I’d love to play for Samoa says Toomaga-Allen

JEFFERY Toomaga-Allen won a solitary cap for New Zealand nine years ago, coming on as a second-half replacement against Japan, but the 29-year old Wasps prop hopes the rules will change to allow him to play for Samoa, where his mother was born.

Under the current regulations, players are allowed to change their international allegiance only if they are involved in the Olympics, and given his position, Samoa are unlikely to be calling on Toomaga-Allen to represent them in the short form of the game.

But World Rugby will later this month vote on a proposal that would allow a capped player to represent the country of their birth, or where a parent or grandparent was born, after a three-year standdown period. If it achieves the necessary 75 per cent majority, Toomaga-Allen would be eligible to play for Samoa next year.

“My mum is Samoan and before I became a professional, I changed my last name to represent both sides of my family,” said the former Hurricanes prop who before that had been Jeffery Allen. “If the opportunity came up, I’d love to play for Samoa and have a shot at playing in the World Cup.

“If you have had one or two caps and been out of the international scene for a while, why not be allowed to play for another nation you qualify for through birth or your family?

“It would be a great opportunity to give back to my culture and help the younger generation coming up – there’s so much young talent out there. And it could create a pathway for many young people to earn a bit of coin and give back to their families and develop their villages or where they’re from.”

Toomaga-Allen reached a century of appearances for the Hurricanes and he reached the 50 mark against Bath last weekend, one of the few front rowers to remain standing at the club which has a horribly long injury list.

“A number of the injured boys would play if they were allowed to and that shows the heart and determination we have,” he said. “We have changed our culture and tried to become a gritty team, a bunch of battlers.

“People say we are not the biggest forward pack and that is good because it gives us a chip on our shoulder. We are fighting each other in training and we have to transfer that to the opposition.

“Lee (Blackett) has done really well this season in driving competition among the players so that we make each other better. You cannot teach heart but you can build character which we showed at home to Exeter when we were in the game right until the end.

“Afterwards, their coach said it was the first time they had been denied a try in the opposition 22. You build resilience through adversity and when you see someone like Brad Shields leading from the front every week, he does not need to say anything.”