In league with Britain

Sports

But are the streets always paved with gold?

By Atama Raganivatu

The 1995-96 British rugby league

season has seen an explosion of Pacific Island talent. Over 50 Fijians, Tongans, Western Samoans and Cook Islanders are now attached to British professional clubs. Many were signed after showcasing their talents at last year’s World Cup. But few realise that our region’s association with the 13a-side code in its country of origin goes back 35 years.

It was in 1961 that the Rochdale Hornets club placed an advertisement in The Fiji Times seeking recruits. As a result of that insert, Orissi Dawai, Joe Levula, Laitia Ravouvou, Voate Driu and John Ravitale made the long journey to the north of England. Among the legions who remember the five pioneers with great affection is Ray French. Now pre mier rugby league television commenta tor of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), French played both with and against the Fijian quintet.

“They made a big impact in Britain, especially Levula and Ravouvou,” French said. “All five were good players, but those two were extremely powerful men and very fast.” The acquisition of Levula was a considerable coup for Rochdale.

He was then easily the biggest name in Fijian sport; excelling in basketball and athletics as well as rugby union, and had extended his fame during two highly suc cessful tours of New Zealand with Fiji’s national XV. The long-legged flyer was one of the few visiting players to gain a Kiwi Player of the Year accolade.

Australia’s immigration laws prevent ed him from joining St George in Sydney several years earlier and three English clubs, all more distinguished than the Hornets, had previously failed to secure his signature. It appeared he was content with a modest clerical job in Nadi when, out of the blue, Fiji’s favourite sporting son agreed to accompany his cousin, Dawai, on an adventure to the Northern Hemisphere. Levula quickly became the toast of Rochdale, a town of over 200,000 people just outside Manchester. But despite the success of Levula and his friends, no more Pacific Islanders were to be seen in British domestic rugby league competitions for almost 20 years because of restrictions placed upon transfers

between countries; ostensibly implement

ed to prevent rich Australian clubs from

plundering their poorer English counter parts. When the rules were relaxed in the early 80s, Pacific Islanders again made their presence felt but this second wave consisted of players with established cre dentials in New Zealand. The first to gain major honours was Western Samoan James Leuluai. Hull won both of British rugby league’s top prizes - the Challenge Cup and Championship - during his stint with them. Fred Ah Koi arrived at Hull three years after Leuluai, and played in rugby league’s greatest annual occasion the Challenge Cup final. In the 1985 event. Ah Koi and Leuluai appeared for the Hull side, which lost an epic encounter to Wigan 28-24.

Another Samoan, Mark Elia, was unluckier two years later. He scored a try and had another controversially disal lowed as his St Helens side lost by a sin gle point to Halifax at Wembley. 1987 saw Wigan commence the most pro longed and comprehensive period of domination in British rugby league histo ry. They won the championship that year and in seven of the ensuing nine. Among the galaxy of stars on the Roversiders’ payroll in this glorious era were Rarotongan brothers Kevin and Tony Iro, Tokelauan Sam Panapa and Western Samoans Va’aiga Tuigamala and Shem Tatupu.

Widnes briefly broke Wigan’s stran glehold in the late 1980 s with a team that included Tongan cousins Emosi Koloto and Kurt Sorensen, as well as Rarotongan Joe Grima. Sorensen captained them when they won the 1989 Championship and later defeated Australia’s Canberra Raiders to capture the world club title.

Playing with Wigan’s arch rivals, St Helens proved a frustrating and often humbling experience for Tokelauan Tea Ropati, one of four brothers to be fielded

by prominent British clubs.

Nevertheless, he gained a winner’s medal from the country’s third-most

important rugby league tournament, the

Premiership, as well as the First Division Player of the Year award during his five seasons with the Saints. Tongan George Mann was a teammate in the victorious 1993 side.

George’s cousin, Duane Mann, pos sesses a winner’s medal too. His came

from Warrington lifting the 1991 Regal

Trophy - the least prestigious of the four

major domestic competitions contested

each season. A year earlier, Tonga’s World

Cup captain had trod the Wembley turf as the Wires went down to the all-conquer

ing Wigan.

Virtually all the clubs which have trailed in Wigan’s wake boast at least one Pacific Islander in their ranks. Western Samoan national team captain John Schuster broke a string of points scoring records while wearing the colours of mediocre Halifax. Also worthy of men tion are Fijian James Pickering who, almost literally, moved mountains as Workington Town regained Division One status after many years in the wilderness; Tongan Lee Hansen, a stalwart performer for the now lowly Widnes, and Esene Faimalo, a bull-strong forward with high flying Leeds. All of these players came to England from New Zealand and no British club made any serious attempt to procure performers in the fledgling

domestic championships staged by Fiji,

Western Samoa and Tonga until the cream among them was displayed during last October’s World Cup.

Pacific Island teams were the tourna ment’s revelations. “I can’t say how much I enjoyed commentating on their match es,” Ray French enthused. However, it is not just entertainment value which makes Pacific Islanders such an attractive propo sition for British coaches. They are recognised as match winners. Cynics might add that Pacific Islanders are appealing because of their often low salaries too. Prominent players’ agent David McKnight recently suggested some South Seas imports could have been exploited. “If you are unemployed in Fiji, £lO,OOO (approximately SUS 15,000) per year seems an attractive figure,”

McKnight noted. “But the reality is the cost of living in England is so high that it is difficult to get by on such a sum which is frequently a quarter of what equally talented local players receive.”

McKnight, then, warns that the streets of northern England are not always paved with gold. But, a British Rugby League official assured me that no such discrimi nation exists and most clubs provide play ers on their books receiving small salaries with outside jobs to bolster incomes.”

Halifax’s Steve Simms confirms this.

“Their home countries are all still new to the game and, as the years go by, they will get better and better,” he predicted. “I believe it won’t be long before we see Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa compet ing against Australia and Britain on a reg ular basis. That can only be good for

rugby league.” ■