England not playing in Pacific Islands 'embarrassing and wrong' - Sir Clive Woodward

Former World Cup winning coach Sir Clive Woodward has blasted the RFU for being part of the financial problem affecting Pacific Island rugby.

In his column for the Daily Mail, Woodward says that ‘any solution will probably cost tens of millions of pounds, not the £1.5 million annual grant World Rugby give Samoa.’

He went on to say that ‘island teams need more Tests at home against the bigger teams, where they are potentially much more competitive. So the big tier-one nations must take the generous loss-leader approach.

It’s certainly high time England, for one, went down there — they have yet to play a Test in the Pacific Islands in the professional era, which is embarrassing and wrong.’

Woodward also suggests that rugby look at football to emulate a fairer profit sharing system. In the FA Cup, smaller teams share gate revenue when drawn against larger clubs, something that is nonexistent in international rugby.

‘In the FA Cup the minnows are acknowledged as an essential part of that tournament. Everybody accepts that the pay day they receive when they play away to a big club helps sustain them — and the enduring value of the competition.’

Woodward’s comments come hard on the heels of the much-publicised chasm in earnings in the last Manu Samoa v England test at Twickenham. Meanwhile, former All Blacks Charles Piutau and Frank Halai have voiced their intention to play for Tonga at the next Rugby World Cup.

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