A Pacific Nations Cup without two of the Pacific’s main rugby nations, ‘home’ games in empty stadiums on the other side of the world and a rift between the government and Lakipi Samoan – these are just a handful of the many challenges facing rugby in the Pacific right now, writes James Nokise.
Yesterday was Lomu Day in Tonga. The free event celebrated the late Tongan-Kiwi rugby legend Jonah Lomu with a concert and screening of the new documentary Lomu at a packed Teufaiva Stadium.
The film premieres in Auckland this week. Tonga’s rugby captain Ben Tamefina – doing impromptu film promo while recovering from breaking two tendons in his shoulder – said: “Just being able to push his body beyond all known limits…. The resilience of Jonah really inspired myself and future rugby players as well”.
The sight of a sold out stadium in Tonga, celebrating the legacy of the most important Pacific player in rugby history, will be bittersweet to many rugby fans in the region, with Pacific teams facing a number of daunting challenges after the first three rounds of the World Rugby Nations Cup.
This morning, the Samoan government issued a statement saying they intended to withdraw not just funding, but recognition of Lakipi Samoa, the Samoan Rugby Union. Prime minister La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polāta’ivao Fosi Schmidt said ample time had been given to the Union to “resolve the internal issues and division impacting on the administration of the union, the issues raised by former players and coaches and the deteriorating status of Samoan rugby on the world stage.”
The possibility exists that, if a way forward cannot be found, Samoa could be suspended from international rugby and lose its spot in next year’s World Cup. It is understood World Rugby currently has personnel in Samoa trying to help resolve the situation.
One of the most surreal hurdles for Pacific teams to overcome in these latest tournaments is that none of their home games are being played at their homes. Tonga’s “home games” are in North America, while Samoa has been hosting teams in Chile. Possibly confusing rugby fans even more, Fiji was in the UK with matches in Liverpool, Cardiff, and Edinburgh all labelled Fijian home games.
Home teams get the larger financial take of a match, so there is monetary sense behind what may first appear madness. Even losing games, the cash influx from being the home team will help Fiji down the track. A game between Tonga and Spain in Edmonton, Canada, doesn’t fill the coffers quite the same. Neither does Samoa v Romania in Chile.
“The last game against Romania was like 11:30am their time,” Mataāfa Ramsey Tomokino, general manager high performance for Lakipi Samoa, said on the phone from Samoa this past weekend.
“Speaking to the team manager on return from playing in Chile, in these beautiful empty stadiums, it actually makes you feel like ‘am I actually playing a test match?’ You know that’s how some of the players probably felt. Those were his words.”
The Nations Cup started off well for the Pacific teams, with Tonga beating Zimbabwe and Samoa putting on a show against Hong Kong. Respectfully, though, those are not traditional rivals for the proud Pacific nations.
The second round saw a harsh reality check as Samoa lost to Georgia (a bonafide rugby nation on the rise) and Tonga lost to Spain (not the most exciting sporting achievement for that nation this month, but still noteworthy).
“We didn’t have access to our best players is probably the issue at the moment,” said Tomokino. “Probably 50% of our best eligible squad were not available for July which makes it extremely tough.”
Even Fiji, the in-form Pasifika team of the last decade, is facing troubles. The Flying Fijians are in the Nations Championship, where the top 12 teams in the world compete for the glory of being named the best in the world, just not in a World Cup kind of way.
They have yet to win a game, losing 24-39 to Wales, 17-33 to Scotland, and most disturbingly 8-73 to England. Pouring salt in the wound, the 50,000 strong crowd for their England match in Liverpool is officially the largest “home” game in Fijian history.
Interim head coach Senirusi Seruvakula tried a glass-half-full approach to the news: “It will make us work hard to build our own stadium back home, because this crowd, we can move it back home if we have the right capacity of the stadium.”
Fiji aren’t the only team struggling in the competition. Italy had an even rougher time in Australia (57-10) than they did against the All Blacks (47-17), and Wales probably doesn’t want to see South Africa again anytime soon after their 43-0 hiding. However, Italy and Wales are ranked 11th and 12th in the world – Fiji is ranked 9th, and England are 5th. That shouldn’t produce a 65-point gap.
For comparison, Australia is ranked just ahead of Fiji at 8th. They came an 80th minute missed penalty away from upsetting number three ranked Ireland. That game, though, was in Sydney – that’s the difference a home advantage can make. Fiji Rugby has thanked the UK diaspora who showed up constantly for their games, but that’s not the same as playing in Suva, or Lautoka.
“I think the past few years, only Scotland has dared to come over. I think that’s the only team that wanted to come over, and respect to them for that,” said Fiji Captain Tevita Ikanivere after the massive loss to England. “I don’t think anyone else made an effort to come and play us in Fiji… It’s very hard to win in Fiji.”
It’s a problem that Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa are acutely aware of: “Those games in July ordinarily would have been in Samoa,” said Tomokino. “We all know playing in Samoa is difficult for opposition teams. The team grows an arm and a leg.”
So the Pacific Nations Cup in September will feature Fiji, Japan, the USA and Canada – Samoa and Tonga are out. Many in the rugby world, like Tomokino, have noticed the irony. “I did say to World Rugby ‘You can’t call it the Pacific Nations Cup if two of your main Pacific Nations aren’t there’.”
Samoa’s next games aren’t scheduled until November, which might be why the government has intervened now. Samoa sits 20th in world rankings. Tonga is just above them at 19. Fiji remains in the top 10 and, with no danger of relegation till 2030, has more room for failure and growth on the road to the World Cup. After all, embarrassing losses before peaking in the tournament is a pathway well trod by both the Springboks and the All Blacks.
A Jonah Lomu documentary could be exactly what is needed to remind rugby fans and bureaucrats what the Pacific nations (in the Pacific Ocean, as opposed to around it) have given World Rugby through the years. Jonah is still consistently ranked by many rugby publications as the greatest player of all time. Pacific rugby will need some of that legendary Lomu resilience over the coming months.
