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Improving Pacific Rugby

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kbourke88

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I know there are gonna be a lot of passionate thoughts on this thread, cuz i know from perusing the forum that at least Juggernaut and Wellycane will have stuff to say on this one.. and i know theres more out there...



I know we all know that the IRB needs to start giving way more help to improving Pacific Rugby, because if we are going to continue on our quest to make Union a truly international game, we need to help out the Pacific nations, because they, by far, have the most untapped potential, and this potential could carry them all the way to the top of international rugby, as long as we as the international rugby community helped them to get started on their climb.



I have posted a few points on this on other threads, but i would really like to hear from you guys out there what you reckon the IRB should actually do about it. Because i think everyone agrees that IRB needs to do something, but not many people agree on what should actually be done.
 
besides letting their players play for NH teams and super 14 and NPCs, i really don't see any other way for their players to improve. the IRB is now taking steps to push them further like the pacific nations cup. but what i think would be good is a domestic competition like say the NPC or Guinness League. but they don't have the demand.
 
I think that the Pacific team was a good idea for a touring side, just not for regular play. I think that it would be a good thing if it were made to be a similar thing to the Lions touring teams, so that the Pacific teams had something to aspire to as well. But i think if they played regularly, we would run the risk of not helping anyone, and there would be too much in-fighting between the three countries over funding and benefits from the team. (i think i didnt word that as well as i wanted, but i hope you guys understand the point im trying to make).



I also think its a great thing for them to have NZ A and Aust A in the pacific cup. it will allow them to get better refs, more exposure, and most importantly, higher quality opposition. I think it wouldnt be a good idea to have the pacific teams in the super comp, because they arent internationals, and we need these guys to get used to playing internationals. i also think they are a long way off being ready to face australia, nz or sth africa on a regular basis. having zero chance of winning a game is no help to anyone. but hopefully, once they start to become competitive with the A teams in the pac cup, they can make the next step up.



I think another root cause of their problems is that there isnt enough prestige for playing for the pac nations, and that is why they aspire to play for ABs and Wallabies (mostly ABs ;) ). I suppose this can only be rectified by improving the level of play for their own home nations.



We also need to do something about getting the players contracted to the southern hemisphere domestic sides, so that their best players arent stuck in england or france when the internationals season comes round for the SH. We need to do all we can to encourage the IRB to make concessions to contracts to allow players from any country to represent at international level whenever possible.
 
Bring up the Islands from the Third World, that way you won't get all the 3 year olds who move with their famalies to NZ and never return to the Islands due to preety much being raised as New Zealanders.
 
Get a pacific islands team in the super 14.
They should base themselves in Auckland or something, since thats where most of the pacific island people live.

This way, their players will get exposed to great super rugby, and the individual nations can pick players from that team, as well as from overseas.
Each of the 3 countries should share the profits evenly.

Add to that the pacific nations, and they should get stronger over time.
 
Now first & foremost I must thank the IRB for starting the two competitions - Pacific Rugby Cup & Pacific Nations Cup. It's a start. Now local island boys are starting to get regular competitions.

What I would like the IRB to f'ucken sort out is: 1. Club vs Country row, 2. Talk with SANZAR about relaxing their rules a little bit to allow ONLY 2 or 3 Island players in a franchise for the Super 14, 3. Increase the stand-down period from 3 years to 5, 4. Include more games for the Island teams during the Autumn Tours to the Northern Hemisphere.
 
perhaps funding to develop younger players? [/b]


I definitely agree with you mate. What is keeping the Pacific Islanders below are the facilities that they necessarily require so that they can move foward and build their way up in the future for younger generations. I believe the IRB is investing money to contribute to all Tier 2 rugby nations and the Pacific Islands recieving the majority of it.

Get a pacific islands team in the super 14.
They should base themselves in Auckland or something, since thats where most of the pacific island people live.
[/b]

Yeah but I think that each Pacific Island should have their team in the Super 14. It would cause a lot headache for the national coaches of Samoa, Fiji and Tonga to select their players to play for their country if it was just "a pacific islands team". But I do agree that each team should be based in Auckland though...or Wellington. ;) Or even places where Super 14 games never appear to like Taranaki, they have Yarrow Stadium...etc
 
i hate when people bring up the whole "they were raised as new zealanders" ...yeh they were raised in new zealand..but does the general new zealand upbringing consist of eating pacific island food..taro,umu's,yams etc?..or attending cultural events that are of pacific significance?...

what is the "being bought up a new zealander" statement actually mean?...

it is a farce..the new zealand upbringing to the outside world consist of farmers shagging their 4million sheep..dont get it confused..im not seperating us but its the easiest excuse that mainly europeans of this country use for when they want to claim us...then when we commit crimes we become pacific islanders again...just becoz we are such a nice country..f*** outta here..islanders can play for whoever..


now how to improve the game???...it starts at the very top..and for all the scraps and tidbits we get we still maintain some of the best game breakers and talents in the game....for such small nations it is easy to see why the funding doesnt come through from the irb and it is because of the funding they will not make in return...yet we still house and provide many of the brightest talent in the game...
 

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