Jason Taumalolo...still stuffing the desperate Kiwis around. Photo / Photosport
Jason Taumalolo...still stuffing the desperate Kiwis around. Photo / Photosport
Message to runaway Kiwi league star Jason Taumalolo: Stick with Tonga fella — you've helped start something exciting, now go on with the job.
North Queensland Cowboys forward Taumalolo was still in two minds publicly when asked if he wanted to reclaim his Kiwis jersey last week.
"I've got a few more weeks so I'm sure you guys will find out soon," he said, as if we hang on his every word and move.
A few more weeks? What planet is this bloke on and why does everyone let him reside there?
The Kiwis' test against England in Denver is less than three weeks away, as is Mate Ma'a Tonga's match against Toa Samoa in Sydney's wild west. And he still doesn't know where his heart lies? No wonder people laugh at international league, where turncoats keep on turning.
Taumalolo is in Sonny Bill Williams country — this situation recalls when Joe Superstar Number One did a u-turn into the Kiwis 2013 World Cup squad after it was picked, an historic moment for international sport one would think.
Just like the SBW we don't like, Taumalolo is stuffing everyone about.
Quitting the Kiwis for Tonga's 2017 World Cup campaign at the 11th hour, having been selected in the black jersey earlier in the year, at least had some legitimacy when you consider how Pacific nations are treated by the sporting superpowers.
In Taumalolo's world, the Kiwis, Tonga and other players still deserve to be left dangling.
Not all or even many Kiwis fans may see it this way, but the New Zealand Rugby League should stop acting like a doormat, and tell Taumalolo to take a hike.
Or to put it nicely, they should advise poor, confused, divided Jason Taumalolo to follow the classy lead set by the Warriors wing David Fusitu'a.
Aucklander Fusitu'a — who also walked out on the Kiwis last year — announced this week that he is sticking with Tonga. He said all the right stuff, things a lot of us were desperate to hear after Tonga set last year's World Cup ablaze.
Fusitu'a recalled the sacrifices his parents had made leaving Tonga, and the chance he had to alter the shape of international league and inspire kids from all Pacific nations. It was brilliant stuff from the Auckland born and raised Fusitu'a, and I take my hat off to him for a tough decision that won't help the bank balance or guarantee major test action.
Fellow "defectors" Taumalolo, Sio Siua Taukieaho and Manu Ma'u should also be considered as Tongan players, forever. They made their choice, so stick with it. They are the key to a rising force and it would be disheartening to blur the league lines yet again and flip-flop them back into the Kiwis.
The sea of Tongan flags in Hamilton last year helped create a terrific rivalry further fuelled by the win over David Kidwell's collapsing Kiwis. Don't let it slip, while demanding new coach Michael Maguire build the next Kiwis era on players who really want to be there.
Taumalolo isn't the only cowboy.
Somehow, against all odds, the NZRL looked at the World Cup gift horse, donned a Stetson, and rode off to Denver, Colorado, in the United States, where the Kiwis will play England in a match which could also help wreck the Warriors.
The NZRL — with a new boss in ex-rugby administrator Greg Peters — has a tough job, living in the considerable shadow of Australian league. But it doesn't even grab the rays of sunshine.
Family Blues
Rows and empty seats? Photo / Photosport
The Ioane family had an interesting time of it, after their Auckland Blues team had bombed yet again, this time against the Melbourne Rebels.
Star All Black wing Rieko, who did not play, suffered an injury around his left eye after fun and games at a private residence with a team mate.
The incident was officially described as "high-jinks", a phrase which started out as a gambling-drinking game but came to mean no more than a bit of fun. Many will suspect that an eye injury like that was caused by something more than skylarking.
