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Shattered Pacific Rugby Players CEO Aayden Clarke has called New Zealand Rugby “arrogant” and is urging Pasifika rugby to forget Auckland and base a team in western Sydney.
NZ Rugby President Brent Impey surprised the Pasifika rugby community last week by turning down applications for inclusion in Super Rugby Aotearoa 2021, and it may well turn out to be the last straw for that strained relationship.
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New Zealand Rugby President Brent Impey said last week: ‘The last thing we want is for [Pasifika] team to get in and get crushed. ‘
“Different organizations, both New Zealand-based and non-New Zealand-based, are interested in this team,” Clarke revealed to Stuff Monday.
“In fact, I think it has merit to be based in Australia, rather than New Zealand.
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“Australia has had a much more open door policy and disposition with Pacific Islands teams in recent years compared to NZ Rugby.
“We have had Fijian Drua playing in the NRC [National Rugby Championship]We’ve had a number of options where Australia has been a little kinder and, inadvertently, a little less arrogant.
“It is a genuine option.”
While NZ Rugby’s relationship with Pasifika rugby has deteriorated, Australia’s ties to the region have been quietly growing.
Pasifika’s influence on the Wallabies has grown strongly over the past decade, and while ties were tested by the firing of Israel Folau, some of the Wallabies’ most respected players have Pasifika heritage.
Brett Hemmings / Getty Images
Nacanieli Narequva takes a break during the Australian National Rugby Championship match between NSW Country and Fiji Drua last year.
Clarke, whose organization is chaired by Hale T-Pole and has strong ties to the islands, said that attitude compares favorably with NZ Rugby’s attitude towards Pasifika rugby.
“What New Zealand has done is: ‘It’s their competition and they’re running it.’
“It’s basically their decision, but I know in Australia they are small but kinder to a team from the Pacific Islands and western Sydney would be such a good base, and probably better in my opinion, than Auckland.”
A team in West Sydney has long been a dream for many in the Australian rugby community, particularly as the Waratahs are perceived as a franchise serving only the city’s thriving North Shore and eastern suburbs.
Clarke also said that business opportunities were more attractive on the other side of the ditch.
Masanori Udagawa / Getty Images
Pasifika’s influence on All Blacks rugby remains strong, as demonstrated by the latest All Blacks addition.
“It’s huge, and I think New Zealanders don’t really get it,” Clarke said.
“Along with that are business opportunities. It is much bigger than New Zealand.
“No one has convinced me yet that putting a team between the Chiefs and the Blues is a good idea.
“We have worked very closely with Moana Pasifika and Kanaloa and the other organizations that plan to be based in Auckland.
“[But] we have no bias towards that at all. It’s about what makes sense and an opportunity for the Pacific.
“I have seen very good arguments that West Sydney would be a much better base.
“It’s a great opportunity and Australia, even with DFAT (Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade), has recently invested in the Pacific, and such a team could have even greater government support than it would in New Zealand.”
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON / Stuff
Hooker Jordan Uelese, one of the Wallabies’ many Pasifika players, trains in Christchurch.
Such a move would have huge implications for NZ Rugby, as the All Blacks and Super Rugby teams continue to rely heavily on players from the Pasifika heritage.
However, Clarke made it clear that confidence in NZ Rugby had been undermined by last week’s decision.
“I thought it was a soft option to buy New Zealand Rugby,” he said.
“Given the strength of the many offerings, I thought this was the best opportunity we were going to have to onboard a team.
“The conversations we had with Nigel [Cass], Chris Lendrum and New Zealand, I thought there was a genuine interest in this happening.
“I think the competition needed it.”
Kai Schwoerer / Getty Images
The Pacific Rugby players’ conversations with New Zealand’s professional rugby director Chris Lendrum about a Pasifika team raised their hopes, but were ultimately shattered.
Clarke said there was still hope that a Pasifika team would be included in the 2022 competition, and early conversations with NZ Rugby had indicated that a decision would be made later this year.
However, last week’s decision was another bitter pill for Pasifika rugby after decades of being overlooked for Super Rugby recognition.
“I think history repeats itself,” Clarke said.
“There has never been a better opportunity than now to make this happen.
“It was never going to be perfect, especially with the short track heading into 2021.
“Hopefully the intention is genuine for 2022.
“While there is a terrible disappointment around 021, I think it will be much worse, although I hope it is good news, by the end of the year [if Pasifika is knocked back again]. “
