I have seen some racist comments, reveals Halaholo
WALES rugby star Willis Halaholo believes the criticism he received after his international call-up from Wayne Pivac in the autumn was racially motivated.
The centre was all set to play for Wales against the Barbarians after the New Zealander served his three-year residency with the Cardiff Blues before injury ruled him out.
His knee problem looks set to sideline the 29-year-old for the rest of the season and puts his participation in the Wales summer tour to New Zealand and Japan in grave doubt.
Halaholo has seen fellow New Zealanders Hadleigh Parkes and Johnny McNicholl make Welsh squads in recent years.
And he admitted he found it strange other players playing Test rugby through the residency route were not criticised on social media the way he was.
He told the Scrum V Podcast: “I don’t know whether it just comes to race or the way I am, my personality. I’m not too sure.
“I had seen some racist comments.”
“I’ve seen two other Kiwi-born players receive a huge welcome and then there’s a few question marks over me,” he said.
“I don’t try and call it out. It’s mainly on Twitter that I see these things. It’s people that I follow fighting for me against these people and then it comes up on my timeline.
“I never go looking for it but when I come across it, it’s a little bit disheartening.”
In November 2019, Halaholo hit back on social media, at critics of his selection for the Wales’ squad.
“I sort of expected [criticism] because I’d already seen a build-up towards it,” said Halaholo.
“There are some trolls out there that tag me, and there’s no need.
“You can have your opinion but I don’t need to have a notification of you talking about me in that way, saying I don’t deserve to be here.
“I have nothing against the [residency] rule – if you are against the rule that’s fine, I don’t care, it’s your opinion – but it’s more like picking and choosing who they think deserve it.”
Halaholo admits he would not have responded to social media comments if he had not been injured.
“That’s because you go from such a high - named in the squad on the Wednesday - and then on the Monday I am called in told my season’s done. You’ve done your ACL – six months,” he said.
“I had been really happy. I was looking back on the last three years on the work I’ve done and the family I’ve made here with the Blues supporters and I was looking to branch myself out to the rest of Wales and see what I can do, but it wasn’t to be.
“It took a while, a couple of weeks, to get over it and have my operation but I’m back on the horse now and ready to go.”
The midfielder, who joined the Blues from the Hurricanes in 2016, admitted he was encouraged by some reactions to his tweets.
“I was surprised and overwhelmed by the support,” said Halaholo.
“People have inboxed me on Facebook and said they are happy to have me here in this country that’s been good for me.
“It doesn’t faze me – I’ve gone through worse in life. I just felt it a bit funny that a couple of other guys who qualified the same way as me were welcomed a bit more differently.”