Tonga Robbed!

[Pommy]

It’s hardly all one way mate... watch the odd game of international union these days and it’s hilarious how many freshy Pacific Islanders are representing the big countries via the 3 year rule.

Heck, just look at England lately - forget for a moment that their entire coaching set up is as Aussie as it gets - they had a bloody former Kangaroo in Ben Te’o (even if a reject one) playing centre for them and the bloody lions earlier this year because he has a pommy grandmother or something along with super freshy Tuilagi. Meanwhile in the League Australia selected Semi Radradra earlier in the year despite him being about as Aussie as Wayne Bennett is British

I don’t try to say it’s all one way Semi being secured was a joke.
I don’t care about union, well Bennett is as British as Fifita is Tongan.

 

[Danish]

What makes them less Tongan or Samoan? Being Australian or Kiwi makes them less Tongan or Samoan.
I hazard a guess that your not likely to label the vast majority of Australians as being British or Irish. It’s a weird distinction people make. Can GB just claim the World Cup now? The vast majority of the Australian team will have British blood.
We could go around the world and I’m sure you would find more than 50 odd million people of English decent living abroad it’s not something that only happens in the pacific.
I’m not against the eligibility rules as such but this hasn’t been some big uprising of the pacific islands like some claim.

Check out the dumb racist merkin

 

[Pommy]

Check out the dumb racist merkin

What have I said that’s racist? Rather than just throwing insults explain where the racism is?

 

[Danish]

That’s kind of the point though. My grandads Scottish I’m not Scottish.

Hate to break it to you, but that means you are at least a quarter Scottish.

If you wanted to represent them in any sport on earth you would be eligible

 

[Pommy]

Hate to break it to you, but that means you are at least a quarter Scottish.

If you wanted to represent them in any sport on earth you would be eligible

Thanks for stating the obvious.

 

[Danish]

What have I said that’s racist? Rather than just throwing insults explain where the racism is?

Trying to deny people their heritage is racist. Pretty simple.

 

[Pommy]

Trying to deny people their heritage is racist. Pretty simple.

Where did I deny their heritage? Why are you making up lies?

 

[Danish]

Where did I deny their heritage? Why are you making up lies?

You are claiming that the Tongan team is full of Australians and kiwis, otherwise known as not Tongans.

So you are denying that guys like Fifita and JT are tongan

 

[DC80]

I've said what I needed to say... Calling island players playing for there heritage "foreigners" is an insult... What makes them less tongan or samoan then the ones living back in there homeland?? There are basically more Tongans and samoans living in nz then there are in there homeland... So there will always be a high chance there'll be nz born islanders playing for there home nation

Fifita played for Australia in the last RLWC. Three months ago NZ international Taumalolo was pictured draped in the NZ flag in a promotional campaign for this RLWC.

In the Tonga squad, 20 of the 24 players are New Zealand and Australia born and raised, and had their game developed in rugby youth systems in both. They are products of New Zealand and Australia.

Pommy is right. Pacific island nations haven't developed anything. The group of players born, bred and developed in other countries have landed on their lap. It's disingenuous to shower Tonga with praise for somebody else's work.

This doesn't come under more scrutiny as Rugby league doesn't have a high profile. There are cases throughout sport of individuals playing for nations other than where they were born and raised, but I've seen nothing like what occurs in our sport: squads almost completely made up of overseas players in addition to players that have previously played for the country of their birth. I'm pleased a heritage team didn't get to the final as quite frankly a nation that has developed their own players deserve it much much more.

 

[Pommy]

You are claiming that the Tongan team is full of Australians and kiwis, otherwise known as not Tongans.

So you are denying that guys like Fifita and JT are tongan

Are they Tongan citizens? I don’t deny they have Tongan heritage I dispute that they are actually Tongans, I live in Australia I’m not an ozzy, my wife is the daughter of Vietnamese refugees she doesn’t consider herself Vietnamese.
At what point do you stop being a Tongan? Sport seem to think 2nd or 3rd generation why is this not racist?

You can hold a different view to someone else without labeling them a racist.

 

[DC80]

It’s hardly all one way mate... watch the odd game of international union these days and it’s hilarious how many freshy Pacific Islanders are representing the big countries via the 3 year rule.

Heck, just look at England lately - forget for a moment that their entire coaching set up is as Aussie as it gets - they had a bloody former Kangaroo in Ben Te’o (even if a reject one) playing centre for them and the bloody lions earlier this year because he has a pommy grandmother or something along with super freshy Tuilagi. Meanwhile in the League Australia selected Semi Radradra earlier in the year despite him being about as Aussie as Wayne Bennett is British

You are plucking out individuals, those occur in all sports, i.e. foreign born players joining a group of native players. That still has respectability. That 3 year rule I believe has been extended to five years (I don't follow RU so don't quote me on that).

Show me a Lebanon RL team equivalent in another sport where the entire group of players are born, bred, developed in the country of their birth, and then put on a jersey of another country that hasn't developed a thing.

 

[RoosTah]

I don’t try to say it’s all one way Semi being secured was a joke.
I don’t care about union, well Bennett is as British as Fifita is Tongan.

Being married to a Tongan woman I can tell you right now that Fifita is far more Tongan than Bennett is British. The Fifita brothers are at pretty well every major Tongan event I’ve been to in Sydney and the name Fifita is about as Tongan as it gets. He may have been born in Australia but that doesn’t mean his connection to Tonga is any less strong for being mixed and growing up into Aus.

 

[Pommy]

Being married to a Tongan woman I can tell you right now that Fifita is far more Tongan than Bennett is British. The Fifita brothers are at pretty well every major Tongan event I’ve been to in Sydney and the name Fifita is about as Tongan as it gets. He may have been born in Australia but that doesn’t mean his connection to Tonga is any less strong for being mixed and growing up into Aus.

I go to heaps of Vietnamese functions I don’t call myself Ngyuen though.
If he felt that strongly about his Tongan roots he wouldn’t have ditched them at the last minute for the ANZAC test.
I’m not actually claiming Bennett to be British just using it to point out the flawed argument I see.
I think we will have to agree to disagree.

 

[carcharias]

That’s kind of the point though. My grandads Scottish I’m not Scottish.

So what?
Australia NZ and the stinkin poms have had many many many more bullshit blow in islanders play for them over history.
Semi only played for Australia a couple of years ago
It is shit.
And f**kwits like Adam Blair and Cronk have a whinge about a couple of blokes playing for countries of their parents.

They are only in these other countries because of a an economical situation.
As if a bloke from Tonga would prefer to live in mount druitt.

 

[Clarkent]

Fifita played for Australia in the last RLWC. Three months ago NZ international Taumalolo was pictured draped in the NZ flag in a promotional campaign for this RLWC.

In the Tonga squad, 20 of the 24 players are New Zealand and Australia born and raised, and had their game developed in rugby youth systems in both. They are products of New Zealand and Australia.

Pommy is right. Pacific island nations haven't developed anything. The group of players born, bred and developed in other countries have landed on their lap. It's disingenuous to shower Tonga with praise for somebody else's work.

This doesn't come under more scrutiny as Rugby league doesn't have a high profile. There are cases throughout sport of individuals playing for nations other than where they were born and raised, but I've seen nothing like what occurs in our sport: squads almost completely made up of overseas players in addition to players that have previously played for the country of their birth. I'm pleased a heritage team didn't get to the final as quite frankly a nation that has developed their own players deserve it much much more.

Oh island players don't develope there own players? Ok I agree with that... But how come no one says anything when a kiwi players who's played all he's rugby league in Australia since he was kid gets picked for the kiwis don't say anything? Look saying island players don't develope there own players is a cheap shot... Like I've said before there are more islanders living overseas then there are in there home counties... Island local players will never develope there own superstar because they can't afford to like the big nations... There will be a few odd ones that do make it but then they'll be snapped up by nz or Australia by a young age for better development overseas... If island teams will be made up of local players then we'll be stuck with big 3 all over again and the international game will be a joke

 

[no name]

Are they Tongan citizens? I don’t deny they have Tongan heritage I dispute that they are actually Tongans, I live in Australia I’m not an ozzy, my wife is the daughter of Vietnamese refugees she doesn’t consider herself Vietnamese.
At what point do you stop being a Tongan? Sport seem to think 2nd or 3rd generation why is this not racist?

You can hold a different view to someone else without labeling them a racist.

The way yourself and your wife identify yourself doesn't change the way these players identify themselves.
As such, it's not up to you to question their 'Tonganess'.

 

[siv]

Pacific Origin?

Its called the Pacific Cup

 

[Vee]

Its called the Pacific Cup

I was thinking more along the lines of NZ/Tonga/Fiji/Samoa in an Origin format. Everyone plays 3 games during the Origin period with revenue going to strengthen all four RLs.

 

[Stallion]

I was thinking more along the lines of NZ/Tonga/Fiji/Samoa in an Origin format. Everyone plays 3 games during the Origin period with revenue going to strengthen all four RLs.

Have PNG and Cook Islands added to the mix and its well worth doing.

 

[latingringo101]

I don't think Tonga was "robbed". Footy is an 80 minute game, not a 5-10 min one. England dropped its guard for the last 7 mins and made the game more interesting but for the other 73 mins made less errors mistakes and completed more sets than Tonga.

Fafitas last ditch effort was a 50/50 call but I believe that if you think you deserve to win based on a single ref decision, then you probably didn't deserve to win.