Come in, it’s time

Sports

Come in, it’s time to join the world

By Loveni Enari

THANKS to Western Samoa’s per formances at the recently com pleted World Cup, the Pacific, as a rugby force, though not yet in the spotlight of the international stage, has emerged from the wings to take on one of the minor starring roles.

Whether it as represented by Samoa, Fiji and Tonga - can progress to one of the leading lights by the time World Cup 1995 rolls on, remains to be seen. But the road ahead doesn’t seem as difficult as it has been in the past.

As the only Pacific Islands Journalist covering the Samoan’s progress in the United Kingdom, their successes were as much a joy to behold as the the Fijians’ losses were an exercise in frustration.

But where to for Samoa and Fiji from here? And where does it leave Tonga who failed to qualify for the tournament and yet who are traditionally one of the big three in Pacific rugby? Sitting by a gas heater surrounded by sports papers filled with soccer news, while the rain drizzled outside my London flat is not the best location from which to pass com ment on the game in the islands.

But one thing is certain: administrators of the game in all three countries must become more vocal to gain international competition to capitalise on the ground

gained by Samoa’s success.

And any complacency from the Sam oans should have been hit hard on the head by a comment from Don Furnley, chairman of the Australian Rugby Union, in the immediate wash-up to

Australia’s victory over England in the final. Proposing a Southern Hemisphere competition similar to the Five Nations in the North, Fernley said he thought Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Argen tina could provide the basis for it.

It was a hypothetical statement and didn’t grab much attention. But the fact someone in his position could mention Fiji ahead of Western Samoa, in light of the two side’s contrasting performances, should serve as a sharp reminder to the Samoans that their results, hailed as heroic in Apia, were only glimpses of glory on an international scale and should never be taken for granted.

There is still much to be done and the Fijians must feel that most. Seeded eighth in the world going into the competition and finishing with three poor perform ances from three matches was a bitter pill for them to swallow. They were built up by the British media as superb sevens players deficient in the more technical aspects of the 15-man game and the dark men in white played as if guided by the headlines.

Coming from a nation whose most well known personality is the gung-ho Siti veni Rabuka, they struggled to live up to his fearsome reputation and their im pressions of hailing a taxi when going in for the tackle were schoolboyish. Their lack of aggression and unwillingness to confront their opponents in the forwards, while relying on their flamboyant style to see them safely through , was never going to be enough.

But unlike Tonga their problems are on-field ones and, judging by the number

of times the Fijian side is overhauled and injected with new blood, the pool of talent is still flowing strongly.

The Tongans are faced with a more difficult proposition. Despite their ab sence from the tournament, Tongan born Australian flanker Viliami Ofahengaue, ensured all that is admir able about Tongan rugby power, pace, and tremendous ball skills were on display in his man-of-the-match performance in the final.

Ofahengaue received his rugby educa tion in New Zealand’s rugby capital, Auckland, and there-in could lie the key to a rejuvenation of Tongan rugby for there are any number of budding ‘Ofahengaues’ waiting to be discovered in Auckland. Players the like of Daniel Manu and Sakeasi Taumalolo, both included. in the Auckland squad this year, are just two examples. And just below players of their calibre the num bers of big Tongan schoolboys and club players with names that have Palagi match commentators speaking in short hand are even more impressive.

To be fair to the Tongan Rugby Union it has not overtly discouraged New Zealand-based players. But their system of recruitment is by no means as organised as the Samoans, with the latter’s success this year closely linked with the increasing influence from New Zealand.

However while they struggle to come to terms with the issue, administrators in the islands must not wait for an edict to be handed down to them. Samoa, and Fiji before them, have proven the Pacific can stand tall amongst the more estab lished unions of the world on the field.

Whether or not Tonga, Fiji and Samoa feature in the opening credits when the curtain goes up on World Cup ’95 will depend much on the off-field work of administrators of all three countries in the intervening years. □