Kanaloa Hawaii in contention to join new trans-Tasman competition
Earlier this week it was revealed that a new team based out of Hawaii had put forward a bid to join America’s Major League Rugby competition from next year. Kanaloa Hawaii’s chief executive has confirmed that the side partially bankrolled by a number of former All Blacks is also in contention to join a potential Super Rugby replacement.
Joe Rokocoko, John Afoa, Ben Atiga, Benson Stanley, Jerome Kaino and Anthony Tuitavake – who have all represented the Blues and the All Blacks at times during their considerable professional careers have jointly invested in the Hawaiian team in order to create a new pathway for Pacific and Maori players.
CEO Tracey Atiga has now suggested that while the team is gunning to be the 16th Major League Rugby side for 2021, a spot in a trans-Tasman competition is also not off the table.
“The sky is the limit now. We’ve done the impossible,” Atiga told New Zealand show Tagata Pasifika.
“We went through a COVID period of four months and put together an application that was strong and that was approved by the MLR.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCfWQRxgiEI/
“We’re in conversations with NZ Rugby at the moment. We’d love to have a spot in Super next year and we’re ready for it. We’ve proven that we’re ready.”
The leaked results from the Aratipu report, which was commissioned to assess the future of domestic and international club rugby in New Zealand, allegedly suggest that NZR are weighing up whether to include a Pacific Island side in any future competitions. Speculation was that Fiji would be the base of operations for any such team, given their relative strength and economy compared to the other Pacific nations, but Atiga’s comments suggest that the new Hawaiian side could be another option for NZ to explore.
“It was very easy to get them on board,” Atiga said of the six former All Blacks who were backing the new team. “They’ve seen what we’ve done together and believe in the journey.
“Sixteen years ago we went into an old business plan that we wrote when we developed this concept. It’s gone through various phases but essentially we had a little KPI in there that said eventually we’ll have a Pacific Island owned rugby club.
“It’s significant not only for Pacific Island players but for the community itself. The movement behind it is really about inspiring our community to understand that we can do whatever we feel we need to do.”
Polynesian players have spoken in the past about the various unique hurdles they’ve faced during their careers, not limited to being forced into choosing to play for a wealthy club and earning enough money to support their families, or being able to play for their national teams.
83-cap All Black Kaino, who was born in Samoa, said that the goal of Kanaloa Hawaii is to even the playing field between Pacific Islanders and players from wealthier nations.
Allowing Australia just two teams in a trans-Tasman competition may be a bit harsh, but why would anyone think all five sides deserve to play alongside their considerably stronger Kiwi rivals, asks @TomVinicombe. #SuperRugbyAotearoa #SuperRugbyAUhttps://t.co/WknQKmIATb
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 11, 2020
“The impact we have on people back home is enormous and you end up finding out that rugby is more than just a game,” Kaino said in a video posted to Instagram by Ben Atiga.
“The people making decisions and the people giving us the opportunities have the same values as they have and the same village-type style ethos that we all grew up within a Polynesian background. That’s what it means to us to be able to create a legacy and create something special to be able to pass on to the next generation of rugby superstars.”
While it’s still early days in the Kanaloa story, it’s a promising development in the rugby world. Hawaii blends the flavour of the Pacific Islands with the sporting market of America, opening the door to greater investment and creating a pathway for potential players who may have previously had none.
Comments on RugbyPass
Good to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
17 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
17 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
17 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
17 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
17 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
17 Go to comments