Page 30 - IB April 2018

Rugby

Protecting Pacific’s rugby players

Four times a winner- the Fiji Warriors after successfully defending Pacific Challenge’s title four year in a row Photos: Joe Yaya

By Joe Yaya And this has become a bone of con- under 23s.
tention for most rugby players that go “It’s ground breaking, it’s never ever
THE Pacific has become a marketplace for overseas to ply their trade. The culture been done in rugby, it’s never been done
young rugby talent who are plucked in shocks, the language barriers, the distance by an international federation,” said World
droves to meet the demand from overseas from home, the loneliness - all contribute Rugby’s High Performance Manager Peter
club competitions, which today is a lucra- towards a dismal performance. Horne.
tive business. Some of the players resort to alcohol The idea is to hold the players in their
Even at Fiji’s premier secondary school and substance abuse to handle the pres- home country and provide opportunities
events, the Coca Cola Games and Dean’s sure, and we see the consequence of this in the professional market in the southern
Trophy, scouts that come as far away as sometimes in media reports. hemisphere, closer to home.
Europe sit in the stands and poach. World Rugby, together with a Pacific Is- All this was unveiled during last
This unscrupulous activity is not regu- land working group and the Pacific Island month’s Pacific Challenge series that Fiji
lated and nobody can stop it. These agents Rugby Players Association have teamed keeps hosting, and keeps winning. Thirty
take advantage of the socio-economic sta- up to offer a unique solution. players featuring 12 from the Fiji Warriors,
tus of their young targets, while promising For the first time, World Rugby, is the
them the world. scout for talent, and they are targeting Continued on page 32

30 Islands Business, April 2018