Prominent Pasifika community leader Pakilau Manase Lua has resigned from New Zealand Rugby’s (NZR) Pasifika Advisory Group, saying it is “unacceptable” for there still to be no Pacific representation on the board.

Pakilau officially resigned from NZR’s PAG on Thursday night.

“They (NZR) made us a toothless advisory group with no power, no voice and no representation on the board. I said to them I am not happy and I don’t want to be just warming a seat,” he told RNZ Pacific.

He posted the reasons for his resignation today on Facebook. He said NZR called him, asking for the post to be removed, but he declined.

RNZ Pacific has contacted NZR and its various board members for comment. We are yet to receive a response.

However, in a statement to Pacific Media Network, the union said: “NZR acknowledges the huge contribution of Pasifika on the field and recognises that this is not reflected in equitable representation across non-playing roles, including governance.”

“NZR is currently supporting its voting members through a process of reform which will see a modern governance model for rugby that reflects greater diversity across gender, background and ethnicity.

“The NZR Board is committed to seeing culturally diverse voices at all levels of this governance model.

“NZR has recognised Pasifika as a priority area for the organisation and launched a Pasifika Strategy in November 2023 to enable, embrace and empower positive outcomes for Pasifika in rugby. The implementation of a year one action plan is already underway and reflects a long-term commitment.”

‘The straw that broke the camel’s back’
Pakilau told RNZ Pacific his resignation “was not an overreaction” but a response that “was three years in the making”.

He said the PAG committee sent a letter to the NZR Board about their concerns.

“They never got back to us” and “that was the straw that broke the camel’s back”.

He said that NZR “continues to disrespect the contribution of Pacific Islanders to rugby in New Zealand by not having them in management or in the board, despite Pacific Islanders contributing almost 40 percent of players to the New Zealand All Blacks, Black Ferns and sevens teams”.

“We are only used when needed, seen as performing monkeys for colonial institutions. They take us for granted. Good PR but actually there is nothing there.”

Last year, the NZR launched its Pasifika Rugby Strategy, which aims to develop Pacific Islanders in the local rugby circle to take up leadership roles in coaching, refereeing, management and boards.

NZR chair Dame Patsy Reddy said then that the organisation was focused on enhancing environments that were prepared to embrace Pasifika and their values.

‘Pasifika people bleed on the rugby field’
But Lua said despite the strategy he believed Pasifika were still “not being heard”.

“We deserve a seat at the table. Those days of being seat warmers are over.

“They seem to be ignoring [the Pasifika Rugby Strategy]. They want to set up an independent board with no representation from the grassroots, no representation from Pasifika, despite our massive contributions and disrespecting the manna of our Tausoa Fa’atasi strategy.

“They don’t bother to respect the fact that our Pasifika people bleed on the rugby field but then don’t have representation on the Board.”

He said he has been on the PAG for three years.

“We have been saying from day one that we need to make sure the Pacific Island voices are heard.”

He said it was an insult to the Pacific Island community that NZR still did not recognise those who had the experience, skills and the knowledge to sit on boards here in New Zealand.

Pakilau said there were enough experienced Pasifika Islanders in New Zealand to take up a position on the board and perform as expected.

“It’s all about money. They are there already controlling hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said.

The NZR Pacific Advisory Group includes Eric Nima Nabalagi, Fonoti Seti Talamaivao, Savae La’auli Sir Michael Jones, Seiuli Fiao’o Fa’amausili and Saveatama Eroni Clarke.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Argentinian winger Emiliano Boffelli scored all his team’s points as they defeated Manu Samoa 19-10 at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne, France, yesterday in a Rugby World Cup pool D match.

That gave the Pumas their first win at the tournament and keeps their hopes alive of claiming a quarterfinal berth, with two matches against Chile and Japan on the line.

Manu Samoa head coach Vaovasamanaia Seilala Mapusua said he regretted the way they lost the match, after having had their own fair share of opportunities and not executing their chances well.

Rain fell as the game started and the slippery ball became a challenge to control.

Missed opportunities gave Manu Samoa away in the first half as Argentina led 13-3 at halftime.

Christian Leali’ifano, trusted for his goal-kicking accuracy, missed two kickable penalties which could have secured the Samoans six extra points in the half.

Then after having put the Pumas scrum under pressure, halfback Jonathan Tumataene knocked on metres from the Pumas’ tryline in what could have turned the momentum their way, close to halftime.

Pumas feed off Samoan mistakes
Argentina fed off the Samoans’ mistakes and Boffelli had scored all his team’s 13 points in the first half — a try, conversion and a penalty.

Vaovasamanaia said they missed their chance of getting the win, but the Pumas adapted well to the atmosphere.

“We made too many mistakes and we didn’t adapt to the conditions, particularly at the start of the game,” he said.

“I thought Argentina executed their gameplan really well and we weren’t able to adapt. We knew that with [Emiliano] Boffelli in their team that they could slot them from anywhere and getting that yellow card early on didn’t help us.”

Vaovasamanaia said the momentum towards the end of the game was exciting but they ran out of time.

“There’s always a possibility when there’s time on the clock, unfortunately for us we ran out of time. We weren’t able to get our game going, but I’m really proud of the boys’ efforts.”

A few opportunities
He added the team created a few opportunities but did not finish that off.

“If we had finished off some of those moves, it would have become a very different game.”

Captain for the day, Chris Vui, said it was a tough clash, but they also had their chances which they did not use to their advantage.

“In this sort of game, you need to execute and take the opportunities, and for us, we probably did not take it,” he said.

“Extremely proud of the boys today. That was an awesome game. I thought both teams played that flair rugby that rugby’s missing at the moment.

“There was huge collisions. Personally, I really enjoyed it.”

He said they missed the opportunity to swing the game their way towards the first half.

A huge opportunity
“That opportunity was huge for us. That could have changed the momentum of the game,” he said.

“We probably needed to change that momentum back to us and we didn’t execute. Games like these, you only ever get one or two chances, and that was one of them.

“Next week, we’re going to look at it, and we’re going to be better for it.”

Samoa will focus on Japan, who they play next weekend.

One of the key areas they will have to work on is keeping the ball in hand, which Vaovasamanaia said is something they have been working on, even after their win over Chile two weekends ago.

“It is something we addressed last week and we will need to address that again, nailing those core roles in crucial moments. The more time we spend being put under those types of pressure will help us improve,” he added.

Samoa pressured early
Samoa was under pressure early in the game after fullback Duncan Paia’aua was yellow-carded for what referee Nic Berry of Australia was a dangerous tackle after the Pumas fullback Juan Martin Gonzales had jumped high to take the ball and landed with his head towards the ground.

Berry claimed that Paia’aua had interfered with Gonzales, thus the penalty.

The Pumas made use of the opportunity as Samoa was one man down and Boffelli stepped back in to score a try. He kicked the conversion for his team to lead 7-0.

Manu Samoa won a penalty inside the Pumas half minutes later but Leali’ifano swung the ball wide.

Boffelli extended his team’s lead to 10-0 with another successful attempt before Leali’ifano raised the flags with his attempt that went off the crossbar, reducing the scoreline to 10-3.

Then Boffelli added another penalty as the Pumas led 13-3 at the breather.

Showing good cohesion in the lineouts, the Pumas started dominating with their driving mauls as the second spell resumed.

Boffelli added another penalty before the Samoans turned the fire on.

With time ticking away and a possible bonus points on offer the Samoans went on attack again.

Flanker Fritz Lee knocked on as they countered and a possible try went begging.

Replacement Sama Malolo then dived over in a forward rush after a tap penalty five metres from the Aregentinian tryline.

Alai D’Angelo Leuila converted and the Samoans were back in the game at 16-10.

Boffelli then stepped up to have the last say of the game when he fielded another successful penalty to give the Pumas the 19-10 victory.

Game statistics
Argentina enjoyed the possession and territory more on attack.

They had 62 percent of possession in the game and 59 percent of the territory.

The Pumas also carried the ball more, covering 602 metres compared to Samoa’s 239.

In the set-pieces, Argentina dominated too winning 94 rucks and mauls against Manu Samoa’s tally of 49.

In defence, Samoa managed to make 141 tackles, which meant they were under pressure more while the Pumas were only required to make 77 tackles.

Samoa lost three lineout throws but managed to match the Pumas in the scrums.

Both teams had high penalty counts, with Samoa giving away 13 and Argentina 11.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Fiji Drua beat Moana Pasifika in both teams’ first match of Super Rugby Pacific 2023 in a pulsating game that went to the wire before Fiji Drua triumphed 36-34 at Mt Smart stadium.

There were 11 tries in a fast-paced encounter on Saturday, with the Drua’s sixth score, in the 77th minute to substitute wing Taniela Rakuro, who was elevated from the development squad on Thursday.

The contest could have gone either way, and while it wasn’t a game for the purists given the high rate of errors, it was an engrossing game.

Moana Pasifika attempted to dominate up front and were rewarded early on with tries to Abraham Pole and Chris Apoua.

However, the Drua always looked threatening with hooker and captain Tevita Ikanavere, who was in standout form making barging runs. He was rewarded with two tries.

Other notable performances were from loose forwards Joseva Tamani and Kitione Salawa and backline star Iosefo Masi.

Moana Pasifika’s 12-0 early lead was extended to 26-19 at half-time.

It remained an even contest before Masi completed his brace to level the scores at 31-31.

Skipper Christian Leali’ifano put Moana Pasifika back in front with the only penalty shot of the match before the Drua produced a mesmerising try to snatch the lead and victory, with Rakuro going over.

Impressive second half
Fiji Drua coach Mick Byrne was delighted by the effort.

“We started slowly but the boys got into it after we had a chat at half-time, and they played with the freedom that I allowed them,” he said.

“Put it this way, we were looking forward to playing our games in front of our fans and do they deserve it?”

Aaron Mauger was disappointed for his Pasifika team.

“I am proud of the guys for putting in the effort against a team that came at them.

“They started really well we gave them a couple of opportunities to get back into the game and I think our game management was poor.

“We gave them opportunities and they were good enough to take them.”

At Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland: Fijian Drua 36 (Tevita Ikanivere 2 tries 20min, 45min, Joseva Tamani try 28min, Iosefo Masi 2 tries 36min, 58min, Taniela Rakuro try 77min; Teti Tela 2 con; Caleb Muntz con), Moana Pasifika 34 (Abraham Pole 2 tries 2min, 50min, Chris Apoua try 8min, Mike Curry try 24min, Danny Toala try 39min; Christian Lealiifano pen, 3 con). Ht: 19-26.

Yellow card: Sam Slade (Moana) 26min.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Māori and Pasifika female rugby players and advocates are asking to not be an afterthought.

Māori/Pasifika community rugby representative Chantal Bakersmith said the latest New Zealand Rugby (NZR) report highlighting issues surrounding the treatment of Black Ferns players was not surprising.

A scathing review released this week by NZR raised concerns within Black Ferns’ culture and environment and said Māori and Pacific players had been badly served by both team management and the governing body.

Bakersmith, who has developed pilot programmes for women’s rugby within NZR, said the issues were not new.

“Planning for women’s rugby, it was always an afterthought, and you really had to push your case for it to be thought about,” she said.

“And then there was always this feeling that because I’m questioning things I’m an agitator or being a pain — but there’s a population that hasn’t been served or thought about.”

The review was a result of Black Ferns hooker Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate, who shared a social media post saying the Black Ferns head coach Glenn Moore told her she did not deserve to be on the team, and was “picked only to play the guitar”.

Cultural competency needed
Rugby advocate Alice Soper said Pākehā coaches needed to understand cultural competency and be able to relate to their players.

“Any excuse around ignorance is just arrogance,” she said.

“We live in a time where there is multiple things that you can access to upskill yourself and if you are a Pākehā coach and you are going into a team that is predominantly Māori or Pasifika then you need to be upskilling yourself — that is a basic part of your role.”

Soper said changed behaviour and the removal of the current coach was a must. It was understood that Moore would remain as the head coach until at least the Women’s World Cup in October.

However, female rugby players also need to take accountability of their own performance, said former Black Ferns representative Regina Sheck.

Sheck, who played prop for the Black Ferns from 1994 to 2004, said the NZR review seems to be about a communication issue rather than a management issue.

She said a lot of the ownership of not being selected comes down to the players themselves.

“If you haven’t put in the effort then don’t be surprised if you don’t get the call-out,” she said.

‘Take a look at themselves’
“Players need to take a look at themselves — well that’s just life in general. Don’t throw stones if you live in a glasshouse.

“What’s happened since the Black Ferns started to get paid, and this is how I look at it, this could also go back through to NZR as well — is that there hasn’t been any development.”

Despite the report, Bakersmith said that there were some initiatives that NZR had created to ensure rugby culture was more inclusive for women.

“There’s a programme called Ako Wāhine, and it’s fully focused on upskilling or recruiting women from all different parts of rugby experience — whether as a manager or as a player or as a coach, anybody.”

“They had the first cohort rollout last year and you’ll see these cohorts throughout the community and across the country, so that’s positive.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The tiny Pacific territory of Wallis and Futuna can, per capita, surely lay claim to be test rugby’s hottest talent nursery.

Three players who trace their heritage to Wallis and Futuna — a French “overseas collectivity” located north-west of Fiji and west of Samoa — are in France’s Six Nations squad.

Hooker Peato Mauvaka — a two-try hero in France’s 40-25 win over the All Blacks last November and lock Romain Taofifénua have been joined in Fabien Galthie’s squad by young centre Yoram Moefana, Taofifénua’s second cousin.

Both Mauvaka and Moefana played in France’s hard-won 13-9 victory over Wales in Cardiff last night – a victory that keeps alive their hopes of a first grand slam and Six Nations title in a decade.

Lock Taofifénua would probably also have played if he had not contracted covid-19.

When Mauvaka and Taofifénua came off the bench to join Moefana in the recent win over Ireland, Wallis and Futuna effectively supplied 20 per cent of the France XV. This was repeated in the victory over Scotland.

Wallisians and Futunans have the right to live anywhere in France, so automatically qualify for French national sporting teams.

Born in New Caledonia
The list of French rugby internationals includes some players born in France to parents from Wallis and Futuna, or born and raised in New Caledonia where around 30,000 Wallisians and Futunans live.

Outside back Yann David, who still plays for Top 14 club Bayonne, had four tests in 2008. He was born in Lyon in mainland France, but his mother, Monika Fiafialoto, a former French javelin champion, is Wallisian.

Towering Noumea-born lock Sébastien Vahaamahina had 46 test caps between 2012 and 2019. Vahaamahina, who scored his first try in the 2019 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal, retired from test rugby after getting sent off for elbowing a Welsh rival in the head in that 2019 defeat.

Still only 30, he continues to play in the Top 14 for Clermont.

Vahaamahina was often joined in France’s second row engine room by Romain Taofifénua, whose father, Willy was one of the first players from Wallis and Futuna to make a mark on the French club scene.

Romain — born in Mont-de-Marsan in France and raised in Limoges — made his test debut in 2012. The 31-year-old has since garnered 32 caps.

Brother Sébastien, 30, propped France’s scrum in two tests in 2017. The Taofifénua twosome, and their cousin Vahaamahina played together in a 23-23 draw with Japan that year.

Rugby World Cup squad
Vahaamahina and Mauvaka were joined in France’s 2019 Rugby World Cup squad by another player with Wallis and Futuna heritage, Toulon hooker Christopher Tolofua, another cousin of the Taofifénuas, who has seven caps since his debut at 18 in 2012.

Tolofua’s younger brother, Selevasio, a No 8, has won European Champions Cup and French Top 14 honours with Toulouse, alongside Mauvaka and ex-All Blacks great Jerome Kaino. He won his first and so far only test cap at No 8 in the 2020 Autumn Nations Cup final defeat to England at Twickenham, playing with Mauvaka and Yoram Moefana.

So fielding players with Wallis and Futuna lineage is nothing new for Les Bleus, but Moefana’s emergence has served to heighten the link.

The 21-year-old — who has played little more than 30 Top 14 games for Bordeaux-Bègles – has beaten the more experienced Fiji-born Virimi Vakatawa for the berth in midfield alongside the talented Gaël Fickou. In the last two games, against Scotland and Wales, he ha played on the wing.

Moefana was reportedly born on Futuna but moved to France at 13 to live in Limoges with a professional rugby career as his goal. He lived in France’s porcelain industry capital with his uncle, Tapu Falatea, 33, now a prop for Agen in France’s second tier.

Young Moefana was soon recruited by the Colomiers academy and made his Pro D2 debut with the club in 2018.

After just six games, he was signed in 2019 by Bordeaux-Bègles, where he plays alongside test teammates Cameron Woki, Matthieu Jalibert and Maxime Lucu and Tonga’s former Chiefs prop Ben Tamiefuna.

Represented France Under-20s
Moefana represented France at under-20 level before becoming the nation’s first test player born in the 21st century when he made his debut, aged 20, against Italy in November 2020.

Judging by his assured display against Ireland’s highly-rated midfielders Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose, Moefana could be in for a long stay in the blue jersey.

Galthie told French media before the start of the Six Nations that Moefana had been on his radar since February 2020 while “he was with the U20s, and he worked with us at senior training camps.

“We’ve seen him progress with Bordeaux and when we had to enlarge the group for the [2020] Autumn Nations Cup, we didn’t hesitate to start him because he was already impressive in training. His potential was obvious then, and he performed well in the final against England.”

Moefana was supposed to tour Australia in 2021, but got injured and spent a long spell on the sidelines.

Galthie had no hesitation hurling the youngster into the Six Nations, saying: “Technically, physically and psychologically, without forgetting his talent, he is ready to meet all the requirements of this game.”

Bordeaux-Bègles coach Christophe Urios has praised Moefana as “an easy player to manage” and “always reliable”, saying the young Christian is “as reserved, even shy, in life as he is aggressive on the field”.

‘Not an ambassador yet’
A modest Moefana told French media that while it was “always nice to find guys who come from New Caledonia, Wallis or Futuna in the French team” he did not see himself as “an ambassador yet”.

“I think more of Romain [Taofifénua] because he’s been there for a long time. For young people, I think of Peato [Mauvaka] with his club and selection experience. I find out.”

Moefana’s father, Taofifenua Falatea, had earlier ventured to France to play for Niort, but injury stalled his career. Today, he is president of the Union Rugby Club de Dumbéa (URCD) club in Dumbéa, near Noumea, which is formally linked to the Toulouse club.

Mauvaka, is the URCD club’s most famous product, playing in Toulouse’s winning titles-winning team last season before his brace against the All Blacks.

“I’m not going to hide it from you, we tend to support the All Blacks and his dad has always been a fan of the All Blacks,” Falatea told France’s La Croix newspaper last December. “Playing the All Blacks is already something for him, but scoring tries for [France] and being man of the match is great. Frankly, I think he made history.”

Mauvaka — first spotted by Toulouse as a 14-year-old centre — made his test debut in 2019 and now has 12 caps. He has carved a niche as an impact player off the bench, replacing clubmate Julien Marchand at hooker.

Moefana, Mauvaka and Taofifénua — all in line now to play for France against England in the championship decider Paris next weekend — may not be the last proud Wallisians and Futunans to line up at Stade de France to the strains of La Marseillaise.

Donovan Taofifénua, Romain’s 22-year-old cousin and an Under-20 World Cup winner with France, plays in Paris for Racing 92 and has already been called up to France senior squads.

According to the La Croix article, people of Wallis and Futuna heritage comprise 10 percent of New Caledonia’s population, but represent 80 percent of the Union Rugby Club de Dumbéa membership.

The production line should roll on.

Wallis and Futuna at a glance

• Wallis and Futuna is a French overseas collectivity known, officially, as the Territory of the Islands of Wallis and Futuna, or Territoire des îles Wallis-et-Futuna.
• Located in the Pacific Ocean, 280km north-west of Fiji and 370km east of Samoa.
• Has three main islands (Wallis, Futuna and Alofi) and 20 small islets.
• The resident population is around 12,000, with another 30,000 people of Wallis and Futuna descent living in New Caledonia.
• Its people are Polynesian, but, as French citizens, have an automatic right to live anywhere in France.

Tony Smith is a journalist for Stuff. Sources for this article include La Croix, Rugby World, Sud-Ouest newspaper, Wikipedia and New Zealand and Australian government websites. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Fijian Drua have made history, defeating the Melbourne Rebels 31-26 in Queensland for their first-ever Super Rugby win last night, and Moana Pasifika lost their debut match 33-12 against the Crusaders in Dunedin but still impressed.

The tournament newcomers Drua went into Friday night’s match as underdogs following heavy defeats to the Waratahs and Brumbies in the opening two rounds.

Following the game, the Drua head coach Mick Byrne said he was pleased the team stuck with their plan.

“I said it last week, and we have been training well, we have been training our game well, and I think just getting use to the fact that the physical nature of Super Rugby and as I’ve said, I’m pretty much repeating myself again, I’m proud about the boys went about their task,” Byrne said

“We’ve got two players who have Super Rugby experience, so we just have to keep building each week and getting use to turning up the next Monday and going again for the next week.”

Byrne said the team have been working extremely hard since the first day of training, and tonight, they got their just desserts.

Fijian Drua fought back from 14-nil down to take a lead they never relinquished, and notch a historic, first-ever Super Rugby victory.

Meli Derenalagi was captain on the night. He said the message to the boys before the game was just to go outside and enjoy it.

“Even though we went down for first the two games but we need to stand out and try to be competitive for this Super Rugby.”

Onisi Ratave, Vilive Miramira and Apisalome Vota all dotted down for Mick Byrne’s heroic team.

The Drua will next meet the Reds.

Moana Pasifika ‘would have made their families proud’
Moana Pasifika lost their debut Super Rugby match but they showed a lot of positive signs in Friday night’s 33-12 defeat to the Crusaders in Dunedin.

Moana Pasifika had their first two matches postponed after a covid outbreak within the squad.

The Moana Pasifika captain Sekope Kepu said his side played with passion and would have made their families proud in their Super Rugby debut.

“I was very proud of the lads, the way they fronted up,” hde said.

“The Crusaders are a team that can punish you but I thought we kept coming back and keep showing up for each other and spoke about it all week, being courageous as a group, and doing it for our families and our people and I thought we showed that.”

Moana Pasifika coach Aaron Mauger said he felt the Moana Pasifika forwards did outstanding work.

“Credit is has got to go to Filo and Puleasi for the work they have done with the guys and for the guys out there who are just fronting up and executing their roles, it was really impressive.

“When we got the ball, making sure we were really clinical with it. I think they had 28 percent for most of that first half, so it was actually hard to build pressure with our attack, we had some plans to do that but like you say…we spent most of the time defending.

“It’s certainly an area we want to focus on, it’s clearly the Crusader’s plan to try and gas us. They knew we had been locked up for 12 days, we’ve only had three intensity trainings since we come out and just try and manage our work loads and on the back of that.

“It was a pretty outstanding performance, and Sekope used that word courageous before, I thought it was really courageous.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Fiji’s rugby team is set to have another round of covid-19 testing today as they seek to salvage what is left of their Autumn Nations Cup tour of Europe.

Over the weekend it was announced the Flying Fijians would have their third consecutive test match cancelled due to a coronavirus outbreak in the squad.

The team’s match game against Scotland, originally set for November 29, has been cancelled like the other two other matches.

Fiji’s clash with Italy was supposed to be played last Saturday gone, but was called off after 29 members tested positive for covid-19 last week.

A test against France was cancelled the week before as it became evident the virus was present among the touring party.

Fiji Rugby CEO John O’Connor told RNZ Pacific there would be more coronavirus tests today.

The BBC reported organisers saying halting the Scotland match was “unavoidable” due to the 10-day isolation period for players.

There is still hope that Fiji would still be able to play their final scheduled match against the fourth-place Pool A side on December 5.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

World Rugby must adopt a “one country one national team” in world competitions as it is done in the Olympics and all the other world sports, says the prime minister of Samoa who is also his nation’s rugby chairman.

This means the United Kingdom must have one rugby team to incorporate England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales in the future.

Samoa Rugby Union chairman, Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, says this in response to the controversial League of 12 competition proposed by World Rugby that will ultimately marginalise Pacific teams and poorer rugby unions.

READ MORE: World Rugby reveals plans for nations championship

“We have perpetuated this absolute nonsense – of four national teams by the United Kingdom – for so long and the worst part is the silence from the older unions like South Africa, New Zealand and Australia in the Southern Hemisphere. Their silence speaks volumes,” said Tuilaepa, who will attend his first World Rugby Council meeting in Dublin in a few weeks.

Samoa Rugby Union chair Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi … seeking “quality” and “fairness” in world competitions. Image: Talamua

“Rugby is a 20th century sport, where the colonial mindset is a thing of the past. So as long as this abnormality continues in World Rugby, with four national teams for the United Kingdom alone, the voting power will always be skewed in favour of the kind of decision-making that is not inclusive and is harmful to the best interests of the sport internationally.”

Tuilaepa said the new league means that not only are Pacific teams excluded, but all other rugby playing nations will be relegated to second class status.

“Which is contrary to the often-proclaimed world rugby objectives of growing the sport internationally; and to care for the welfare of our 9 million rugby players; and sustain the interest of over 300 million rugby fans worldwide,” he said.

‘Breeding farms’
“This new concept will treat Tier 2 Unions as mere breeding farms for the Rich 12 to pick and choose players from.

“Then on top of that, players aged 20 years in 2022, at the height of their careers in the island teams will be denied the opportunity to play top rugby for the whole period of 12 years.”

A “one nation one national team” policy is one of three major changes Tuilaepa wants to raise the quality and incorporate fairness in to competitions, for the sportsmen and sportswomen as well as the unions themselves.

Firstly, the eligibility rules should be more liberal. Like those adopted by World Rugby League.

The best approach for Tier 2 nations is for member unions to pick the best players for their test matches then allow unselected players to play for the country of their roots. In this way, competitiveness is maintained and the competition becomes more exciting for the fans worldwide.

Secondly, the gate-sharing of the amateur days of rugby, in which the host union takes all, should be replaced with a more professional sharing ratio of 50/50 for the visitors and host team, for any competition.

“This will ensure a more balanced distribution of the gate takings for games held in rich or poor nations.

Gate sharing
“If this gate sharing is modernised to a sharing ratio that appropriately reflects the professional era we have long been in, the revenue derived from the sweat of our island players when touring the super-rich venues of England is enough to meet our yearly budget for every annual tournament we participate in, every year in the Northern Hemisphere,” he said.

“Then Tier 2 nations should never have to resort to or be branded as beggars, depending on handouts.

“The current annual tours by Tier 2 nations only serve to fill the pockets and replenish the already fat bank accounts of the Irish, Scottish, English, Welsh, French and Italians every year and our small Tier 2 Unions continue to struggle, year in and year out, with huge bank overdrafts.”

Tuilaepa also suggested establishing a Tribunal “by law to adjudicate on complaints” raised by affected members.

“Perhaps it is time for a world tribunal, established especially in a neutral venue like “The Hague”, to adjudicate on contentious issues that are so blatantly wrong and which destroy the spirit of sportsmanship for millions of the world’s rugby youths of today that will become world leaders of tomorrow.

“Their hypocrisy is very clear. We can see it’s just lip service when there is talk of development for Tier 2 Nations.

“The ‘do as I say and not as I do’ syndrome is alive and well in this popular sport of world rugby.

‘Greed and selfishness’
“The inclusion of Italy and the United States, [which] are not in the top 12 world rankings, clearly points to greed and selfishness.”

“A better alternative to consider would be to stage two competitions – a Tier 1 competition to include the top 12 ranked teams in the world and a Tier 2 competition to include the next 12 teams, chosen on the basis of their ranking.

“At the end of the season the worst performing four Teams in the Tier 1 competition move down from Tier 1 and the best performing four Teams from Tier 2 move up to Tier 1.
He also suggested that all participating unions must receive broadcast (rights) compensation payments, plus gate sharing.

“This is a more positive pathway for Tier II rugby nations to move up the ladder in world rugby.”

This article by Talamua chief editor Lance Polu is republished by the Pacific Media Centre with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz