact that I am predicting the usual protestations that “we provide them with education and money to send home so they owe us”, the fact is that Australian rugby is now competing in a global market for the best talent. The best Pacific Island players can command big incomes from multiple locations around the world, while still playing for the Pacific nations if they wish.
It is time that prominent Australian commentators took stock of who really needs who in deals between Australian rugby and the Pacific Island players, and started to show them a lot more respect.
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.