Little trust in Samoa Rugby Union

Conflict has arisen on the home front which has the potential to leave the game in Samoa in worse shape than it has ever been.

In the last six months, there have been significant victories to suggest they are finally winning a fair deal, but the frustration for players is that, without resolution on the home front, the financial opportunities that lie down the track may be scuppered.

The bottom line is this - no one, not the Samoan players, not World Rugby, not the New Zealand Rugby Union, sponsors or broadcasters - has any confidence that money pumped into the Samoan Rugby Union will be used for what it was intended.

The players, despite being portrayed last year by the Samoan executive as being mercenary, don’t have unrealistic expectations. They don’t expect to become rich playing for Samoa and most, probably all of them, would put the jersey on for free.

World Rugby have invested heavily in the Pacific Islands over the 10 years, pumping close to $20 million into high performance and competition development.

There’s precious little to show for it in Samoa and, following an audit, a lot of money is simply unaccounted for. The players, while they would happily play for free, don’t see why they should when funds that were allocated have never materialised.

To stay quiet is to be complicit and having seen how those who have spoken out in the past - former captain Mo Schwalger - have been persecuted and punished, the current team know they have to work as a united group. They also know the issue is bigger than them - the sustainability of Samoan rugby is at stake.

The need to enforce accountability, transparency and integrity within the Samoan Rugby Union executive is not just about ensuring that the current crop of internationals can be appropriately supported but also ensuring the next generation of players are being helped with access to specialist coaching and advice and about developing domestic pathways and competitions and creating a culture of excellence that gives young Samoans confidence to commit to playing for their country.

It’s also, more importantly right now, about giving the outside world confidence to invest in Samoa. The All Blacks test on July 8 is going to deliver a substantial pay day.

The New Zealand Rugby Union were genuinely eager to lock the game in this time last year. One of the concerns they had, though, was creating a significant revenue flow that wouldn’t be used for the development of the game in Samoa.

That’s largely true of World Rugby, who were instrumental in delivering a test for Samoa in August this year at London’s Olympic Stadium.

The governing body want to trial the new technology that will be used at the World Cup and also give the stadium a dress rehearsal.

Samoa will play the Barbarians, who are celebrating their 125th anniversary, and although details haven’t been released, it’s believed the intention is for Samoa to benefit financially from the game.

If there isn’t confidence in how that money will be used, it won’t be forthcoming and that’s why a resolution is desperately trying to be found. Alama Ieremia has been installed as Samoa’s High Performance Manager and Faleomavaega Vincent Fepuleai as interim Chief Executive.

Those involved in trying to establish a new financial structure and binding agreement between union and players are confident the right people are in place for agreement to be reached.

No one is talking for fear of breaking the trust that is slowly building. There are meetings scheduled over the next few weeks and clear outcomes in mind.

It can’t drag on. If it does, Samoa could miss out on the financial opportunities that have been presented.

Not only that, there is also another pressing issue that is re-surfacing - the age-old problem of player release around the World Cup is rearing its ugly head.

Despite endless efforts to pressure European clubs - the French in particular - to abide by the World Rugby ruling around releasing players for the World Cup, probematic cases are mounting.

Josh Blackie, who is involved with both the International Rugby Players’ Association and Pacific Island Players’ Association, says an increasing amount of time is being spent helping players who are in danger of missing out on club contracts unless they provide assurances about not playing at the World Cup.

“What’s happening a lot,” says Blackie, “is that a club will be interested in a player but want to know whether that player is in the frame to go to the World Cup before they will sign them.

“Some clubs want to secure depth in positions while their local international players are on World Cup duty, so non World Cup players become sought after. This puts players in a difficult predicament whereby they are more incentivised to play for a club than participating at rugby’s pinnacle event.

“This is a problem that affects all Tier Two nations and we can’t have situations where players are effectively forced to choose between a club contract and going to the World Cup.

“Overcoming this issue long term is complex but it all starts with resolving season structure concerns and remunerating Tier Two players appropriately for their contribution to the Rugby World Cup, which is an extremely successful commercial event.”