Islands band together to brand together

Gerry Thornleyon how the lack of matches afforded Samoa, Fiji and Tonga forced them to form the Pacific Islands side and start touring for funds as much as fun

Pound for pound, as it were, or per head of population, there is probably no more fertile rugby land on the planet than the islands of Samoa, Fiji and Tonga. Without them, it would be a duller game, and it's not as if the global rugby map is spoilt for the kind of badly needed variety they bring to world cups.

Yet the very fact they've had to form the Pacific Islands is a sad indictment of modern Test rugby, for it was essentially in response to the lack of matches afforded Samoa, Fiji and Tonga. Typically, of course, they're making the best of it and are now, effectively, in the European shop window for the first time.

Sakopo Lolohea is a co-founder of the Pacific Islands rugby team, in tandem with the CEOs of Samoa and Fiji in 2003, and the former Tongan union president and CEO is now the full-time chief executive of the recently-formed Pacific Rugby Ltd.

They hope to tour France and England in 2008, and thereafter to tour every four years. Aside from exposing leading players to Test rugby, the concept of the Pacific Islands and tours such as this is to raise funds for the individual unions. "Our costs have been covered pretty much. Of course we always want more," says Lolohea. To break even, they've needed assistance from the IRB and the Home Unions, logistical help from the Auckland rugby union, and also sponsorship from Digicel.

A tour review will highlight the need for warm-up games as well as exploring the possibility of having midweek games, almost like an old-style tour, in part to stave off homesickness by keeping the players more active.

At first glance, it appears many of their best players have not been made available or have returned home, although the example of the maverick Rupeni Caucaunibuca, who missed the Welsh game due to his inability to find his passport and has now returned to Agen, should not be taken as a barometer.

"In the past we have made that mistake of giving in to the bullying," admits Lolohea. "But I think not this tour. We have pushed to the limit with the help of the IRB regulation 9.4, whereas as individual islands we have not pushed this hard enough. Even to the day before we arrived we were having discussions."

Pointing out that national unions or federations must also apply pressure to clubs who are reluctant to release island players, Lolohea cites an example of one French club who would not release one of their players. "So the IRB and the French Federation wrote to them and said that if they don't release their player, they will lose a point in their competition. That softened their stand and they released their player to us."

If the players have bought into this concept, so too have the Polynesian people. The games are shown live in the early hours of the morning with Fox Television replaying the games in New Zealand and Australia regularly during the week.

There is probably a misconception in the Northern Hemisphere that New Zealand, and to a lesser degree Australia, rape and pillage the islands' rugby resources without giving much in return. While the latter is undoubtedly true, the dream of any young pacific islander is to play for the All Blacks. And carving a career, all the more so with an education, in New Zealand offers opportunities which economically, their native islands can never provide.

Coach Pat Lam also points out that not only do the Pacific Islands derive huge pleasure from the likes of Joe Rokocoko playing for the All Blacks, "what a lot of people don't realise is that there is a huge Polynesian community in New Zealand and now in Australia as well. There are a lot of second/third generation islanders down there. It also helps Pacific Islands rugby because it gets more people involved in it."

The Islanders' coach says the ultimate goal would be for the three countries to compete separately in an expanded Super 14 and collectively, in the Tri-Nations. Wonderful in theory, but given money talks that seems highly improbable in practice, as Lolohea accepts, with the reluctance more pronounced in SANZAR than among television companies.

As regards their performances in next year's World Cup, belated IRB investment in high performance sections at underage in the three islands only came on board in the last 12 to 18 months. "So I don't think we'll see that investment coming out next year; it will come out in 2011," says Lolohea. "But that investment is no good unless we play tier-one nations.

"It's fine playing Australia A, Junior All Blacks or each other, but we need to play the countries that we aspire to play in the World Cup."

Next year Fiji and Samoa might have one or two games against tier-one countries in readiness for the World Cup, while Tonga have none as yet, and the schedules are pretty much full.

So, in conclusion, you give the CEO of Pacific Islands one wish? "That we are financially resourced so we can run this concept as well as the three unions. At the moment we are very, very, very poor. That is one reason we've come to Europe, because this is where the money and the bigger population is; and so to expose our brand of rugby hopefully there are people there - will help us financially.

This tour is to showcase our brand of rugby."