Samoa and Tonga had the option of playing last week's game elsewhere - but turned it down
After last weekend’s match between Samoa and Tonga at Apia Park, players and fans alike were quick to take to social media to criticise the conditions.
Apia Park was already awash with water before the match even kicked off, but the field regressed into a muddy, swampy turf that more closely resembled what you would expect to see at the local club rugby grounds, not the kind of surface that two international sides should be playing on.
Tongan representatives Cooper Vuna and Sam Louise both posted on Twitter, criticising World Rugby for letting the match take place at all.
Vuna, in particular, questioned what sort of processes World Rugby undertook to confirm that the ground was safe for the match to take place on.
Please @WorldRugby enlighten us all on what processes you took to allow this game to go ahead? My question is – if a tier 1 team was to play that day ,would the game still go on? #PlayerWelfare https://t.co/TwWkrqkn5N
— Cooper Vuna (@CVUNA) July 28, 2019
Pacific Rugby Players’ Association CEO Aayden Clarke has revealed, however, that World Rugby was more than happy to arrange an alternative pitch for the match. With there being no better stadiums in Samoa or Tonga, however, the match would have to have been taken outside of the Pacific – likely to New Zealand.
“It was about a week out that World Rugby actually called and said they have got some concerns around the weather scheduled for it and obviously the wear and tear that the park may have, so we looked at contingency options then,” Clarke said.
“But it was really important that Samoa had the opportunity to engage with the community and that week was really, really successful – it was just a pity that especially on game-day the heavy rain continued to fall.”
“There was a third option that it was played in a different country, but nobody wanted that to happen and I think I can speak for the Tongans as well because they understand the importance of engaging with the community.
“In the end the weather just really was not favourable leading into it, through the Pacific Games and from the information that I’ve received the Samoa Rugby Union, the ground staff, everybody went to every effort to try and get that park ready but in the end it just wasn’t able to sustain it.”
Understandably, both the Samoan and Tongan unions and players wanted to keep the game within their communities, which left the sides with few options where to play the match.
The field was inspected on game day and both teams were briefed on the conditions. The option of abandoning the game was always available, should the referee deem that the surface was unplayable during the game. Neither Samoa coach Steve Jackson nor Tonga coach Toutai Kefu raised any objections to the continuation of the match.
“While the conditions were not optimal owing to extremely adverse weather and the playing of the Pacific Games competitions the week prior, the match official team deemed the surface playable prior to the match. The same inspection standards were applied as with any test match,” said World Rugby’s Pacific Nations Cup Tournament Director Michael Groom.
Whilst the two sides can perhaps not take too much umbrage with the game going ahead, it’s worth asking the question as to why Apia Park was in such poor condition over the weekend. Obviously the weather in the lead up to the game was awful, but modern day pitches should have the proper infrastructure to deal with heavy rainfall.
“The big difference here is the difference between tier one and tier two infrastructure and facilities,” said Clarke.
“The SRU have already made comments around trying to make improvements at Apia Park in the future and the game on the weekend really highlighted probably what was needed.”
“I think what’s positive is it will start conversations between different governments around exactly how we improve the infrastructure of the stadiums.
“The players are as aware as anybody of the huge role that rugby plays within the communities and the huge benefit for not just business but morale in the communities to have their stars and their idols playing test matches in their home countries.”
Tonga are in Japan for their match with the Brave Blossoms this weekend whilst Samoa are based in Fiji for the next two weeks. Tonga will host Canada in Lautoka next weekend.
Comments on RugbyPass
If Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
2 Go to commentsjesus - that front 5!
1 Go to commentsShould be an absolute cracker of a game! Will be great to see DuPont & Ntamack in tandem once again🔥
1 Go to commentsBest team ever…. To have played? These guys are still pressure chokers. Came nowhere when it counted. What a joke
69 Go to commentsMusk defends anonymous terrorism, fascism, threats against individuals and children etc etc But a Rugby club account….lock ‘em up!!!
1 Go to commentsActually the era defining moment came a few years earlier. February 2002 to be precise, when Michael D Higgins as finance minister at the time introduced his sports persons tax relief bill to the dial. As the politicians of the day stated “It seems to be another daft K Club frolic born in Kildare amongst the well-paid professional jockeys with whom the Minister plays golf” and that the scheme represented “a savage uncaring vision of Ireland and one that should be condemned”. The irfu and Leinster would be nowhere near the position they are in today without this key component of the finances.
2 Go to commentsIt is crystal clear that people who make such threats on line should be tried and imprisoned. Those with responsibility in social media companies who don’t facilitate this should be convicted. In real life, I have free speech to approach someone like Reinach and verbally threaten him. I am risking a conviction or a slap but I could do it. In the old days, If someone anonymously threatened someone by letter the police would ask and use evidence from the postal system. Unlike the Post, social media companies have complete instant and legal access to the content in social media. They make money from the data, billions. Yet, they turn a blind eye to terrorism, Nazi-ism and industrial levels of threats against individuals including their address and childrens schools being published online all from ananoymous accounts not real people. They claim free speech. Free speech for anonymous trolls/voilent thugs threatening people under false names? The fault is with the perps but also social media companies who think anonymous personas posting death threats constitutes free speech.
2 Go to commentsSo if this ain’t the best Irish team ever then who exactly is? I don’t remember any other Irish team being this good & winning a series in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Yes I may rip them often for 8 X QF RWC exits & twice not even making it to the QF, but they’re a damn good team who many think can only improve, including me!
69 Go to commentsNot a squeek out of Leinster for weeks about this match. So quiet. The first team have been quitely building for this encounter under Nienaber’s direction. All fresh, all highly motivated. They are expecting a season’s best performance from Northhampton. They will match that. They will be fresher and apparently they will have 80,000 out of the 83,000 shouting for them. I do expect Northhampton to turn up big time. Not to be missed. On a tangent it is evident how the loss of a few Premiership teams has in some respect helped other Premiership teams and England. More quality over less teams makes the teams better, which has a knock on effect on England. Not the only factor contributing to England’s rise but one of them.
2 Go to commentsOur very own monster teddy bear Ox😍💪
17 Go to commentsThis is might be the most generalised, entitled, patronising, out-of-pocket cultural indictment on a group of people you’ll ever see on what is supposedly a sports publication. I can only assume the author is weak like a woman or homosexual. I’m feeling an incredible range of emotions but I am not quite sure how to express them. I might go beat up a hockey player - assuming that’s okay with Duane and the boys? 🙂
9 Go to commentsBest thing the Welsh clubs could do is apply to join Gallagher prem surely be more exciting matches for there support than they have now.
2 Go to commentsRugbyPass writers are useless! you guys should get a real job because you all suck at writing about rugby!!!
9 Go to commentslooking forward to RWC2027 …. Boks on mission impossible for the Three-in-a-row, ABs to prove they being on par, France wishing to crown the “DuPont-era”, Ireland knocking on the Semi-Door ….. until then we’ll probably have to deal with Weird Ben’s fantasy-RWC23 (fun fact is, the drivel always creates a flooding of comments) …..
222 Go to commentsBen Smith you really make some good points in this article, the Springboks were not close to perfect and good still beat the All Blacks, imagine if they were as good as they were against France what a hiding the All Blacks would have gotten… maybe another Twickenham drubbing
222 Go to commentsIt is a good argument to keep the Rebels for one more year but also isnt this just opening the door as well for keeping them beyond 2025. If they can create some sort of financial stability in the next year and if their performances lift as they have this season then how would RA even cull them after that? It might be the most cost effective decision at this stage and perhaps many people are guilty of keeping relationships going because of the cost to decouple but then again when does that ever work out well?
29 Go to commentsDear Ben Smith you are a genius! God please become the next all blacks coach that can take on the mighty BOKS. Your rugby acumen is second to none - imagine your dads sperm bounced as unfortunately as that oval ball did….we would not be blessed with your presence. Just as the all blacks were missing a man you too are missing a chromosome for 80% of your life, so your insights are not only profound but ring true from your own experiences. Just as the TMO interfered with citing an illegal pass I am sure your local authorities interfere with your illegal passes you make on women - How dare they!!! God forbid that rugby be officiated fairly. You are the right man for the job. Next all blacks coach is here ladies and gentlemen Miss Ben Smith (He/She/They/IT)
222 Go to comments