The English media are getting excited about the abundance of Pacific talent that will be on show at the World Cup, but have again raised questions about leading nations engaging in player poaching.
New Zealand is one country accused of pillaging the best Pacific talent, while less than ethical player agents and problems around players gaining releases from clubs for major tournaments remain parallel issues for Pacific players.
The Daily Mail suggests that although the Pacific Islands have long produced a hefty pile of talent to bolster nations around the world, their needs have not always been catered for in return.
Recently-retired Samoa captain Dan Leo spoke passionately about the trend of overseas clubs snapping up many of the best players from Samoa, Fiji and Tonga, and compared some of their contract arrangements to slavery.
"The guys on the big contracts are the ones that are the publicised cases but there's just as many who are on less than no money in places such as Romania," Leo said. "There's no protection for some of these young players. Some of the stories I've heard are bordering on slavery. That's the ugly side of it."
