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Eligibility not as big an issue as it seems

26th April, 2016
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Semi Radradra is off to France. Bon voyage! (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
Roar Guru
26th April, 2016
71
1028 Reads

Much has been made of Fiji-born Semi Radradra’s decision to represent Australia and Mal Meninga’s decision to select him for the upcoming Anzac Test.

There have been calls to say that Semi shouldn’t play for Australia but should play for Fiji to strengthen international rugby league.

There have been calls to say that if we don’t make a stand with Semi Radradra then masses of players who should be representing the developing pacific nations will instead choose to play for Australia or New Zealand.

There are a number of problems with making these calls.

Firstly, the majority of players who play for Pacific Island nations are actually born in either Australia or New Zealand.

There is no huge number of NRL players born in Fiji, Samoa or Tonga. Last year in the mid-season Test every player who represented Samoa was born in either Australia or New Zealand. Not one player was born in Samoa.

Tonga had two players in Konrad Hurrell and Solomone Kata with the other 15 players also born born in Australia or New Zealand.

Fiji had just four players born in Fiji. So of the 51 players representing Fiji, Samoa and Tonga, 45 of them were not born in the countries they represent.

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Papua New Guinea is the exception to this, with the majority of their players based in Port Moresby playing for the Papua New Guinea Hunters in the Queensland Cup.

However there is no Papua New Guinea-born player who is even close to playing rep football for Australia, most are fringe NRL players at best.

The only way that Pacific Nations are getting stronger is because players born in Australia or New Zealand are choosing to honour their parents or grandparents heritage and play for these nations.

They are first and foremost eligible for Australia or New Zealand and if the opportunity presents itself will make themselves available to play for a top tier nation.

Players such as Josh McGuire, Anthony Milford and the Sims brothers are Aussies. Their dream is to represent Australia, but they also have enough respect for their heritage to represent Samoa and Fiji respectively until they get the opportunity to play for Australia.

The second issue for those calling on Semi Radradra to spurn Australia and play for Fiji is the question of when? Last year Fiji played one game and it will be the same in 2016.

Fiji have never played in the Four Nations and have to battle Tonga, Samoa and Papua New Guinea for one spot available each four years.

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Fiji will be there in the World Cup in 2017 and get to play perhaps two of the major three nations. Semi is one of the best wingers in the world and is expected to play a couple of games every four years rather than have the opportunity to play at the highest level every year against the best in the world?

If we really were serious about strengthening the international game and encouraging Semi to play for Fiji then as a game we would make sure that developing nations played Australia and New Zealand every year so they keep getting the opportunity to improve.

The reality is that will never happen as it would involve shortening the NRL season and there is too much money at stake to do that.

So let’s stop the outrage and be glad that we get watch Semi Radradra at the highest level on a regular basis and enjoy his amazing talents.

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