RugbyRebels

And what about the quality of the governance? Samoa has had their share of troubles at the administrative level, or does that not matter?

Samoa needs to get its house in order, I agree. First and foremost the PM should not be running the show. But it's good to see them pushing the Pacific Island case nonetheless. Fiji is the nation I've always been rooting for, especially since the coup ended. It's actually quite bizarre that they are continuing to be neglected, with comparable playing numbers to the Celtic nations, a world champion 7s team, a XVs team that has beaten most of the tier 1 sides on more than one occasion - and also the Lions - and made two RWC quarters. How can Georgia and Romania compare with that?

More on this:

The membership increase of the World Rugby Council to include women will not help Pacific rugby player’s welfare, says a Pacific rugby players organisation.

http://www.sobserver.ws/en/19_08_2018/l ... layers.htm

& my letter on the topic gets published: http://www.sobserver.ws/en/20_08_2018/l ... el-Leo.htm

And there we have it. Confirmation that your fragile ego desperately craves recognition. You aren't interested in dialogue. You simply seek to bombard every thread with volume over substance. Your tedious presence just turns every one off.


I don't care if this comes across as a personal dig at you. I am simply sick and tired of your nonsense.

morepork wrote:And there we have it. Confirmation that your fragile ego desperately craves recognition. You aren't interested in dialogue. You simply seek to bombard every thread with volume over substance. Your tedious presence just turns every one off.


I don't care if this comes across as a personal dig at you. I am simply sick and tired of your nonsense.

Are you trying to tell me you're not interested in the Trindad and Tobago 3rd's beating Liechtenstein?

Truth is all 3 Pacific Islands should have direct representation on World Rugby - provided they can meet the criteria, which ought to include separation of rugby and state - as exists in soccer. For instance, Samoan rugby should not be run by its PM. Its PM should have no influence on proceedings whatsoever.

Nonetheless, these three islands have given so much to rugby, and are always genuine contenders for a quarter-finals berth at the World Cup - and not just there to make up the numbers like some other teams. Apparently 30% of the players at the last World Cup were of Pacific Island origin, with the majority of the teams at the tournament featuring at least one player from that part of the world. That's an amazing statistic! & of course, Fiji are the maestros of 7s, its great entertainers and current holders of the Olympic gold medal.

In fact, Samoa is probably the least qualified of the three islands for inclusion. Fiji is the obvious choice, with its much greater population and registered playing numbers. But it is Tonga which has the highest number of players per capita in the world, and it too has beaten some top rugby playing nations such as Australia and France. Samoa lagged behind both Fiji and Samoa throughout the amateur era and has really only overtaken Tonga due to its much larger diaspora in NZ.

Nonetheless, all three of these islands deserve to have an independent representative on World Rugby's core committee, in addition to the Oceania delegate already in place. Not only is this long overdue, their absence has begun to look distinctly suspicious as all of the other tier 2 nations now have direct representation - and none of them even get close to the Pacific Islands' contribution to the sport.

I'll stick this on the Pacific Players Welfare thread, since it's a matter which concerns traditional Polynesian culture. However, if I'm reading this correctly, it seems to be more about body tattoos, rather than those on limbs and extremities. Some of the players have tattoos in places they're just not going to be able to hide on the rugby pitch. Presumably in public does not include the rugby pitch...

Teams and supporters at next year's Rugby World Cup in Japan have been warned they need to cover tattoos in public to avoid causing offence. https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/20 ... japan.html

rowan wrote:I'll stick this on the Pacific Players Welfare thread, since it's a matter which concerns traditional Polynesian culture. However, if I'm reading this correctly, it seems to be more about body tattoos, rather than those on limbs and extremities. Some of the players have tattoos in places they're just not going to be able to hide on the rugby pitch. Presumably in public does not include the rugby pitch...

Teams and supporters at next year's Rugby World Cup in Japan have been warned they need to cover tattoos in public to avoid causing offence. https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/20 ... japan.html

This story just got reported on Turkish TV news! Not often rugby makes the news here...

Would someone give me an update on this. Cheers.