3 May 2018

A world series lifeline for Pacific Island rugby?

4:15 pm on 3 May 2018

Opinion - News broke this week of Samoa yet again getting shafted by World Rugby. The World Cup qualifying debacle happening in Europe is set to have potentially disastrous ramifications for the Samoan qualifying match for next year's World Cup, with the game probably being moved outside the June test window. This, of course, means they'll be without their best players.

This, again on top of the team's financial troubles last season and continuing stagnation around including a Pacific presence in Super Rugby. However, there could be hope for the future of Pacific Island rugby, and it's starting tomorrow night.

Samoa beat Tonga 30-10 in Apia during the 2016 Pacific Nations Cup.

Samoa and Tonga during the 2016 Pacific Nations Cup. Photo: Renee McKay/SRU

The Force were axed from Super Rugby last year, in a highly contentious move that saw an outpouring of support from their fans. One of them happens to be Perth mining magnate Andrew Forrest, whose passion for the team is seemingly matched by his outlandish wealth and willingness to be a thorn in the side of Rugby Australia.

His plan to get the Force back playing professional rugby was scoffed at by many, but remarkably it's about to become a reality on Friday night. World Series Rugby, or the 'Indo-Pacific League', will kick off at Perth's NIB Stadium when the Force host Fiji in front of what is expected to be a healthy crowd of at least 10,000.

So far, coverage of the new venture over this side of the Tasman has been sparse, with the focus on a couple of admittedly interesting rule tweaks. It's surprising for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Rugby Australia is currently on its knees in terms of public perception: the Super Rugby sides are all destined not to be holding the trophy, and once again it's finding itself on the losing end of the TV ratings battle against the NRL and AFL.

Secondly, one of the teams that the Force will be playing in their inaugural breakaway season is the current Super Rugby champion Crusaders. While that match falls during the All Black test series against France, and therefore won't feature many big name players, it shows that interest exists from New Zealand about the possible future of the new competition.

It's a future that's been widely written off, but at least one historic parallel suggests otherwise. It's own namesake, World Series Cricket, was a similar departure from the ruling bodies of the game in the early '70's, and proved to be so successful that it forced one day cricket into being the dominant form of the game before long.

Still, it'll be an uphill battle for World Series Rugby. Being based in Perth means that they're asking for a big commitment for teams traveling there. Plus they'll have to attract more global media attention than it's getting, so the pressure is on to deliver a better product than what's on offer in Super Rugby.

As well as the Crusaders and Fiji, Samoa and Tonga will be playing the Force as well. While these matches are invitational only for 2018, the inclusion of the Pacific Island nations is definitely worth keeping an eye on. If it does carry on to include them in a fully-fledged competition, it may well be their way into Super Rugby.

SANZAAR have drafted up a long term strategy for Super Rugby, with the focus predictably being on expanding to the US. However, it also says that any expansion will be absorbing existing competitions. If that does eventually happen, and World Series Rugby is still operating and profitable, then they'll suddenly turn into a major player. Incorporation into a new-look combined Super Rugby competition would be the easiest solution, bringing some form of Pacific Island rugby with it.

If they can make enough money to start enticing away the meagre player base that Australian rugby has, which is already being chipped away at by European and Japanese clubs, then the Australian governing body will be forced to start cooperating with the upstarts. Then, just like World Series Cricket, it may not be long before the tail starts wagging the dog.

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