Islanders snub reeks of a new apartheid
The Lions tours of 1962, 1968, 1974 and 1980 are a stain on our collective conscience and even when the Lions finally succumbed to public pressure and bailed out ahead of the planned 1986 tour – 16 years after cricket called a halt to relations with South Africa – what happened?
The All Blacks, in the guise of the New Zealand Cavaliers, greedily stepped into the breach and were paid handsomely to embark on another tour. Completely shameful and shameless.
During the height of the hateful apartheid regime England toured in 1972 and 1984; France toured in 1958, 1961, 1964, 1967, 1971, 1975 and 1980; New Zealand 1960, 1970, 1976 and the Cavaliers in 1986; Scotland in 1960, Ireland in 1981 and Australia 1961, 1965 and 1969. We can and do eulogise some of the rugby played on these trips... but it is also a roll of dishonour that does the game no credit.
It’s not as if these tours were not viciously opposed, criticised and vilified at the time – they were. But still rugby ploughed on regardless. But here’s a thing. Scarcely five years after rugby was finally shamed into banning such tours Mandela was free, South Africa was free and on the right track.
The long-running cricket and Olympic boycotts counted for virtually nothing, it was always a rugby boycott that was going to bring apartheid South Africa to its feet and it was a very bad time for rugby to duck its responsibilities and go AWOL.
Where were the IRB during all this? What were they doing? Who benefited financially from all these tours? Rugby wants all this swept under the table and thus far has largely succeeded but we need to start shining a harsher light on what exactly was going on.
And World Rugby has been AWOL over the Pacific Islands for way too long. These are potentially powerhouse teams who have been forced into an unnatural subjugation. When Samoa started shaking the rugby world in the 1990s the shutters came down and they were barred from Super Rugby and meaningful international rugby competitions. Was it racial, fear, blind prejudice, financial self interest or a combination of all four?
The big nations, with the very occasional exception, won’t go to Fiji. When Tonga thrashed Australia four tries to one in Brisbane in 1973 they had to wait another 13 years before they were allowed to play another IRB nation, Wales doing the honours.
Mind you that’s nothing compared with Cote D’Ivoire. They qualified for and played in RWC1995 but in the subsequent 25 years they have never played a match outside of Africa and never played a T1 nation.
They were just dumped, and glossed over. Not a little unlike their tragic wing Max Brito who was paralysed at the World Cup and has endured a ghostly half-life ever since, largely forgotten by the rugby community.
Fijian players these days are viewed as low hanging fruit ripe for picking – a commodity to barter over – and even officialdom treats many Islanders with subconscious contempt with harsh bans and fines for offences that go virtually unpunished among the elite nations and players.
Does rugby not see that the very term T2 is offensive, pejorative, insulting.
If Bill Sweeney and England really want to make some kind of stand or gesture, I would suggest treating the Pacific islanders as rugby brothers would be a decent start. ‘Not singing’ the most politically woke song in the sporting canon doesn’t quite cut it.