1
'Would you put 1 million pounds at risk?': Tonga Rugby Union chief executive casts doubt over Charles Piutau switch
Tonga Rugby Union [TRU] chief executive Peter Harding has cast doubt over the feasibility of Charles Piutau’s potential switch of international allegiance.
ADVERTISEMENT
A report from RNZ earlier this month indicated the former All Blacks star was in line to play sevens for Tonga at the Final Olympic Qualification Tournament in Monaco in June with the aim of becoming eligible for the nation at test level.
Players with dual eligibility who have already bound themselves to one country by representing that nation at XVs or sevens level can switch to their other country of allegiance through a loophole spurred on by rugby’s involvement at the Olympics.
A clash in regulations between World Rugby and the International Olympic Committee allows players to represent their second nation provided they have a passport for that country and have completed a three-year international stand down.
Once the stand down is completed, players must partake in an Olympic event to make themselves eligible for their new nation at all levels.
Piutau played the last of his 17 tests for the All Blacks in 2015 before taking up multiple lucrative deals with European clubs in the Premiership and PRO14.
Having not played test rugby for almost six years, the former Tonga U20 representative is eligible to play for the Tongan sevens team later this year in what will be their last chance at qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics.
ADVERTISEMENT
However, Harding, who was appointed TRU chief executive in January, poured cold water on that concept during an interview with ABC last week.
Harding said that while Piutau is now eligible to play sevens for Tonga, the Final Olympic Qualification Tournament coincides with the Premiership play-offs that his club side, Bristol Bears, are likely to be playing in.
The qualifying event is scheduled to be held on the weekend of June 19-20, the same weekend the Premiership semi-finals are taking place.
Piutau’s Bristol side currently lie in first place, 12 points clear of second-placed Exeter Chiefs, and are among the favourites to take out the English club competition.
ADVERTISEMENT
That means they are highly likely to be involved in that weekend of semi-final action, which would leave Piutau facing a conflict of interests.
Former All Blacks coach Wayne Smith has hit out at the current state of rugby in New Zealand, labelling the way in which Kiwi teams play as “robotic” and “predictable”.https://t.co/4RK5AW2R1Q
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 30, 2021
“We’d love all these players to come back and play for us, and a lot of them have given us very positive indications that they will come back to us,” Harding told ABC.
“We’ve been through this process for a number of years now, talking to them. I know the sevens management have talked to them a lot. It’s an innovative process that World Rugby have come up with, and, in theory, it can work.
“But, the reality of the situation is they are the best players in their clubs, and these players, when the competition is on on the 20th of June, these clubs are in semi-finals in the French competition and in the Premiership in England.
“Now, for these players to put their hand up and come and play for Tonga, that could put them in conflict with the clubs.
“These are the people who pay their wages and support their families, so although the players’ desire is to play international rugby for Tonga, the practicality of it, the business decisions, they just can’t take that chance.
“For them to walk up to their coach and say, ‘I’m not playing this weekend in this semi-final because I’m going to go and qualify for Tonga in Monaco in the sevens’, that takes a lot of guts and a lot of courage for any person in the world.
“While the idea is great, I think the practicality is that people have to look at the tables in France and England, see who those players play for and whether they’re going to be in semi-finals, and then they can more or less make their own mind up.
“If you were Charles Piutau, would you put £1 million at risk by not turning up to the semi-final? While all good intention is that he may come, it’s a hell of a decision for a human being to make.
“My personal feeling is that we’ve run out of time with these guys and they’re all playing for their teams and we won’t get them.”
Should Piutau miss out on playing for Tonga in June’s sevens tournament, he would have to wait until the next Olympic qualification event to switch his allegiance from New Zealand.
Given Tonga aren’t currently a core side on the World Sevens Series, the next possible opportunity would be the 2023 Oceania Sevens Championship.
By the time that tournament kicks-off, Piutau would be 32 and would have missed the chance to play for Tonga at the 2023 World Cup.
That led Harding to call on World Rugby to alter the rules around switching international allegiance.
Two top Super Rugby figures have weighed in on whether Damian McKenzie or Jordie Barrett should start at fullback for the All Blacks.https://t.co/nVE9XCu2Oa
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 30, 2021
He highlighted the current format of initially representing your second nation in sevens before being eligible to play XVs for that country only helps players with the skill set suited to sevens.
“This would only really benefit back rowers, backs. It’s not going to fit props or big, heavy second rowers. They just can’t use this way [of switching allegiance].”
However, Harding stressed a cautionary approach would be needed if any change was made to the current laws as he feared rugby union would follow in the footsteps of rugby league, where eligibility rules are much more loose.
“As to another system of getting players across, we’ve got to be careful not to become like rugby league, where people can just flick back and forth between countries,” he said.
“Personally, I don’t think we can just have flags of convenience where people go where they want to, when they want to. There’s got to be a definite philosophy and strategy behind how we get to that point.”
While Harding has effectively given up on the race to make Piutau eligible for Tonga, there is still hope for another fellow All Black in the form of Malakai Fekitoa.
The 28-year-old midfielder made the last of his 24 appearances for the All Blacks in 2017, meaning he has completed the three-year stand down period required of him to switch allegiance to Tonga, his nation of birth.
More importantly, though, is that Fekitoa is unlikely to be playing involved in club rugby during the same time as the Final Olympic Qualification Tournament considering his side, Wasps, are languishing in ninth place in the Premiership.
With seven matches left in the regular season, the Coventry-based club trail fourth-placed Harlequins by 14 points, meaning a significant turnaround in fortunes is required if they are to feature in the competition’s final four.
Should they be unable to clinch a semi-final berth, Fekitoa could become available to represent Tonga in Monaco in what would be a significant boost for the ‘Ikale Tahi leading into the 2023 World Cup in France.
Listen to the latest episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod below:
Comments on RugbyPass
He was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
3 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
36 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to comments