Of the 25 names read out last Sunday in the first Wallabies squad for the Test series against the British and Irish Lions, eight players – 32 percent of the squad – are of Polynesian descent.
Sekope Kepu, Saia Fainga’a, Sitaleki Timani, Wycliff Palu, Israel Folau, Christian Leali’ifano, Joe Tomane, and Digby Ioane.
Throw in Matt Toomua, Ben Tapuai, Radike Samo, the other Fainga’a twin, and the rest of the Polynesian players currently on Super Rugby contracts in this country and Australia is becoming the new New Zealand.
The ‘brown brothers’ are taking over!
In all seriousness though, the statistics above do ask the question: is rugby in Australia doing enough to fully represent and recognise the fastest growing population within the game?
If you look at a team sheet for Sydney or Brisbane club rugby on any given weekend, Polynesian names are prevalent.
Yet there is no formal recognition of this administratively, either at the states or the national union.
There should be.
While I’ve no doubt the development officers at community level are doing a great job, the Pacific community is a distinct beast.
More often than not, these kids come from larger families and grow up in the middle to lower socio-economic sector of the population.
This creates challenges in terms of paying club fees, buying boots, being able to ferry the kids to their rugby games and so on.
It’s a big commitment, especially in households where both parents are working.
Sitaleki Timani was brought up in his village in Tonga by his mother after his father died while he was young.
He comes from a big family, two of whom (Sita and his brother, Tongan international Sione Timani) have gone on to play international rugby, while their younger brother Lopeti has featured at Super Rugby level.
The Timanis are a great example of overcoming the odds.
But many more don’t.
How many future Kepus or Tatafu Polota-Naus are falling through the cracks and being missed out on due to these challenges?
Who are the best people to assist these families, and to identify who needs help, and who needs encouragement?
Inevitably Tatafu Polota Nau’s name gets mentioned whenever the Pacific Island rugby presence in western Sydney is raised publicly.
As an unofficial ambassador, both for the Parramatta Two Blues club and Polynesian rugby in general, ‘Taf’ has done a great job raising awareness, all of which has been of his own initiative.
But should this be left to him to do? Why aren’t we seeing more from the official bodies?
New ARU CEO Bill Pulver is waxing lyrically about a Super Rugby ‘B’ competition to grow the base of players capable of taking a step to the next level.
Based on the numbers playing the game, maybe an Australian Polynesians tournament should be the go instead!
At the moment, a lot of Polynesian kids get syphoned off to rugby league.
League is playing it smart. They get into the schools, identify the talent and then provide the financial support required to ‘capture’ the kids.
AFL is the same. It targets indigenous talent but the way it goes about it is something rugby should also be looking at.
I’ve heard of stories where kids who were spotted playing rugby have been ‘lured’ across to league by financial and other ‘assistance’ that has even included taking on board younger brothers on contracts as well!
That is a big step, but it does highlight an area where the 13-man code appears to be doing more, among a playing populace that is a critical ingredient to the health and well-being of Australian rugby.
Through the Lloyd McDermott Foundation, which does excellent development work, indigenous rugby is rightly receiving the support and encouragement it needs, which will hopefully build up the Aboriginal presence at the professional level in time.
Yet that influence will always be a fringe element in the process of developing Wallabies: there are more players of Polynesian decent in the national team now than there have been indigenous players in the last 20 years!
So why is the game sitting on its hands?
The Polynesian rugby community needs a boost as well; if only a more coordinated approach to its management, perhaps with a Pacific Islands division, to look after its welfare.
On the evidence of the list of Wallaby names announced last weekend, surely it would be a great investment!
Ra
Guest
Bluerose I have a mate whose mothers family carry your island country's name. They spell their name as Rotumah, but also mihi back to your island country. We shared stories and filled in a few gaps in our historical knowledge
Ra
Guest
John if you would like to check out the gene trail of Maori you will a young (then) Maori woman who traced her genes back to Taiwan. The upshot of that is her research discovered that our Polynesian ancestry is as a result of a bonding between an Asian woman and a Melanesian male. The timeline In Digging Up The Past a NZ Year 10 students social studies resource place early Polynesians as being near Fiji at the time of Christ. That place near Fiji could well be Rotumah. She also discovered that white people have two alcohol genes, whereas Coloured people have only one. That means that white people have more resistance to alcohol. I haven't been able to test the theory too often lately cause I don't really drink, but I'm sure my sons are up to it if anyone is looking for a binge partner lol
Ra
Guest
No not well said Johnno. The Maori All Blacks were invited to play in South Africa by the New South Africa government as their form of apology to Maori for the way we were treated under apartheid rule. It was white people who formed the first Maori rugby team in 1888 to tour Great Britain (where did the Great come from?). Yes Australia is a very diverse demography. We know that Australia is built on the backs of the immigrant. But we didn't come here looking for hand outs. We came here to work, to improve this country's economy and to reap the rewards of our skills we brought. It's a win-win agreement. But Maori were less welcome here in Aussie than we were in apartheid South Africa. At least South Africa accepted us if pledged to be honorary whites. But Maori were excluded from Australia under the Whites Only policy. This was challenged by the NZ Government and in the 1950s the ban was lifted and Aussie nightclubs rocked to the Kiwi sound of the Maori show bands who toured this great land for the next 30 years. Before we look to dismantle such ethnic teams and clubs like London Irish, London NZ etc, we should start by banning the Indigenous AFL & NRL teams and Murri & Koori tournaments. But I'll leave it to you to tell GI, Greg Bird, Fafiita, Thaiday, and company Johnno and don't leave out the S word while you're at it hahaha...!!!
Chivas
Guest
Most dignified of you Sheek and I say that sincerely. This is an emotive discussion and one I have enjoyed reading. The fact that all responses have been honest and respectful reminds me of why Australia is such a great country.Tolerance and understanding. I don't think it's the lucky country because if great weather, beached and economic opportunity. It's a great country because of the people that live here. So hats off to you for breaching the topic and to everyone who has contributed in such an honest and dignified manner. The last post I read was yours, Jiggs, Ras and Manias which brought me to making this post.
Ra
Guest
Hasn't changed much over 200 years for NT mob then eh
Ra
Guest
Gary you had better go around and bash your view point into all the communities who live as communities of countries of origin within Australia, for example the Greeks! Italian and lots of Asian and Eastern European countries. I studied indigenous languages just over 10 years ago and was amazed to discover that the language spoken most in the majority of homes in and around Melbourne was a language other than English. You can't bulldog people into wanting to belong. The British Empire is dead. Immigrant come here to build this land. We pay our taxes and reap the reward of our labour. I really think Australians should do better by your own indigenous peoples before telling us about things like "we are one" Governor Grey said the same thing to my people back in the 1850s "he iwi tahi tatou" he expounded "we are one people" then send his army and navy out to wage war against us. You're not a descendant of Grey by any chance ?
Ra
Guest
Hey Sheek, one of my elder brothers lived in Aussie 32 years. His wife was Aussie, his kids born Australian. He died in Aussie. We came over and buried him in Aussie. The Aussie government naturalized him Aussie way back in the early 1980s against his will "because he had been living in the country more than six years". Yet he never saw himself as Aussie. None of his rugby and rugby league, truckie coworkers, or church cohort ever saw him as Aussie How could they, he always played the guitar with a "Maori strum", he always spoke in broken Maori, and ate boiled fish head for breakfast. At his tangi (funeral) his kids talked about how he loved sucking the eye balls out LOUD. Well if he looks, sounds, plays the guitar and sucks out fish eye balls like a Maori, guess what - yep sounds like a bloody Maori to me - no matter where in Aussie he may have been living. Good on you for feeling Aussie. What say we don't tell you where we think your cultural and blood loyalties belong and you don't try and tell us, and one day, we might share a hapuka head together, but I bags the eyes.
Neuen
Roar Rookie
It was 36 just after they dropped the cons there.
Ra
Guest
Peeko bro, there are communities in Northern Territory with a life expectancy of 36. Your stats may be right for another mob though
bennalong
Guest
What rubbish! Scratch the surface in the UK and there's more racism than in Australia, though we're fast heading your waythanks to that corrupt organisation, the United Nations. 'Political correctness' suppresses free speech throughout the Western world now, and the UK is no exception, and if you think laws eradicate prejudice you're a fool. The people of a country have a right to express their opinion of the morays and beliefs of people of other countries and this right extends to those who choose to visit or immigrate. That this concept should now be offensive serves no good purpose and entrenches cultural sectarianism, so inimical to harmonious democratic process.
mania
Guest
i'll happily peel oranges and carry the luggage ps - sharks have the best cheerleaders
mania
Guest
adamS - isnt it still predominantly white ppl anyway. shouldnt ARU be trying to tap into the abo stream?
jus de couchon
Guest
As a nation of Immigrants its odd that differences of race are so Important to Australians. Any such attitudes here in the UK would quickly be rejected. The place is fast becoming a Country where people who don't comply to the Aussie Imaginary good bloke are not tolerated.
mania
Guest
actually jiggles i shoulda said noosa as opposed to goldcoast. i prefer to avoid the hustle and bustle of tourists. my daughter used to live in adelaide hence why i visted there. great place to raise kids. yes sydney is nice to visit
mania
Guest
OZ Islander - good awesome post and i almost fully agree . but then u are my aussie counterpart/equivalent, so not surprised our insights are similar. i'm often on the recieving end of the sentence "The Brown Boys are taking over” but that was usually touted by my enemies. but no where in this article or any others that i have posted in about PI rugby have i advocated the islands getting a handout or needing financial help from any foreign entity. PI rugby has to be sorted and fixed by PI's. its never been NZ or Aus' place to fix PI rugby. i agree that PI's need to stand on their own feet with strength pride and honour.
mania
Guest
its funny gary beacause we read the same article and each saw something different. my interpretation isnt at all about asking for hand outs, its about educating those that have no idea about islanders. this article to me was a celebration of PI's in rugby and noting the contribution that they're making on the world scene. i agree that poly's dont deserve special treatment, but another thing this article pointed out is the fact that rugby is missing most of these guys because of the socio economic class they come from which predominantly excludes them from going to private school and going through the aus rugby norm into shute then super. most likely these islanders will go to league. no where is it saying that PI's should be given a handout. its saying that aus better clue up and start taking seriously its islander population else they'll be lost to league. aus rugby is missing out on tapping ito a very rich resource for rugby. alot of these PI's are also aussies.
peeeko
Roar Guru
i dont believe that the ARU should treat any community group differently. you only have to look at every u20 rugby league and junior rugby team that australians of polynesian background have a huge representation and impact. in ten years time you will have people complain that no Anglos can get a run in pro rugby or league, which i guess is just bad luck and you cant possibly suggest that the ARU and NRl start academies to get more Anglos involved
peeeko
Roar Guru
the average life expectancy of aboriginals is not 37, not even close its 60 which is still way below the average Australiam
Chivas
Guest
I don't have a problem with what you are saying Gary. I think it is a sensitive subject. Something that can happen is people are told to go back home if they mention how proud they are of the country they are born in. In fact if you read posts about Deans you read this constantly by a few of the more red neck group on here. I think your attitude is what I think many Australians have and is warm and welcoming. But the article does raise the point should Australian rugby set up program's to make more of an effort to focus on certain players to ensure they play rugby by way of setting up program's that accommodate different cultures. An interesting point is how important family is and not just about money. The other point is why doesn't Australia have weigh ins especially in the little kids.0
bennalong
Guest
This article raises an issue that is obviously felt by polys who feel they're a minority group and a little on the outer compared with Euros and Asians It highlights the problem you get when you adopt a bullshit, made up term like 'multiculturalism' which implies the bleeding obvious (we've got a lot of people from different origins here) but carries an ideology viz they should resist assimilation (and form cultural ghettos thereby threatening social cohesion and the shared values that allow democracy to function) Most migrants are economic refugees.... they come here for job opportunities and education for their kids. They are strangers turning a dollar. Hopefully they will get to love this country too and bring their kids up to feel it's truly their home even if their heritage is elsewhere. Pacific islanders have a long history here but go largely unheralded. Perhaps what the insider hopes for is a recognition that through rugby they can and do make a really significant contribution to Oz and it's not receiving the promotion that would grow rugby in the west of Sydney, thereby creating a win win situation I reckon Polotenau should be given an MBE for services to rugby as well as his community. He has given back so much to his local team and to his community, and continues to give.He's a champion Australian!