Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Radical proposal for Pacific teams in response to controversial Nations League

The Samoa team perform the Siva Tau before match. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

Dan Leo, the former Samoa lock and current player welfare manager for Pacific players based in Europe, believes the game has lost its soul thanks to controversial plans for a 12 team Nations League and a boycott of the World Cup in Japan by Tonga, Fiji and Samoa should be seriously considered.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Pacific Islands nations would be excluded in favour of involving Japan and USA in World Rugby’s proposal which has triggered a storm of criticism, led by the game’s biggest stars from every major country.“I’d find it hard to believe that Pacific Island teams will turn up for The World Cup knowing that we are being screwed over,” Leo told The Irish Times.

“If I was in the Pacific Island unions now I would very strongly be considering the next course of action if this is the way we are going to be treated. The writing has been on the wall about the priorities and values of the game of rugby, Pacific Islanders have known that for decades. World Rugby are not even trying to hide it anymore. This puts it out there for all to see. We know the game of rugby has sold its soul.

“Imagine how sad it would be for rugby, for the world game to become ‘Our pacific islanders against your pacific islanders?’ England’s Tongans and Samoans against France’s Fijians. Because that’s what the game will become.

“I know there is a huge chunk of support among Pacific Islanders players, even those who play for other nations. That’s where our power lies. The sport has been built on Pacific Island muscle since it went professional. It makes you think, as a player, what leverage do we have? The only leverage we really have is not to play.

“I hope it is not too late to be reversed, especially after all the animosity towards the proposal in the last 24 hours since the plan was leaked. You got to hope common sense will prevail. It’s certainly a cross roads for the future of rugby as a sport.”

Continue reading below…
Watch: World Rugby set for shake-up

Video Spacer

ADVERTISEMENT

Leo admitted he played rugby for Samoa to raise his profile in the hope of landing a contract overseas which allowed him to continue wearing the national colours and look after his family. “Look, you don’t play for Fiji, Samoa, Tonga for money. You do play for exposure. I played for Samoa because I knew I was guaranteed to play against England, Scotland, Ireland. It was my shop window to get a better club contract.

“We are professionals and we are not getting paid so it has to be about promoting your career, playing with your country yes, but getting a good club contract so you can provide for your family.

“These plans incentivise players not to play for their country. Even if they do come up with a second tier competition none of the players want to stay around for that. Especially if there is no scope for moving up. That would kill the international game on the Pacific Islands.”

Coming soon: Rugby Explorer – South Africa

Video Spacer

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

287 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING World Cup-winning halfback on Cam Roigard’s substitution in France loss World Cup-winning halfback on Cam Roigard’s substitution vs. France
Search