CAN WE BE RACIST AND BE OBJECTIVE.

[Mango]

Many of my friends have a different heritage to me. That does not make me a racist or a whatever...but if it means taking an objective approach to NZ RUGBY then maybe it is relevant. Some time past there was an article that detailed the exodus of white youths from Rugby because of the physical superiority of ISLAND/MAORI youth. No one cried RACISM at the time. If the article had been reversed then watch out. The point is that the development of the game in NZ is being geniused by the much too early identification of talent based on physique rather than skill.
Traditionally NZ sides have been victorious when they have reflected the ethnic mix of the population. This is an obvious and objective observation that represents ALL BLACK successes but for some inexplicable excuse we will now be inundated with dickheads claiming to be kiwis that would like to see AB's lose to benefit the enviromnent..........................Look atbthe results before replying and then only after consideration. OZ will always be on top but it would be nice if U were a contest/

 

[iggy plop]

Yeah whatever.

Gibber on pal. ](*,)

 

[ozbash]

just from what i,ve seen over the years,,,

when these young polynesians arrived in nz from the islands they were bloody huge - taro, chopsuey,pork etc being the trad diet back home in the islands.

nowadays most of the kids coming up through the ranks are nz born, nz fed and raised in a society where fat is not cool.

there is always exceptions , jonah,meli,paleasina etc.

its a fact that pacific island people are better put together physically to enable them to play rugby/league. most are shorter and much more solid.

Maori ? all my mates are the same as me basically in the physical sense. i think they have a predisposition to physical contact sports though..

you dont see a lot of maori tennis /cricket players.....

 

[SpaceMonkey]

And your point is Mango??!!

 

[DIEHARD]

Rugby? Oh you meant Union...

 

[CanadianSteve]

When John Mitchell first took over the AB's and went on tour to the NH, didn't he select an almost all-Caucasian team at that time? So perhaps these things go in cycles.

I must say when I saw the Maori team play in Toronto last August, they were very impressive, looking like they were born to play the game. Kind of like US blacks in basketball or Brazilians in soccer, they have a flair for the game.

In the US magazine Sports Illustrated about a month ago, there was an article about American Samoa and how it is a hotbed of producing players for US college football (and some go on to the NFL). It was about the time of Samoa doing well in the RUWC, but the article didn't mention that.

 

[russ13]

Forty, fifty years ago when RU was amateur the only one who could afford to go on tours were those who were faily well off. Hence a lot of farmers played for the All Blacks. Farming at that time had gauranteed markets & hence farmowners played in a lot of the key positions for the All Blacks. All or most farms owners were white-similar to South Africa.

Farmers lost those gauranteed markets when the UK joined the commom market in the 1970s. Since then a lot of farming markets have been deregulated, & a lot of farmers have been doing it tough & have left the industry.

Anyhow this is how it was explained to me by a New Zealander in the pub the other night -so it must be true.

Don't discount the influence of soccer mums on the kiddies playing RU/RL.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Forty, fifty years ago when RU was amateur the only one who could afford to go on tours were those who were faily well off. Hence a lot of farmers played for the All Blacks. Farming at that time had gauranteed markets & hence farmowners played in a lot of the key positions for the All Blacks. All or most farms owners were white-similar to South Africa.

Farmers lost those gauranteed markets when the UK joined the commom market in the 1970s. Since then a lot of farming markets have been deregulated, & a lot of farmers have been doing it tough & have left the industry.

Anyhow this is how it was explained to me by a New Zealander in the pub the other night -so it must be true.

Don't discount the influence of soccer mums on the kiddies playing RU/RL.

I think the bloke at the pub overstated the case a bit, as tours were pretty much always paid for bythe union, although the players themselves weren't paid. The decline in the percentage of farmers playing for the ABs has as much to do with the changing nature of farming and the NZ economy than anything else. Farming has become more technology intensive and less labour intensive, so while the population has increased there are less people working on or owning farms these days, so a far smaller percenttage of the population to draw players from.

 

[Auckland4ever]

I dont know if the game in NZ is hampered by talent identification, or if the "white-flight" theory is as big of a factor as its made out to be. What we seem to be short of are strong leaders, i.e players that can assess a situation on the field & be pro-active in turning things around. I dont think we lack in the skill department at all, but the 'smarts' department is a different story & I dont think thats down to ethnicity, its down to coaching styles.

 

[rugged]

the situation is the same in australian. junior teams are about half made up of islanders of different descent due to their size. will be interesting to see how many stay in the game. doesn't worry me, as long as they don't go to another country.