The north’s decade of duplicity

- Wellington - Wairarapa - Rotorua - Auckland - Wellington - Auckland - Hamilton - Lower Hutt - Opotiki - Wellington - Auckland Comment: Perhaps now the sermons will stop.

We all know the ones, delivered from the northern hemisphere (and England in particular) in which New Zealand is cast as the rapacious pillager of Pacific Island talent.

Of course, Kiwis have responded for year by jumping up and down and saying it isn’t so (which it largely isn’t, although occasionally is) but the perception up north has remained.

Yet the facts say something different – very different, as some Sunday Star Times digging by colleague Ben Strang reveals (see story right).

Let’s go over some of the key findings.

The number of England debutants since 2005 born in New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa is 13.

The number of Pacific Islandborn debutants for the All Blacks in the same period is 12. And it’s unlikely the English will stop there.

Already Auckland-born league convert Denny Solomona is being tipped as an England wing and it would be no shock if Wellington export Jason Woodward or former Tasman star Tom Marshall started to pique Eddie Jones’ interest.

England’s appreciation for Kiwis is part of of broader trend.

Since 2005, 21 new caps come from the southern hemisphere. It’s not just England of course. The Irish, Scottish, French, Welsh – they’ve all been at it, exploiting residential and heritage rules to build up their national sides.

In fact, New Zealand has a higher percentage of ‘‘home-grown’’ debutants than all of these countries in the past decade.

Natural flows of immigration also play a role in the make-up of many national teams.

For example, 25 per cent of all English debutants since 2005 were not born in England, with Trinidad and Tobago and Nigeria among the - Wellington birthplaces. But this is precisely the argument that applies to New Zealand. Some in the northern hemisphere may not like it but the majority of Pacific Island players to play for the All Blacks were born in New Zealand or moved there at an early age.

Accusing New Zealand of pillaging the islands for these players is a bit like accusing the English of pillaging Ireland for the Beatles (Lennon, McCartney) or Oasis (the Gallaghers).

The northern hemisphere defence to the inconvenient facts outlined above will be predictable: we’re just doing what the All Blacks have done for years.

But it seems to me that there is something slightly different at play; something slightly more opportunistic.

That may be a debate for a different day. As it is, the stats speak for themselves.

The days of the north wagging the finger at the poacher New Zealand are well and truly over. Far left: Opotiki Left: Rotorua - Auckland - Auckland

The number of New Zealandborn players to debut for England since 2005.

The number of Pacific Islandborn players to debut for the All Blacks since 2005.

The number of southern hemisphere-born players who have debuted for England since 2005.

The percentage of non-New Zealand born players to debut for the All Blacks since 2005.