Pacific players ‘pressured’ to miss World Cup
World Rugby has been warned that Pacific Island players are again being pressurised by their clubs to miss the World Cup.
The prospect of Tonga, England’s opening opponents, Fiji, who face Wales, and Samoa, in a group with Ireland and Scotland, being shorn of their leading players in Japan has risen with Dan Leo, founder of the Pacific Players Welfare pressure group, saying that a ‘‘number of players’’ have asked him for advice about choosing club over country.
Last month, outstanding Samoan lock Joe Tekori announced his unexpected retirement from international rugby to ‘‘focus my rugby career on the club I am playing for now’’, Toulouse. Steve Jackson, the Samoa head coach, confirmed there were other players in similar situations.
‘‘There will be speculation about players that aren’t there and it’s because they have made themselves unavailable,’’ Jackson said. ‘‘It’s pretty much club over country.’’
Tonga and Fiji are having to deal with the same issues, says Leo, the former Samoa lock.
Under World Rugby Regulation 9, all clubs must release players called up by their countries during recognised international windows. Rather than blocking their release, clubs can implicitly promise a bonus or a contract extension, placing Pacific Island players in an invidious position. It is even worse for out-of-contract players, who are explicitly told they will not be signed if they head to the World Cup.
‘‘When you play for Samoa, you sacrifice a lot,’’ Leo said. ‘‘When you are away, the clubs cut your salary. That’s standard. As you get older, you often have more dependants and often when that is the case, when a club says if you stay then we will give you an extra two years, that can be difficult to turn down.
‘‘Say you are Joe Tekori, you have to make decisions based on the welfare of other people as well as your personal ambitions. Unfortunately that comes at the detriment of our national team.’’
World Rugby has ensured tiertwo nations such as the Pacific Islands have a more equitable allocation of rest days in Japan while covering insurance costs, which previously proved to be a sticking point for club release.
Yet player release is far from the only bone of contention. Seilala Mapusua, the former Samoa centre, last weekend said that anger was reaching ‘‘boiling point’’ over the constant player drain from the Pacific Islands.
‘‘When you play for Samoa, you sacrifice a lot. When you are away, the clubs cut your salary. That’s standard.’’
Dan Leo
An estimated 18 per cent of the world’s professional playing population are of Pacific Island origin – including four members of England’s World Cup squad.
Under World Rugby eligibility regulations, players are permanently tied to the country for whom they make their test debut. So players such as Bristol pair Charles Piutau or Steve Luatua, who last represented New Zealand four years ago, cannot play