Fair Game: Pacific Rugby Against the World

RNZ•www.rnz.co.nz

Rugby brings joy, money and a sense of identity to many in the Pacific Islands. But how badly are they treated by the powerful forces that run the game?

Last refreshed: November 16th, 2025 at 8:25 PM ⓘ

Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.

Follow on

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

RSS

Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app

Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

Together, Apart

As Samoa and Fiji face off at the Pacific Nations Cup, rugby bosses say they're trying to close the gap between the top playing nations and the Pacific. And a new generation of Pasifika are ready to take their place at the table. We're in Fiji for the final game of the Pacific Nations Cup, Samoa v Fiji - and the stakes are high. As we look to the future, there are encouraging noises from NZ Rugby's Bailey Mackey; "It is becoming of us to really dig deep and support the re-emergence of our Pacifi...

Feb 22, 2023•53 min•Season 1Ep. 6

Women’s Rugby in the Pacific: Challenges? Did You Say Challenges?

Pasifika women just want to play the game they love but they're fighting for even fewer resources than their male counterparts. They're also battling to change traditional mindsets about women in rugby. "I mean, we were already fighting for crumbs, we were fighting for the crumbs off the crumbs." Samoan women's team manager, Tauanu'u Nick Bakulich, says resources are a constant issue: It doesn't help that four years ago Tonga's Ministry of Education told girls they shouldn't be playing rugby bec...

Feb 20, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 5

Fiji: Politics, Performance, and Power

Fijian rugby is doing better than its island neighbours but within World Rugby vast disaparites still exist between playing nations. Fijian rugby is in much better shape than their competitive cousins in Tonga and Samoa. Why is that? Simon Raiwalui, former captain of the Flying Fijians and current head of Fiji's High Performance Program, holds some of the answers. With his deep knowledge of the European club rugby scene and World Rugby politics, he can see a positive future. ''If we get the same...

Feb 15, 2023•47 min•Season 1Ep. 4

Samoa: Culture and Connection

"We don't get the resources the big nations get." In Samoa even the school kids know the score. Has inequality become normalised? ''The big dream is for me is just this team fulfilling their potential that has been talked about for so many years.'' In Fiji for the Pacific Nations Cup, Vaovasamanaia Seilala Mapasua, head coach of Manu Samoa, says he wants to take his team on a journey: But series host, James Nokise, gets emotional about the realities the team face: 'If it's 2022 and that's as goo...

Feb 13, 2023•47 min•Season 1Ep. 3

Mana Moana!

Pasifika players have brought so much to the game of rugby - what have they got in return? James Nokise remembers the glory days of the Samoan team from the 1990s as a kid wrapped in a rug watching his heroes on the TV. Almost three decades after rugby turned professional, he sits down with the former All Black great, Sir Tuifa'asisina Bryan Williams. As coach of Manu Samoa through the '90s and current patron of Moana Pasifika, the first professional team run by Pasifika for Pasifika, Sir Bryan ...

Feb 08, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 1

Money and Mate Ma’a Tonga

Tongan players talk about tough choices and a huge gap in resources between powerful rugby nations and the Pacific. And they ask: ''Is this structural racism?" "It's racism, structural racism - the home unions know the threat, I think of our smaller unions getting too strong." Pakilau Aotearoa Manase Lua, Tongan elder and member of NZ Rugby's Pacific Action Group, talks about the tough choices faced by players and the vast gap in resources between the powerful and the Pacific islands - and draws...

Feb 08, 2023•47 min•Season 1Ep. 2

Fair Game: Pacific Rugby Against the World

If you have a game where the rules favour one set of teams over another - is that game fair? https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6319903602112 "Is it a fair game? Good question." It's a story about rugby and some of the best players the game has ever seen. Pacific Islands rugby players are celebrated around the globe for their passion, flair and the physical commitment they bring to the game. The Rugby World Cup in 2019 saw eleven out of the twenty tea...

Nov 01, 2022•3 min

For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android