There are many people — and not just Pacific Islanders — who’ve been disappointed that our teams didn’t do much better in the early stages of this Rugby World Cup.
Fiji, Samoa and Tonga all finished their four matches of pool play without qualifying for the quarter-finals this weekend. That’s because they managed only one win each. Those results were a sad let-down when we had such high hopes for them this time.
But we shouldn’t be whingeing, complaining or commiserating. There’s much to celebrate about PI rugby. And rugby league, too.
Take Tonga, for example. There were Tongan players in eight of the 20 teams competing in the Rugby World Cup. For a small nation (with a home-based population of not much more than 100,000) that was already a victory.
Of course, we Tongans flew the flag whenever our national team turned out. But, when the US played, we cheered for them too, because they had a Tongan in the team. Likewise with Japan, England and Wales. Even Romania. And, of course, the All Backs, even though the sole Tongan in the AB squad this time has been Malakai Fekitoa. Then there’s Australia with four Tongans, which may be almost enough to overcome our standard Kiwi dislike of the Wallabies.
That widespread representation is a big step forward from where we were 20 years ago.
The reality is that the Tongan brand has been growing, and there’s scope for much more profitable and pleasurable growth internationally.
What we need to do, though, is avoid being small-minded — and stop assuming that our one and only priority is to develop our rugby talent just for our national team.
The fact is, for our talented young footballers, there are commercial opportunities to sell their skills to overseas buyers from wealthy clubs or franchises in Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand or other more exotic locations.
Tonga is too small to match their sort of money to keep our talent at home. And why would we even want to? If our players can strike a profitable deal with an overseas buyer, we all win. It’s a win for the sport if our rugby exports help make the game a more exciting spectacle — and a win for our folks if more money flows into more Tongan hands.
There’s a bonus, too, because, if more of our players are getting professional experience overseas — and, if they feel indebted to Tonga for the support and encouragement they’ve had in landing those contracts — they’re more likely to feel an allegiance to Tonga and be keen to represent their country when the Rugby World Cup rolls around again in another four years. And that means we’ll have a team that can no longer be seriously labelled as Minnows or Tier Two outfits.
The same goes for Samoa and Fiji. It applies to rugby league as well. It’s really just a matter of recognising that sporting skill is an exportable commodity — and that our Pacific countries have a big international future as incubators of that talent.
That’s what Shane Jones seems to have in mind in Fiji. He’s New Zealand’s ambassador for Pacific economic development — and recently, he invested $600,000 in Fiji on a pilot project to provide pastoral care and support for the sporting talent that Fiji has already been exporting.
That’s exactly what Tonga needs. And, I’m sure, Samoa as well. It’s the kind of project that could be multiplied 10, 15 or 20 times over the next few years
I can see it applying, for example, to the 30 to 40 Tongan boys already playing schoolboy rugby in New Zealand. They need someone keeping an eye on them while they’re away from home so they don’t feel lost or unsupported, and so that they succeed in the classroom as well as on the sports field. That would be a common-sense recognition that sport doesn’t take you all the way through life.
Although the RWC contenders are being whittled down from eight teams to four this weekend, we still have a number of Pacific players on display. So there’ll be much to admire — and much more in the future if Operation Incubator can kick in.
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Malo Apisai, for those well
Malo Apisai, for those well-considered opinions, and I agree with much of what you’ve stated. In essence, I believe that professional rugby has forced small and relatively poor nations to realign their responses to this new beast so that they can participate in the short-term while trying to find the best long-term fit for their players first — and then for their country. The small-mindedness I referred to was aimed mainly at repeated complaints and references to racism and inadequate funding from the IRB and the unfair divvying up of world cup revenues. Making a case for better resources based on predictable marginal results every four years is not good enough.The case should be made based on Fiji, Tonga and Samoa’s net contribution to the global game with a request for better resources for each country as well as for the region so that the three small unions can continue to contribute and capitalise.
Fiji initially and now Samoa has helped to make Rugby 7s an international and now an Olympic event, yet the circuit continues to over-fly Apia and Suva. By all means play Hong Kong and Dubai for the cash but where’s the broadminded thinking to come together as three Pacific nations and insist on hosting rights for a game that they’re beginning to dominate?
In all the years of professional rugby, I have yet to come across a medium- to long-term vision for professional rugby in the region that will enable parents to see future for them, their kids and then for the country.
I reject the view that as
I reject the view that as small PI nations we are small-minded, to assume that we have just one priority – the developing of rugby talent for our national team. The problems with this claim are the following:
Firstly, it is an understatement and a false assumption by the article, to assume that PI nations assume that they have just one priority, because they don’t. PI nations know that playing rugby in a developed country brings good foreign exchange earnings which benefit both the families of the players as well as the nation. That is why rugby, not just in the developed countries, is played not only between schools, but also between villages. Everyone knows that at the end of the day some of them would get lucky and sign a contract to play rugby overseas, perhaps in Europe, or Japan, or may be in NZ, or Australia. That is one priority of each PI rugby board – preparing local players for local tournaments and also for export. The other priority is picking their national team from the best that are available locally and from overseas. But it is somehow always due to the lack of money that a PI rugby board could not attract their best overseas-based players to, or afford to have them in, the national team.
Secondly, it also seems to overlook the fact that there are two distinct, but very important, things called national and individual or personal priorities. If national priority is developing rugby talent for the national team, then individual priority is developing rugby talent by each player for himself. The success of the former in the RWC is what unites and then empowers to a much greater magnitude the people in general (for all kinds of reasons) who identify themselves with the nation which the team represent. The success of the latter when a nation’s players represent an adopted country, other than the nation of their origin, would not unite nor empower their people to the same extent.
So, to assume that PI nations are assuming that they have just one priority is an understatement and a false assumption in itself, for that is far from the truth. The rugby boards of the PI nations of Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga, develop rugby talent not only for local tournaments, but for export as well. And when they select the national teams, some of them might be available to play if picked. So, while it is important to develop our local young players for export, it is equally important to focus on investing more and more and more on our national teams for their successes at the RWC not only bring unity, but they empower our peoples worldwide – something that seems to bring only by the RWC.
What a wonderful perception
What a wonderful perception Sefita, your so right in exporting the talents of our boys from Tonga and other pacific countries, they have only I think expose only to the contracts, other phenomenal richness of other profession that goes along with football in journalism for instants, as business investors, as hundreds other things they can be involved in after the football is over or God forbid injure and shorten their career. Now you’re schooling it is a must ..Being in the United States 47yrs came when I was thirteen I miss part of the boat yet manage to survived cause of schooling and sensible living.
How can I help I have ideas yet from New Zealand eyes we should look at you first, and Australia, Japan for future importing more of our kids, for supporting these kid when they are there moral, spiritual, physical so they won’t derail to disaster. Thanks ‘Eli
Malo e faifatongia mei fonua
Malo e faifatongia mei fonua lahi. Agree with you that the player contract is but a small part of the opportunities offered up in other countries. Being immersed in another culture, working and playing with people who have a different world-view can only be enriching and as you rightly point out, upskilling is a must. For the past 9 years I’ve been responsible for finding work generally looking after our 1500 or so seasonal workers who are here every year to harvest and pack New Zealand’s fruit and vegetables and I’m doing my best to make sure that there are skills training being offered up while they’re here or when they’re back in Tonga so that we can exploit all that NZ has on offer, other than the paychecks.
Thanks for your comments. I
Thanks for your comments. I agree.We should all be proud that our boys are not just playing for the big nations,they are standouts.Our 3small island nations should not feel discouraged by where,and how we exited the tournament.
Malo e lava mai Touanga.
Malo e lava mai Touanga. Thank you for those comments. Often we can’t see the wood for the trees. We’re already on our way, we just need to accept that we are small and under-resourced but that we can play to our strengths and make the most of the little that we have. And know how to enjoy it.
I whole heartedly agree with
I whole heartedly agree with what has been so eloquently said. I’m a rugby fan ever since I was child. I was born and raised in Tonga until I was 15 years old when my family moved to the United States. My love for the sport did not end even when I was exposed and played American football on a high school level. I’m 60 years old now but my my love for Tonga never waivers. I’m very proud of the young athletes from the Pacific who represents their home land and likewise those who are fortunate enough to play for their adopted new home land or whatever the circumstances may be. It’s funny it was not
long ago when I had a conversation with a fellow worker and we discussed this very topic and how proud I am of these athletes. I’m now an American citizen and love the country who has provided me with many opportunities in life but I’ll always love Tonga and everything about it. I love being identified as Polynesian or when asked of my heritage, I have always answered, I’m an American with a rich Tongan heritage and love who I am. Believe it or not when Tonga is playing any team even against my adopted home land my heart did and will always be for our Tongan athletes. Yes I’m an Ikale Tahi fan for life. Thank you for so much for a great and insightful article about our great athletes whom they have represented us well. And I for one is very grateful for those who has pioneered the sport of rugby in this tiny island nation of Tonga with athletes with talents and heart. From a DIE HARD TONGAN BRAND RUGBY fan, malo ‘aupito.
Greetings Leioni. For those
Greetings Leioni. For those of us who’ve been living away from our country of birth for decades, we share an affinity to our origins that we will carry with us to the grave. It is now a global and connected world and becoming more and more ‘borderless’ and will continue to do so. What the world has on offer for our youth shouldn’t be seen as a threat but another opportunity on offer. While Mate Ma’a Tonga is a time-honoured sentiment, I think Mate mo Mo’ui Ma’a Tonga might now be more appropriate.
What a right on point article
What a right on point article, very proud of our Tongan people, and other mentioned, Samoa and Fiji, eexcellent natural resources for our small Pacific Islands group. Thanks again for spreading the news,
Mālõ e tokoni mo e talitali
Mālõ e tokoni mo e talitali lelei e fokotu’u ni Meteliko. Appreciate it.