Interesting article from faceache
Pacific Rugby Union is in dire straits - Time for League to strike
The recent Tonga v Samoa Rugby League World Cup clash showed off our game to the world.
The colour, the passion, the pre-match ceremonies and the intensity of the game itself all gave our sport some great and very positive PR.
But its positive presentation of our sport could have potentially very good consequences in the Pacific Islands themselves, if we, as a sport, are astute.
Why? Well, Pacific Islands rugby union is in a hell of a mess.
Something like 15% of rugby union professionals are of Pacific Islands origin, yet their home unions are broke.
Many of the best Pacific Islanders, whether by heritage or birth, are playing for European countries.
Almost every European RU club team has a Pacific Islander in its ranks, as do many of the national sides.
But the Samoa Rugby Union is bankrupt. England players are reportedly donating part of their match fees to their Samoan opponents for the forthcoming Test Match at Twickenham between the nations.
Samoa will receive only one percent of the gate receipts from Twickenham, and less than that when they face Scotland at Murrayfield soon afterwards.
Hosting the All Blacks for a Test in Samoa made a loss of around £200,000. French academies are operating in Fiji to scoop up players and send them across the globe.
Much of the money earned by Pacific Islands rugby union players is sent home to support communities.
They are placed in an unfair double bind, where, in order to help their families and communities back home, they can no longer represent those communities on the international stage.
Instead, they become rugby mercenaries, turning out for European nations in return for dollars.
European club sides force them to sign deals where they can only play internationals if they are picked for European countries.
High suicide rates and mental health issues amongst Pacific Island communities are not likely to be helped by a relationship with their favoured sport which is so exploitative.
Rugby league can offer step into this exploitation and offer a much more positive experience to Pacific people, from all the islands where rugby is popular.
The Tonga v Samoa game gave Pacific communities a sense of how league can value their culture, and appreciate just what it offers to our game.
What it takes is a little imagination, and an ability to look beyond your own doorstep for a sustained period of time.
We have to see ourselves as liberators of Pacific talent – freeing it from exploitation and restriction, and honing into athletes who can both represent and give back to their communities.
Maybe some of the proposed $50 million from that Kangaroos v All Blacks circus act game that supposed to be happening in 2019 could be used to develop the Pacific.
If we keep failing to take opportunities like this, then we deserve to be seen as second-rate by the world outside of Australia’s eastern seaboard.
Follow the writer: Zack Wilson
Source: Everything Rugby League
