Pacific Players Welfare

[rowan]

Interesting story:

There are now more than 600 players with Pacific Island heritage playing in Europe and the association is advising players from as far away as Romania, Russia and Sri Lanka. Leo and his organisation are working hard to explain cultural differences to players and their clubs. “There are different things you have to get across to people. A big thing is eye contact. Sometimes a coach or a team-mate will be shouting and the player won’t make eye contact. This could be construed as rude, when in fact it’s the opposite: he is showing respect. Similarly, many Pacific Islanders have an issue saying no. So, when they’re asked a yes or no question there can be ambiguities. We’re working with the clubs and the players to address these things.”

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/behin ... ng-players

[rowan]

Phenomenal number of players from three islands with a combined population of barely a million!

[rowan]

Sione Vaiomounga is a former Tongan international rugby player who played in the 2011 World Cup.

He signed his first professional contract with Baia Mare in Romania in 2014 hoping it would be the first step to a successful career in Europe.

His first season went well but the night before a semi-final match blood started pouring out of his nose and wouldn’t stop. It turned out he had suffered kidney failure and he ended up in hospital for the next three months.

That was also the end of his rugby career.

Three years on and he is still in Baia Mare. Hospitals back in Tonga don’t have the dialysis machines he needs to survive so he can’t go home but in three months’ time his visa will expire and he faces deportation along with his wife Sala and their two children – Jesyda (3) and Sione Junior (10 months).

Since his rugby contract ended he has struggled to find a job as he is on dialysis three nights a week between 9pm and 2am which leaves him too tired to do anything the next day.

His wife cannot get a job due to the terms of her visa so they are totally dependent on support from family back home and local friends in Romania to survive.

Their dream is to get a visa to either New Zealand or the USA – where they have family – but the process is complicated and expensive. More likely, they will apply for new visas to remain in Romania.

In Sione's words: "As long as we are together we are happy. "

If you want to donate, please use the following link:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding ... vaiomounga

Any help would be fully appreciated. :thumbup:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding ... vaiomounga

[rowan]

Latest on Vaiamounga . . .

Just one year into his rugby contract, the former Tongan national flanker Sione Vaiamounga developed kidney failure.
To make things worse, Vaiamounga now finds himself stuck in the city of Baia Mare because his home country of Tonga has no dialysis facilities, which he needs constant access to in order to stay alive.

"I didn't know what dialysis is. I thought after dialysis I get better, I go back to play and they give me back to normal," Vaiamounga said.

"After that I find out, I have to, if I don't have a transplant, do it for the rest of my life."

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/t ... turns-home

[morepork]

Latest on Vaiamounga . . .

Just one year into his rugby contract, the former Tongan national flanker Sione Vaiamounga developed kidney failure.
To make things worse, Vaiamounga now finds himself stuck in the city of Baia Mare because his home country of Tonga has no dialysis facilities, which he needs constant access to in order to stay alive.

"I didn't know what dialysis is. I thought after dialysis I get better, I go back to play and they give me back to normal," Vaiamounga said.

"After that I find out, I have to, if I don't have a transplant, do it for the rest of my life."

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/t ... turns-home

How the fuck could he not be better informed about the nature of his condition? Jesus christ.

[rowan]

Indeed, was asking myself the same question as I read it.

[rowan]

Latest on Vaiamounga . . .

Just one year into his rugby contract, the former Tongan national flanker Sione Vaiamounga developed kidney failure.
To make things worse, Vaiamounga now finds himself stuck in the city of Baia Mare because his home country of Tonga has no dialysis facilities, which he needs constant access to in order to stay alive.

"I didn't know what dialysis is. I thought after dialysis I get better, I go back to play and they give me back to normal," Vaiamounga said.

"After that I find out, I have to, if I don't have a transplant, do it for the rest of my life."

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/t ... turns-home

Good news:

The Tongan rugby player who was trapped in Romania on dialysis has had his life changed for the better after a successful kidney transplant.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/sport/r ... a-dialysis

[Stripe]

Seen this story?

Amazing.

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/tiny-nat ... ita-earth/


Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

[rowan]

Indeed. We had a thread about it about a year ago. Amazing stuff!

http://www.rugbyrebels.co/board/viewtop ... lis+Fatuna

[Stripe]

Indeed. We had a thread about it about a year ago. Amazing stuff!

http://www.rugbyrebels.co/board/viewtop ... lis+Fatuna

I'm improving. Usually I'm far further behind play than that.

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

[rowan]

Happy ending for change

Sione Vaiomounga saga comes to an end, it seems the kidney transplant is successful and Tongan XV International will apply for citizenship. Congratulations to all factors involved because they made possible such a nice humanitarian gesture such as Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (thanks to which all difficult administrative stuff is solved), doctors and medical/social workers from Cluj-Napoca, FRR, his club, colleagues, anonymus donors from internet.

https://www.rfi.ro/sport-103294-sione-v ... opor-roman

[rowan]

So it was drinking driving . . .

Samoa sevens captain Alatasi Tupou has been stood down and sent home after being charged with drink driving.

https://www.radionz.co.nz/international ... nk-driving

[rowan]

Talk about messing up! I

Manu Samoa sevens captain Alatasi Tupou has pleaded guilty to charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without a valid license in the District Court.

The Samoa Observer reported Tupou's plea was entered by his lawyer.

During the proceedings, prosecuting lawyer Vaisala Afoa revealed that Tupou, who was suspended from all rugby for two weeks, had an outstanding warrant of arrest from 2016 for a separate charge of assault.

Sentencing has been set for next Friday.

Last week, the Samoa Rugby Union suspended the 30‑year‑old Tupou for two weeks after he was stood down from the London and Paris legs of the World Sevens Series.

http://fijivillage.com/sport/Samoa-7s-c ... se-2k59rs/

[rowan]

Too lenient

The suspended captain of the Manu Samoa Sevens could be named in the team for the World Cup in San Francisco next month.

It follows the District Court’s decision to discharge him without conviction on Friday.

The decision was delivered by District Court Judge Alalatoa Rosella Papalii.

Tupou, who was sent back from London to face a Samoa Rugby Union hearing, had earlier pleaded guilty to drunk driving and driving without a licence.

His lawyer, Donald Kerslake, had argued that a conviction would harm his international rugby career.

He added that Tupou had already faced intense public scrutiny in the wake of the charges.

Judge Alalatoa accepted the argument, although she still ordered him to pay Court costs.

http://www.sobserver.ws/en/24_06_2018/l ... iction.htm

[rowan]

Latest scandal to hit international rugby:

After all the hype around a Pacific Island team potentially entering Super Rugby, an ugly dispute between Tonga's rugby union and its players is headlining how difficult such an exercise would be.

Tonga's players have singled out the union's executives over missed payments from as far back as last year.
In a week where Tonga's rugby league stars once again put country before money and State of Origin, Tonga's rugby union players are furious after they made sacrifices but are getting nothing for it.

Pacific rugby players association's Hale T-Pole said it's a shame to see what the players are going through.
"It's quite sad to see what they're going through, as you've seen in the social media, first of all is their payment. They haven't been paid for the time away from home and in camp," said T-Pole.
"Some guys are still working and they gotta leave their job, and some guys are in Tonga who don't have a job still trying to play rugby and they don't get anything."

The players haven't received pay for the recent Pacific Nations Cup or the bonus they were promised for beating Italy last year.
Tongan star Cooper Vuna sparked an ugly war of words which follows decades of poor management by the Tongan rugby union.
"They've just gone through from year to year just doing the same old thing and just having the same old broken promises," said Vuna.
"I was just like man have to kind of make a stand if not as a playing committee but you know as a Tongan really."
Stories over the years include executives flying to a tournament while players travelled 21 days by boat.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/sport/r ... ations-cup

[Lizard]

Unfortunately its difficult to articulate that one of the main things holding back the Pacific Unions is their own politically-meddled, corruptly-run selves, without ending up in a massive discussion about decolonization and racism.

[rowan]

More like human nature. Sports committees lend themselves to this kind of behavior, from FIFA and the IOC down, and rugby has been no exception. In fact, there have been scandals involving several other rugby playing nations recently, including Kenya and Germany, while Turkey remains ineligible for official ENC competition due to the failure of the organization here to comply with international regulations. I think what's going on with the islands is more a case of twisted priorities and poor treatment of the national team players than outright corruption or embezzlement or anything. But having the PM running the show (as is the case in Samoa) is obviously ludicrous. It's one of the principal requirements of FIFA that there be no government influence on its national associations and expulsions have occurred because of this. Perhaps its time World Rugby introduced a similar law.

[Lizard]

I think all 3 major Pacific unions are run by their respective PMs.

[rowan]

The idea of an NZ-funded Pacific Island Super Rugby team remains very much alive, however. Latest tweet suggests from Pacific Rugby Welfare suggests the proposal entails the inclusion of Samoa and Tonga in NZ and Australian domestic comps. I'd have them both play in the former. NZ is part of Polynesia and that should be its area of interest. Australia is a Melanesian country in terms of its indigenous population, so Melanesia should be its area of interest. & Fiji is already playing in their domestic comp.



Oh, there's also a full report on the Radio NZ web site:

A Pacific team competing in the domestic New Zealand rugby competition will be key to any Pacific Super Rugby team getting off the ground according to feasibility study carried out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and trade.

Continues here: https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/sport/36 ... to-succeed

[rowan]

This is interesting. Super Rugby wants to expand into North America? So it's going to become, like, a world league-minus-Europe

In that case, why not revisit Richard Hale's Hawaiian Islanders proposal and kill 2 birds with 1 stone? Is it still on the table? I wonder. http://www.rugbyrebels.co/board/viewtop ... f=8&t=2673

The report says Super Rugby's governing body SANZAAR appears likely to support a Pacific Island team from 2021 as they look to expand into North America.


One of SANZAAR's key drivers is to grow viewership and that can be achieved by expanding into emerging markets such as the United States.

The report suggest the large expat Pacific communities in America could help achieve this and says the majority of those Fijian, Tongan and Samoan's are dedicated rugby fans and likely to support the team.

It suggests the Pasifika team be based in Suva, but says it's essential one home game is sold to a non-Pacific host such as Auckland, the West Coast of the US, to gain the support of the large expat communities in America, Australia and New Zealand.

https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/sport/36 ... to-succeed

[rowan]

Bunce having a whinge. Not sure I agree though. Samoa was nowhere in the amateur era. It was when the game turned pro and they were able to send their players abroad to play fulltime rugby (and tap into diaspora playing pro rugby) that they burst onto the world stage. The issue is getting their strongest team together with adequate time for preparation on a regular basis:


Manu Samoa and All Black legend, Frank Bunce, believes the globalisation of World Rugby may be partially to blame for the downfall of professional rugby in Samoa.

Having represented Samoa when rugby was still an amateur competition, Bunce believes the funding and salary disparity since developing into a professional sport may have a large role to play in the declining position of Manu Samoa on the world stage.

“I played when it was an amateur game and once it went professional it became very difficult for not just Samoa, but a lot of the other Pacific Islands,” Bunce told the Samoa Observer.

“The money in the game is elsewhere, it’s not in the islands."

“All the talent is down here, no doubt there’s a lot of talent, but they had to go elsewhere and that’s been unfortunate for the islands and rugby in the islands.”

Although Samoa has been affected by the lack of finances in recent years, Bunce references other Pacific Islands are also feeling the brunt of the global competition growing.

As rugby has historically thrived among Pacific Islands, there is no doubt it has an effect on team formation and overall positions.

Bunce stated that there is no simple solution to the issue facing professional sports developing in commercial environments.

http://sobserver.ws/en/28_06_2018/local ... %80%9D.htm

[rowan]

I suspect Samoa will have a big win on Saturday and they'll all be happy campers again. They'll be even happier 2 weeks later when they confirm their place in Japan with another victory over a severely outclassed Germany.

[rowan]

This report actually mentions the possibility of a Hawaii-based team:

A Pacific Island Super Rugby team could be a gateway to the lucrative American market.
The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has released a copy of their feasibility study into a potential Super Rugby side based in the Pacific Islands under the Official Information Act.
Parts of the $80,000 study are redacted, particularly regarding key financial information for any Pacific bid, but it shows a desire to tap into a large base of Pacific Island people living in the United States.
It highlights the possibility of hosting a game each season outside the Pacific Islands of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga, with California and Hawaii likely destinations.

Continues here: https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/sup ... app-iPhone

[rowan]

Samoans push for Pacific Island inclusion on World Rugby Council:


Former Manu Samoa captain, Daniel Leo, is on a crusade.

He believes it is critical to educate the Pacific Island community about rugby players' welfare.

As the Samoa Rugby Union prepares to submit an application for a seat on the World Rugby Council (W.R.C.), Leo wants people to know the realities of the rugby world.

Based in London, the man with roots in Falefa, is the C.E.O. of the Pacific Rugby Players Welfare (P.R.P.W.), an organization representing the interests of nearly 400 professional and semi-professional rugby players of Pacific Island heritage.

“The PRPW has taken up the issue of Pacific Island representation on the WRC in a campaign called Seats At The Table, saying island nations are kept back from fair representation."

In the Council, Oceania Rugby casts two votes on behalf of 12 island nations, including New Zealand and Australia who also have three votes each for themselves.

Leo said not only is two votes not enough in a Council of 49 members, but Oceania Rugby cannot accurately represent such a diverse group of nations.

Without more votes, interests of pacific rugby players are consistently overlooked.

Leo says this keeps them in Tier 2 competitions without a chance to advance. This is exemplified in the standards of player welfare.

“At Rugby World Cup next year, Tier 2 teams will get less turnaround time between games than Tier 1 teams,” said Leo. “Those top teams get 20 days between pool games, when Tier 2 teams like Samoa and Fiji get 18.”

Those two extra days between matches make a crucial difference at a higher level of competition, said Leo, so Tier 2 teams are just always more tired.

Not only that, but island nations never host tournaments. Instead they travel as far as the United Kingdom or Europe to compete.

“Never having a home advantage has a logical reflection on results.”

Financially this has an impact as well, he said.

“In international rugby, the hosting teams take 100% of the profit made in a home game” said Leo.

He said he would like to see countries sharing the gate takings, especially with less wealthy countries.

“At the moment the tier system is holding us back, there is no dispensation afforded to the tiers.

“We think if the system is going to be there, then the Tier Two nations should have an advantage off the field and the system should be conducive to the development of the sport.”

For now, he said, the Tier system simply maintains the current status quo of Pacific rugby players succeeding on behalf of Tier 1 nations, with no economic benefit going to their home countries thanks to the laws of international rugby.

The W.R.C. maintains an eligibility rule stating players may not play for more than one union in their career.

Promising Pacific rugby players are often recruited to play for Australia or New Zealand at young ages, complete their schooling in those countries before representing them professionally abroad.

The player eligibility rules mean those players cannot later return to their home countries to play for them instead.

“Basically, we provide the most professional rugby players to the world,” said Leo.

“The other nations worry if they give us access we’ll beat them.

“With those increased results comes more momentum to drive bids for increased seats at the table so it’s a way of keeping us down.”

Rugby is a progressive sport, said Leo, and should eradicate the system which brackets nations and people into class status.

http://www.sobserver.ws/en/17_08_2018/r ... %80%9D.htm

[rowan]

I've been saying this for a long time, of course. It's farcical that Romania and Georgia now have direct representation on the WRC while Fiji and Samoa don't. What's the criteria? Fiji has more players than Romania and Georgia combined - by far - and both they and Samoa have a far better track record on the field.