I am a huge fan of Polynesian rugby. Growing up in New Zealand, you always heard stories of big hits, flashy off loads and the human highlight reels that were produced by players in the Pacific Islands.
Guys like Brian “the Chiropractor” Lima and Rupeni Caucaunibuca.
But is the IRB doing enough to foster this talent into a competitive force on the world stage?
I don’t think so.
My Pacific Solution is as follows:
1) Have each individual island team incorporated into the Super Rugby and possibly rotate these teams through the New Zealand and Australian conferences. I think we can all agree that with the Force and Rebels, the Australian conference is weaker than the New Zealand one right now.
2) Have a West Indian style rugby team which combines all three nations, much like the Pacific Islands XV which toured briefly and provided competitive and entertaining rugby.
I don’t know anyone that disliked watching these guys. They were aggressive, showed some serious intent on attack with some adventurous offloads and running deep from their own half. Sound defence didn’t seem as important but there were still plenty of one-off hits to get your blood pumping.
However, I feel my proposal won’t even be considered. The IRB has taken little notice of the Island nations’ plight and have managed to stuff this opportunity up.
Instead of touring every two years they changed it to every four years which made the Pacific unions question the financial benefits associated with the tours. Perhaps the IRB were scared the minnows would start taking over: after all they really pushed some of the power houses.
They have only won one international match but apart from one blow out, they appeared strong. Here are some of their results against southern hemisphere teams.
Australia 29 – 14 Pacific Islander
New Zealand 41 – 26 Pacific Islanders
South Africa 38 – 20 Pacific Islanders
I should also point out that these games were all played away and I am sure once they are playing in front of friends and family the intensity and passion will increase further.
3) Include them in the tri-nations. Now that the Pumas are included, the tournament will now be the five nations. Don’t they provide a more exciting prospect than the forward dominant Argentineans?
Obviously there would need to be a Pacific Rugby Board which overlooked these matters and some good management would need to take place if they were to avoid the situation we currently have with the highly dysfunctional West Indian Cricket team.
In an international sense wouldn’t every team love the opportunity to travel and have a competitive three match test series in the Pacific Islands? Who could say no to a month in Samoa, Tonga and Fiji with their hospitable rugby mad population?
If the All Blacks toured the Pacific Islands there would be hysteria reminiscent of The Beatles in their prime. Sold out stadiums would be no issue.
But surely it can’t just be about the money, the IRB needs a Cinderella story, they need a pinup to say, “yes, we care about rugby worldwide”. At the moment it feels like it is a bunch of 65 year old white guys with long beards and extremely conservative views that call the shots.
You get the feeling the board members are just those who are left. The ones who wanted to change things probably got sick of slamming their heads against a brick wall and walked out.
If the Pacific Island players were able to play in a regular competition, such as a Super 18, players would stay rather than fly off to Europe, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. When players leave the Islands, international sides are left with very little to choose from. Players would be able to form partnerships rather than being thrown together two weeks before playing the All Blacks and being told “to give it a go”
Suddenly you are able to develop players in their home region and provide some sort of player base from which you can build. This would help to strengthen the side and increase their competitiveness on the world stage.
There is an opportunity here for the IRB to create something special. To unleash upon the world one of the finest and most feared spectacles known to rugby, fifteen proud Polynesian men, working together and providing that unique charisma, athleticism and level of brutality that no other team can seem to muster.
4) Allow players who are of Polynesian descent to play for their home country. For as far as I can remember Polynesian players have moved to the greener pasture or have relocated at a young age, have represented Australia, New Zealand and even England. If they only play one game for their adopted home country they are no longer eligible to play for their country of birth or their spiritual home.
I am implying that this is a special case as Polynesian families often move due to limited opportunity in their home countries, which has far fewer resources, infrastructure and job potential than somewhere like Australia which is currently in a mining boom. Therefore if they are no longer needed by their adopted homeland why can’t we let them go home? The selectors of the respective powerhouse countries obviously don’t consider them a threat otherwise they would still be selected.
Players like Sivivatu could head home after no longer being required by the All Blacks and still be a dominant force in Polynesian rugby, while being able to offer guidance and veteran leadership for young players coming through the ranks.
Radike Samo and his amazing afro could have been playing for Fiji rather than heading to France, Japan, Schute Shield and then the Reds after only playing six matches for the Wallabies.
He obviously wasn’t wanted by the Wallabies; there wasn’t a great upheaval when he was dropped. Fiji would love to have someone of his experience playing for them rather than watching him play well overseas with no way of enticing his talents to Fijian international duty.
This is my Pacific Solution. For the love of rugby, just do it.
AceOvSpades
Roar Rookie
I think having the Puma's play in the Pacific Rim Cup would have been a better option and also more international games with top teams would help.
Spooony
Guest
Sorry but Samoa are funded by a NZ businesses not the IRB
Spooony
Guest
NZ is part of the Pacific Islands. If NZ helped them to get decent schools and more jobs in the city years ago, this would have not been a problem. NZ also cap them in their 7's team destroying their chances to play for any other Pacific nation. All those ideas mentioned in the article will flop. Who's going to pay them?
Sharminator
Roar Rookie
The IRB invests millions in the Pacific Islands, paying for the Pacific Nations Cup and Pacific Rugby Cup and for 7´s teams to compete on the world circuit. With the Pacific Rugby Cup now involving "A" teams, any player that plays in any of these competitions cannot play for any other country! In other words any player that plays in any of these IRB competitions cannot ever play for another country. Your talent nursery idea is simply invalid. It is individuals from the islands that decide, for whatever reason, to play for tier 1 nations, instead of their country of birth .. not the iRB ...
Sharminator
Roar Rookie
Many players in the past changed from one country to another, including Noriega, Tuigamala, Bachop, Bunce and Brian Smith. The rules let players change so they did. The point that many of you seem to be missing out on is that if players can play for more than one country, it can also lead to smaller countries losing players. Frank Bunce was an example of that, playing for Samoa in 1991, and getting noticed, before setting his sights on and getting selected for the All Blacks. If players could move countries again, then you would see players opting not to play for the islands in the hope of getting selected, for example, for the All Blacks. By the way .. the idea of an ethnic or racially based rule, allowing only Pacific Islanders to change countries would be ridiciulous and unworkable. The current rule is that players can only play for one country, where you were born, have parents, or grandparents, or have lived for 36 months. If you play in the first team, A team (which in some countries means the under 20 team) or 7s team for a country, you then cannot play for any other country. Manu Tuilgagi is the perfect example .. he grew up in Samoa, moved to England in his youth, and has 4 brothers that played for Samoa, but made his own decision to play for England. That was his choice, Good on him .... It seems fair enough ... you can only play for a country
Sharminator
Roar Rookie
Samoa, Tonga and Fiji dont want to play in a combined team! They want to be strong themselves and play games as individual countries! The PRA team was established to make money! To fill stadiums in the SANZAR and Home Unions so the money could then be distributed amongst the islands. Thankfully since 2007 the IRB has been pouring money into the islands, paying for both international and sub-national competitions to develop island players. All 3 countries have also been integrated into both the June and November internationals. The reality is that today there is no place on the international calendar for a PRA team, because its existance "robs" the Pacific Nations themselves of their best players. Its either one or their other ... a PRA team or the islands themselves being part of the test calendar. Thankfully today Samoa, Tonga and Fiji have the capacity to compete be competative against 1st tier nations and their is no need for the PRA team.
Sharminator
Roar Rookie
20 000 people paying how much to get in? Economically the economies of the islands mean that the price of tickets has to be low. 20 000 spectaors at a one off game in dosnt mean being part of a 7 nations o Super Rugby would be viable. Logistically, the lack of flights, hotels, and stadium, in and to the islands make the idea of the islands participating in 7 nations or Super rugby from the islands themselves, impossible.
Sircoolalot
Guest
Just no
PeterK
Guest
IMO the IRB is supporting the PI nations sufficiently to make sure rugby stays alive and it keeps being a nursery of talent for the tier 1 nations. However they will never provide enough support for them to challenge (and beat) the home nations constantly. It is bad enough that they are better than Scotland, they need to make sure it goes no further.
PeterK
Guest
Tristan , thank you for doing that. Rugbug was making it unenjoyable with the overly aggressive and abusive postings. Just lead to flame wars.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Players such as that renowned Australian prop, Patricio Noriega.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
By setting up a Pacifika super 15 side, playing in Sydney and Auckland, we allow players like Sivivatu the ability to provide for their families without renouncing the opportunity to play for their country. At the moment, the system is rigged in favour of the big, rich countries - it makes it simple and straight forward for them to take the best talent from the smaller, poorer countries. A Pacifika super 15 team would be a step against this, which is one reason why it wont happen.
Michael Clark
Guest
The inherent silliness in this concept is that it is based on ethnic background, not nationality. As has been pointed out ad nauseum, most leading PI players are not actually from the islands, they are connected by dint of ethnic origin. Try applying the same logic to ethnic celts, or scots? PI rugby actually benefits most from the current situation whereby it's national teams are greatly boosted by being able to draw on world class (mostly NZ and Australian) players who have ancestral islands connections.
allblackfan
Guest
TC, you can't afford to ignore Auckland, it's the biggest polynesian city in the world!
WQ
Guest
Vanilla Gorilla, Don't give up on this excellent idea! I agree I would much rather see some of the profit just made out of the RWC 2011 go towards subsidising Pacific Island Rugby than being spent in other emerging Rugby playing nations. I have said it several times on this site previously, the fastest way to add a couple more top tier teams to the RWC would be to provide more support to Pacific Island Rugby. I will guaranty you this, lets say we took twenty million and injected it into subsidising a Pacific Island entrant into Super Rugby i.e. a Pacific Islands team. That would have an immediate effect on the Test playing performance of those Countries. You take that same twenty million and give it to an emerging Rugby playing nation and it would take 10 years to have an effect on their Test playing performance if ever!
Rugbug
Guest
You have got to be kidding don't you UFA NOWHERE ever did I say the ABs weren't popular go back up one or two posts and actually read what I wrote then come back an offer an apology. I was questioning Manias statement that 3/4 quarters of the population do not know who the ABS are. So if you actually take the time to read then comprehend what I was replying to you will realise that I am question Manias statement, its no secret that the ABS are huge in Samoa after their own national team hence why I find it odd he would even dare suggest otherwise
Vanilla Gorilla
Guest
I think you will find that Tonga pulled out due to the change from the PI tour changing from 2-4 years. http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=47798
Sharminator
Roar Rookie
The islands have tiny populations, and tiny economies. It simply isnt viable economically or logistically to hold RC games in these countries. There is also the lack suitable stadums. In Australia a no frills adult ticket with a bad seat, to the Bledisloe, is $84, while the most expensive tickets can cost up to $500. There simply isnt the revenue generating capacity in the islands to cover the costs of visiting teams (in international rugby the host country always pays the costs of the visiting team). Regarding the IRB, it has nothing to do with the RC or SANZAR which run the RC and Super Rugby. It would be a loss making exercise for RC countries to play in the islands, the islands are currently involved in the Pacific Rugby Cup, against Super B teams, and June and November internationals, as well as the Pacific Nations cup. That is a huge improvement on the situation 10 years ago ... and under the current circumstances, seems sufficient.
Sharminator
Roar Rookie
Fine .. but introducing a racially based rule .. that Ethnically Polynesian players could choose to play for the country of their ethnicity ... while other players cant ever play for more than one country .. is clearly ridiculous and unworkable, It would make rugby the laughing stock of international sport. Im sure that Manu Tuilagi, Rockocoko, Mealamu or Radike Samu would have all made great test players for the islands, but they are all adults, and, after having lived in England, New Zealand, and Australia, and satisfying the IRB´s 3 year residency requirements, they qualified and were selected to play for national teams. That was their choice,
Sharminator
Roar Rookie
Exactly .. it would be nice if the Pacific Islands could be part of the RC ... but with small populations, small economies, low wages, and transport difficulties to arrive at the islands there is absolutely no business case to include them. Argentina is an entirely different case, as it is an industrialised country with a popularion of over 40 million, has a plethora of suitable stadiums in several different cities, can fill those staidums, and has demand for rugby on cable tv. The other problem is that the majority of the top island players now play in Europe, and if the players were going to be missing until September with the RC ... and then again in November with the Autumn internationals, European clubs might be less willing to sign them. This has actually happened to several Argentinian players, including Leicester´s Horacio Agulla who was told by Leicester that he wouldnt be signed for precisely that reason .. his probable involvement in the RC and absence for several months,