“If the Tonga situation is not resolved by the RLIF immediately, it will be one of the biggest backwards steps (sic) for international rugby league in many years.”
Firstly, this is what someone said to me on Twitter. My Twitter account has been restored – but I won’t be using in the way I have until now. My two weeks without it have been complete bliss.
I’ll do my tweeting in places like this from now on. So, in lieu of a very long tweet…
The “Tonga situation” is players apparently vowing not to play in the World Cup Nines or Tests at the end of the year unless officials of the Tonga National Rugby League (TNRL) are removed.
Andrew Fifita led the charge on Instagram, vowing: “As players, we will not take part in the world 9s and the 2 test matches at the end of year.”
The players seem unhappy that Kristian Woolf has been removed as coach (amid speculation linking him to St Helens) and replaced by Garth Brennan. The TNRL will not even say if this has happened.
Should the RLIF resolve this matter immediately? No! How would we feel if players were upset with FFA changing coach of the Socceroos and FIFA jumped in and told us what to do?
As much as there is at stake – the success of the RLIF’s two properties, the World Cup and the World Cup Nines – this is a domestic issue.
If the players and the TNRL can’t sort it out and a bunch of domestic players are fielded, leading to 100-0 defeats (in Nines!), then that’s how the cookie crumbles. Bad luck.
There are a number of wider issues at play here but they are also functions of where international rugby league is and which can only be left to take their course.
Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images
The biggest of these is professional players representing amateur bodies.
The NRL and Super League stars may ‘be’ Tonga or Lebanon or whoever to the public but the fact is these are national teams who managed to convince full-time pros to turn out for them.
If they can no longer convince certain players to don their jersey, they are still a national federation of a small and developing sport with the right to field the national team in that sport.
That’s where Greece is in trouble – the domestic government doesn’t recognise the right of the current body to field a national team, so they must play away.
Tonga and Lebanon can always put out a team without Jason Taumalolo and Robbie Farah. Taumalolo and Farah, however, can’t field their own Mate Ma’a and Cedars teams in official competition.
No matter how much we buy into the modern phenomenon of player power, those stark facts remain.
That is not to say that the RLIF should not expect certain standards of domestic governing bodies and take action where due process, transparency and good governance are not in evidence.
That is exactly what happened in Greece, where the Hellenic Rugby League was suspended. That is the body still recognised by the country’s government.
The RLIF should perhaps remind the Tongans that telling a coach to stand down and then denying any such instruction (if that is what happened) is damaging to the intellectual property of the sport.
But the central complaints of the Tongan players so far made public do not invite RLIF interference.
Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images
The TNRL promised to keep a pot of $50,000 for the running of the national team but put it into grassroots development at home?
Firstly, the argument over a promise made and allegedly broken is between the people involved in the conversation.
Secondly, a governing body’s responsibility is to govern. Ploughing money back into development is a well-established policy! A national team is not a club team.
They changed the coach without asking the players? Well, once more, that’s got nothing to do with the international governing body. Nothing at all.
Big, well-paid professional athletes from Australia – who are at the top of the tree there, representing amateur bodies who administer a struggling sport elsewhere – have always created friction in international rugby league.
And sometimes that friction will cause a fire that burns down the whole house.
Your period of over-achievement is followed by a period of under-achievement.
So be it.
Matuu Pulotu
Guest
That's one of the reasons why the little islands will never compete with the big boys. There will always be money eyed politicians or people of power who will think selfishly vs for the greater welfare. It was fun while it lasted. Other countries are relieved that they have a better chance to place higher and not have to face the likes of Taumalolo, Jennings or Fifita on the pitch. Best of luck to all players.
Paul
Guest
Good article that missed the point - the undue recruitment and opaque practices of the governing body of the sport. Surely if you accredit an organisation they should adhere to certain standards of professional practice. There is enough noise to suggest that TNRL officials probably may not be qualified to hold their office. The fear of the players comes from the track record of the officials' alleged records of business failure and corruption. I don't know if that is true but RLIF should probably check that out. Are they accrediting orgs Willy nilly or keeping them accountable?
Danny
Guest
In a bit better state than the "Tongan" Rugby League team Bojakhorseman!
Big Daddy
Guest
Nothing good like a player revolt. I
Bojackhorseman
Guest
90 points. lol Going well Tongan union.
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
Probably to cover costs from their far reaching development program & team of development officers in Tonga which I'm sure is where a bit of those match funds go toward. https://www.facebook.com/NRLTonga/
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
yet that 'contrived' atmosphere came across pretty damn good in those league tests.
Jacko
Guest
No its actual BS to say that.....The IRB put Millions into the PI nations...League just profits off a few top quality pro's when they decide to play for Tonga over Aus or NZ.... Then League uses them to have a Tonga v Aus game in NZ just to make money for the ARL...None of that helped Tonga in any way with the ARL taking all the profits from the matches...
Macho
Guest
It was a warmup game and the The Tongan community is in Auckland isn't it and the difference in admission price for the 2 games is significant. Besides people knew that it would be a walkover which begs the qn why the Tongan RU agreed to the game. I'm pretty sure overwhelming majority of the Tongan players at WC will be born on the island which cant be said of the RL "heritage" players. Besides they didn't have to contrive atmosphere by playing methdist hyms?/Tongan songs over the loudspeaker for a NZ home game when Tonga were losing as occurred in the RLWC.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Marco of course union is much bigger over there.And anyone who disputes that fact ,hasn't been paying attention in class.Just like ru is much bigger in Fiji and will always be so. Rugby league still has a strong competition in both, and has the authority to go into the schools with its various programs. Like all of these Pacific Island people locals or those living/born overseas, they are mighty proud of their culture.And support their national team .And they should be applauded thus.
Marco
Guest
Isn't rugby union Tonga's national sport ? I know they play a bit of league but it's not exactly a big game over there.
Go warriors
Guest
Not only that but there were very few Tongan fans in the crowd. Very different to when the Tongan League team were playing. It is fair to say that League is doing much more for the Pacific Islands than what Union is doing.
Villi
Guest
Not really, the Ikale Tahi are part of us, they're our team. Tongan supporters all know the difficulty of getting our best players together. What happened in NZ was to be expected, they'll improve from that with another 2 weeks prep and another 7-8 of our best players coming into the team for the WC. They provide a glimpse of Tonga to the world, and they'll do us proud at the WC. 50% of our squad this WC is born and raised in Tonga, short of the governments goal of 70% but it's a beautiful thing.
concerned supporter
Roar Rookie
Tongan Rugby League must have received a boost with the Tongan Rugby team beaten by nearly 90 points by the All Blacks. They were dreadful, embarrassing.