Louisa Wall: Island rugby becomes the main course

COMMENT

Oh what great games, and there are more to come! The Pacific Islanders are more than just a team providing perfect preparation for the Wallabies and the All Blacks. Watch out Boks, it will be a battle of the fittest and the Pasifika boys are not there as an entree to your international season.

This is the international season and they are a force to respect.

It is wonderful to see rugby played to its potential. The style, pace and flair is a joy and will have rugby fans calling for more and more.

The Pacific is a freak-producing factory.

The player base is a fabulous resource to build and display for all to see.

So, for whose benefit will this be developed? BeeGee (I regard him as a hero) has highlighted the decades of discrimination endured by island nations. I hope that the creation of this Pacific Islands' team will strengthen the infrastructure of island rugby within these nations.

The emergence of this team as a credible opposition for New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, initially, has added value for Pacific Islanders within our region and an analysis of who will benefit from such a development is interesting.

The Sione Lauakis of this world could benefit. But how is Sione in this team if he is eligible to be selected for the All Blacks? Shouldn't the players in the Islanders team ultimately play for their Pacific nations?

Otherwise, this team could be seen as merely a feeder team, a second-tier team within the NZRFU, to support and the All Blacks, not to compete against them.

The Pacific Island nations are benefiting with a percentage of the gate takings, so they will enjoy a share of the profits, but for what purpose? Without a vehicle to retain players within their nations they will continually lose players to other nations.

The eligibility laws mean that you can play for only one nation. The players in the future will make the choice about who they play for. Imagine if all the Samoans played for Samoa. But there is a difference in preference between New Zealand-born and Samoan-born Samoans. Within New Zealand the All Blacks are the ultimate - but what would happen if players chose to play for Samoa and not the All Blacks?

It is interesting to note Michael Jones, Willie O, BeeGee and those Pacific Islanders who played for other nations are involved in the management and administration of Pacific Island rugby.

If they were playing now, would they play for New Zealand or Samoa or another Pacific nation of ancestry?

Later in my rugby career I played Maori rugby and if I had had the opportunity to go to a World Cup representing a Maori team I would have.

But this is easy to say in retrospect and as a young sportswoman.

I just wanted to play and New Zealand was my only option.

Within New Zealand, the politics of choosing to play for a team other than the All Blacks is not an option. And if it was then the interest groups would surely stop the development of Pacific Island talent if it meant they could potentially lose control of these players. What would be the return for their development investment? Producing a better rugby product, or maybe increased global development of the sport?

The opportunity for a Pacific Island team to play in a top competition will have to be driven by an external business force that is focused on the game as a commodity and entertainment package.

If we rely on New Zealand, Australia and South Africa we must remember self-interest will always dictate action.

Rugby is a business, after all.

* Louisa Wall was a New Zealand netball representative from 1989-1992 and rugby representative from 1994 to 2000.