Ex-pat fans and players test their loyalties

By RICHARD BOOCK

Whether we like it or not, a significant proportion of New Zealand rugby supporters will be hoping the All Blacks lose tonight's test match against Manu Samoa.

Along with the sprinkling of purists who yearn for something special from the underdogs, the visitors are guaranteed a huge chunk of the support at Eden Park from their New Zealand-based countrymen, those thousands of Samoans who know where they draw the line on the matter of football loyalty.

It is the nature of the beast.

Just as half of Bondi turned up at the Sydney Football Stadium last week to barrack for the Maori playing Australia, the All Blacks are unlikely to feel completely at home tonight in Auckland - despite the fact they often boast players of Samoan descent.

According to former All Black star and Manu Samoan coach Bryan Williams, it is a case of being able to take the boy out of the island, but never the island out of the boy.

"I'd imagine," says Bee Gee, "that whether born here or not, just about every Samoan in the country will be supporting the blue jersey on Saturday night. The old Mother Country feeling is very strong and even the kids who weren't born in Samoa have learned all about it from their family.

"It's about a cultural identity - there's a very strong sense of allegiance. You can't stop what's flowing through your veins."

Straightforward enough, but here's the contradiction. While most young Kiwi-based Samoan rugby players want John Boe's side to score a glorious upset win against New Zealand tonight, most would turn down the opportunity to represent Samoa in a flash - if they thought they had a chance to play for the All Blacks.

In the present run-on New Zealand team, only Tana Umaga has managed to achieve that milestone, although All Black history is littered with the names of great Samoan players, such as Williams, Michael Jones, Olo Brown, Frank Bunce and Josh Kronfeld.

And the reason they prefer to play for New Zealand over Samoa? Just one, really: Money.

"I don't think the decision facing young Samoan players is very difficult nowadays," Williams says. "For the simple reason that if you play for Samoa you don't make any money, and if you play for New Zealand you make lots.

"It's a head over heart matter."

So what if Manu Samoa were demonstratively better than the All Blacks, had a sound infrastructure and could pay their players a reasonable wage?

England cricket captain Nasser Hussain explored the issue a fortnight ago when he complained about the number of British Asians who either dreamed of playing for India or Pakistan, or turned out in their droves to support them in matches against England.

He said the number of opposition supporters was overwhelming as he led England on to the pitch at Lord's for the first test against Pakistan, and called for British Asians to put aside their cultural loyalties when an English team was playing.

"It was disappointing to see a sea of green shirts with the names of Pakistani players instead of ours," said Hussain, who was born in Madras, India. "It reminded me of when we played India at Edgbaston [in Birmingham] in the World Cup in 1999.

"It was like an away game then because so many people supported the opposition."

His comments brought to mind the ponderings of the former Conservative cabinet minister Lord Tebbit, who suggested in 1990 that test cricket was an excellent opportunity to examine the loyalties of British Asians.

"Which side do the Asians cheer for?" he asked. "It's an interesting test. Are you still harking back to where you came from, or where you are?"

However, if you were to ask former Samoan and Auckland half-back Tu Nu'uali'itia, he would say that both Hussain and Tebbit might as well whistle in the wind as demand that people put aside their cultural bonds - particularly when it came to sport.

Nu'uali'itia, who played for Samoa at two World Cups, says there is no question of who New Zealand-based Samoans would play for if all international football sides shared similar resources.

"I don't think Hussain can ever expect Asians to stop supporting Asian teams," he said. "If Samoa were suddenly to become a wealthy rugby nation all New Zealand-based Samoans would try to play for them first. It would be the complete reverse of the current situation, and I don't think there's any doubt about that.

"It's not simply about where you live, it's about your cultural upbringing, the language you speak, the food you eat and the customs you follow. It's all about your sense of identity and that why it's such a dilemma for young Samoan players over here at the moment.

"A lot of Samoan rugby players are brought up in a very strong cultural home, where the depth of respect for the family and the way of life means it would be Samoa first and foremost, if it wasn't for the money factor."

Nu'uali'itia has two sons and a daughter, and he reckons both boys would turn down the All Blacks for a chance to play for Samoa. But they are the exceptions.

"They've seen me play for Samoa and they know how much it means to all of us so they'd probably prefer to pull a blue jumper on. They'll be supporting Samoa in the test for sure.

"But most young Samoan players have to think with their heads rather than their hearts, and if they have a chance of going all the way with New Zealand, they more or less have to take it - because of the money."

Former Manu Samoan lock and Suburbs coach Mark Birtwistle said the question of rugby loyalty was an on-going dilemma for young players, although the lure and attraction of professional contracts usually meant they considered their livelihoods first.

Birtwistle, who says he will be supporting Manu Samoa tonight, is none-too-impressed with the tactics of the New Zealand system, but said young Samoan-based players had little choice apart from following the money trail and hoping they might stumble on to something lucrative.

"These guys usually aren't Rhodes Scholars," said Birtwistle. "The way it is at the moment, it's pretty simple for them to decide between a $10,000 NPC contract and the chance to play for Samoa, where they'll get nothing.

"These days, the allegiances are more heavily stacked towards job security and the chance to make some money."

However, he believed there was a need to be frank with young hopefuls and let them know where they stood, and was concerned that not enough of the unions embraced that philosophy. Too often, he said, they would string players along and wring the best years out of them before the penny dropped.

"The upshot is that the island nations are left with the barest of pickings."

As for the matter of support, Birtwistle considers himself a proud New Zealander, but will make an exception for tonight's game, as he always does when the Samoans square off against the New Zealanders.

"I wasn't good enough to be an All Black but I was good enough to play for Samoa," he said. "So for one night out of 365, my loyalties will be with my brothers."