Fend off the mercenaries
the money, they are leaving because they are feeling alienated.
Some of those players and a lot of those coaches have been poorly treated. They have not been loved and valued and cherished. They have felt that there is little left for them in New Zealand rugby.
Iunderstand why countries like New Zealand will not select players who are overseas, but I also wonder if that is any more right than the decision of the mercenaries who play for whichever country will pick them.
Ben Toolis played under-20 volleyball for Australia. He was in the Australian rugby academy with Samu Kerevi. Now he plays against Australia for Scotland. WP Nel, a South African, is another of many.
And yet . . . we live in a migratory world. Joe Cokanasiga, the new star on England’s wing, said: ‘‘Being Fijian and being around Fijians, you already know about rugby before you play it.’’
So he’s Fijian? Well, yes. But he’s also something else. Cokanasiga’s father was in the British army and they moved to England when he was aged three. His upbringing has been shaped by British culture. It is the same with the Vunipolas whose father moved them to England when they were boys.
The question of nationality is no longer simple. When Ben Ryan, a flame-haired Englishman, became the coach of Fiji sevens, he started something beautiful. He lived in the Fijian community. His friends were all Fijian. And he guided a band of joyful Fijians to the Olympic gold medal.
The rugby that Fiji played that day in the 43-7 thrashing of Great Britain was an expression of something pure Fiji. Ryan said he wasn’t at all nervous. When he saw his players smiling beforehand, he knew what was coming. It was spiritual, it was happy, it was wonderful. And it changed Ryan for good.
He found he much preferred Fiji ‘‘even with a dictator in charge, a boss who was convicted for manslaughter, my phone being bugged, the bankruptcy and black magic, than my last year at the RFU (with all its rules, reviews and technology).
‘‘You almost have to apologise these days when you say you don’t feel very English . . . I don’t. I guess with Irish and Welsh backgrounds, three years in Fiji and I’m a Fijian chief now, I kind of don’t feel English any more and you feel like you just want to be nice to people and treat people with respect.’’
Now that doesn’t seem a bad way to be. And it is worth keeping in mind that Ryan’s experience is far from unique when we look at this whole business of international rugby. It is worth keeping in mind when we consider if Shields should be playing for England or Anscombe for Wales.
I’m confused. I agree with Pichot that international sport can only retain its integrity if the players are truly representative of the country they turn out for. And then I look at Ben Ryan and Fiji and think it is the most beautiful story that rugby has told in 25 years.
‘‘People aren’t just leaving [New Zealand] for the money, they are leaving because they are feeling alienated.’’