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Why England prop Mako Vunipola wouldn't jump at the chance to play for Tonga

By Online Editors
(Photo by Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images)

England loosehead Mako Vunipola has stated he would turn down the opportunity to play for Tonga if eligibility rules were changed to enable tier one players to finish out their careers playing for the island of their birth. 

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A huge focus has been placed on rugby in the Pacific this week following the release of Oceans Apart: Greed, Betrayal and Pacific Island Rugby, a documentary that highlights the exploitation of players from Fiji, Samoa and the Pacific Islands.

Produced by former Samoa forward Dan Leo, the CEO of Pacific Rugby Players Welfare, it highlights a number of issues including the plundering by richer nations of the Islands’ vast playing resources and their reluctance to tour those countries or share gate receipts from home games.

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World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont has proposed that players from Pacific Islands should be permitted to represent their nation of birth once ‘captured’ by tier-one heavyweights as a way to help redress the balance.

But Vunipola, who has Tongan heritage, sees Beaumont’s idea as an imperfect solution. 

“I’d love to say yes to that, but it’s difficult also because it would be unfair to those back on the island, to see myself being an old man coming in and taking that opportunity away from them,” said the 29-year-old Vunipola who has 61 England caps. 

“As a Tongan, all I want really for the Islanders is a better opportunity for all of them and a better life. If that means I can help with that then I’ll try my best.

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“There’s a lot of people like myself who go overseas to try and find a better life and provide for people back home so you can’t take that away from them, that opportunity of playing for someone else, representing a different country.

“But I also feel for those who need an opportunity just to get themselves on to the international stage and getting themselves a better chance. It’s a catch-22 really.”

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Bull Shark 3 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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