All Black Fijian Pairing Bad for Rugby
For as long as I can remember, Rugby has been dominated by a handfull of Nations. This kind of 'old-boy's' network is stunting the sport.
This Saturday at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenberg two juggernauts of the rugby world, the South African Springboks and the New Zealand All Blacks, take each other on in rugby's greatest rivalry. For two players it will be a momentous occasion indeed. Cousins Joe Rokocoko and Sitiveni Sivivatu will become the first Fijian-born wing pairing in All Black history.
A quick apology for over-shadowing this immense occasion for the two: I've no doubt that they will be very proud, as will their family and every Fijian rugby fan.
The sad part I'm afraid is that unfortunately while these two immensely talented athletes run onto the field dressed in All Black kit, their home country, Fiji, is still languishing at the bottom end of the rugby world.
A collection of relatively small islands, Fijians are an extremely proud race and take their heritage and rugby extremely seriously indeed. Sadly in this professional era most of their talent (and there has been bucket loads) is lured away to nations where succeeding in the sport pays handsomely. The Fijian rugby budget is significantly dwarfed by their neighbors Australia and New Zealand and they face a constant battle to secure quality players.
It's not just Fijian rugby that is pillaged by the open market, but the fiercely proud rugby playing countries of Manu Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands. For years these simple Islanders have been lured to the cash flushed rugby fields of Australia and more notably New Zealand, where many of them have turned out at the International level.
It's a tough predicament!
I've spoken for ages about the "Old Boys Club" that exists in rugby. Last years decision to award the 2011 Rugby World cup to New Zealand denied the rugby world of a perfect opportunity to grow rugby in Asia. Not allowing Japan the right to host the event proved that the International Rugby Board is not fully committed to growing the game in the 'minnow' regions, where if nurtured correctly, the game could grow significantly.
Argentina is another tragedy. Blessed with phenomenal talent pools, yet they find themselves isolated from the rest and not welcomed into any major annual rugby tournaments - where they would benefit from constant top flight competition, not to mention the revenues to keep their talent pools from becoming mere puddles. As a result they hardly scrape revenues and their players play for French clubs and are rarely available due to contractual obligations for national duty.
I'm afraid it's a case of the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
How nice would it be to have Argentina, Fiji, Japan, Canada and the USA as heavy weight contenders at future Rugby World Cups? Imagine if another African nation became a top 10 team?
The Olympic Movement laughs at Rugby claiming that they are "a truly international sport" and should be represented at the Olympics. I happen to think rugby should be at the Olympics - but it's hard to argue when they bring up the divisions I've spoken about above.
To be fair, there are three tiers in world rugby today:
• Tier One - New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, England and France.
• Tier Two - Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Fiji, Argentina
• Tier Three - The Rest
Players, businessmen and mosquitoes will always move towards the bright lights and the rich pickings!
It's a simple economic and survival instinct.
The IRB needs to find someway to break down the significant barriers-to-entry that these Tier Two and Three Nations face as they struggle to grow the sport in their countries.
Until then, it's going to be the same old situation of the poor (Fiji) feeding the rich (New Zealand), and the rich (New Zealand) taking the credit!
