Wellington (AFP)
Fiji, Samoa and Tonga have a rich rugby heritage and a large pool of talented players. But, geographically isolated and financially weak, the Pacific Islands are losing many of their nuggets that are moving to championships more upscale and more remunerative.
These nations are struggling to exist on the world stage. However, according to the Pacific Rugby Players Welfare (PRPW), which represents players from these islands, they account for 20% of all professional rugby players on the planet.
If this statistic remains questionable, it is clear that the Pacific archipelagos have, for a long time, provided players to the great neighboring nations of New Zealand and Australia. More recently, it is in Europe (England and France in particular) that many elements have arrived.
"They are very talented sportsmen and they have this warrior spirit that has always existed in their history, it's in their DNA and it shows in their rugby," said the coach of Fiji, the New Zealander John McKee.
- Wild West -
Often, these warriors do not benefit the countries that saw them born. These islands, whose total population does not exceed 1.5 million, are lacking the financial weight to retain the most promising.
"For some people, taking them there is a matter of numbers: if they can place ten players in France and one of them becomes a superstar, it's great for the agents," laments McKee. "But who is interested in the nine others who did not have a contract?" They tumble down and finish playing federal rugby (amateur).
"Our best players are scattered around the world, especially in Europe," said McKee. For the national team, forging team cohesion is all the more difficult. "Keeping an eye on their fitness, fitness and health is a huge task for us."
For Ben Ryan, former coach of the Fijian rugby sevens team, who won the first Olympic gold medal in the history of the country in 2016 in Rio, the situation is reminiscent of the "Wild West", the wild west without faith or law. But Ryan said: "A lot of problems have come from home, from the Fiji Federation, so many important things need to be improved."
If all is not settled, improvements have been made. For example, last year Fiji and Samoa were welcomed into the "Council" of World Rugby, the global rugby government, after meeting the stringent governance criteria set by the international federation.
But the recently abandoned National Championship, which could have assembled the best teams in the world from 2022, highlights World Rugby's lack of appreciation for the Pacific archipelagos, which initially had to be excluded from the bloc. first division of the competition. In the end and after a huge controversy, World Rugby had indicated that Fiji could be a place.
- A franchise of the Pacific? -
On the purely sporting side, however, Fiji showed that they did not have to blush against the so-called better armed teams by winning a test historic match in France last November (21-14).
"What we need is a professional team in a professional competition, which would allow us to keep our players," says McKee, citing the example of Jaguares based in Buenos Aires.
Since 2016, the Argentinian franchise crossed the line in the Super Rugby with the historic provinces of the southern hemisphere, disputing even last July their first final (lost to the Crusaders). To feed the Jaguars, most of the Argentineans of Europe returned to the country, recreating the unity of the national selection.
A franchise from the Pacific Islands to Super Rugby? The idea is attractive, but an attempt failed last year, deemed financially unsustainable by the organizers. McKee has an idea: that World Rugby will return some of the increasingly lucrative TV rights to the Pacific Islands.
© 2019 AFP