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Enormous reaction to compelling new documentary highlighting exploitation of Pacific Island players
By Josh Raisey
A documentary produced by Pacific Rugby Welfare Dan Leo investigating the state of rugby in Samoa, Tonga and Fiji has evoked an enormous reaction online and inspired a call for change in how the game is governed by World Rugby.
Oceans Apart: Greed, Betrayal and Pacific Rugby - a production that was three years in the making - takes aim at World Rugby, highlighting the injustices that exist in the game and the exploitation of Pacific Island players. It also exposed the scandals and corruption that officials in Fiji, Samoa and Tonga have been involved in.
A former Samoan forward, Leo also recounted his own experiences as a player and how his international career was terminated in 2014 after he spoke out about the treatment of Pacific Island teams in the lead-up to a fixture with England at Twickenham.
His documentary interview with Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, the Samoan prime minister and rugby chairman, was fraught with danger given the personal threats he had received after speaking out in the past.
Since the documentary’s release earlier this week there has been an overwhelming response online and Leo has been widely praised for bringing to light so many of these issues.
Whether it is players having dual nationality, a fairer share of money or a change in the voting system for the World Rugby council, the documentary intensified the calls for change regarding how the sport is governed. The response amongst the playing community has been significant as well, with players from all over the world showing their support.
Tonga and Stade Francais full-back Telusa Veainu thanked Leo for “exposing our struggle”, while ex-England captain Dylan Hartley said, “Someone with position, power, a half-decent moral compass needs to watch”.
Although Leo’s ex-Wasps teammate James Haskell said in the documentary that “everybody puts their hand up and says they are going to do good stuff and then nothing happens because nobody does anything about it”, the response to this film so far has suggested that the PRPW’s cries are starting to be heard.
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Latest Comments
I agree.
I’d like to know what constitutes a 208 week ban though?
Must the eyeball be dislodged? Hanging by a vein?
Go to commentsAlso a Bristol fan and echo your sentiments.
I love watching Bristol but their approach will only get them so far I think. Exeter played like this when they first got promoted to the prem and had intermittent success, it wasn't until they wised up and played a more balanced game that they became a consistently top side.
I really want Bristol to continue playing this brand of rugby and I don't mind them running it from under their posts but I don't think they need to do it every single time. They need to be just a little bit more selective about when and where on the pitch they play. Every game they put themselves under so much needless pressure by turning the ball over under their posts trying to do kamikaze moves when it's not required. By all means run it from your goal line if there is a chance for a counter attack, we all want to see Bristol running in 100m tries from under their posts but I think until they learn when to do it and when to be pragmatic, they are unlikely to win the premiership.
Defense has been a real positive from Bristol, they've shown a lot of improvement there... And I will say that I think this kamikaze strategy they employ is a very good one for a struggling side and could be employed by Newcastle. It's seems to have turned around Gloucester's fortunes. The big advantage is even if you don't have the biggest and best players, what you have is cohesion. This is why Scotland keep battering England. England have better individuals but they look muddled as a team, trying to play a mixed strategy under coaches who lack charisma, the team has no identity. Scotland come out and give it full throttle from 1-15 even if they struggle against the top sides, sides like England and Wales who lack that identity drown under the relentless will and synergy of the Scots. If Newcastle did the same they could really surprise some people, I know the weather is bad up there but it hasn't bothered the Scots. Bristol can learn from Scotland too, Pat is on to something when he says the following but Scotland don't play test matches like headless chickens. They still play with the same level of clarity and ambition Bristol do but they are much better at picking their moments. They needed to go back to this mad game to get their cohesion back after a couple of seasons struggling but I hope they get a bit wiser from matches like Leinster and La Rochelle.
“If there’s clarity on what you’re trying to do as a team you can win anything.”
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