World Rugby picture

Re: Not all idiots are fools 

There is a picture on the World Rugby site of the expanded council meeting for the first time, and guess what: It is almost exclusively white. 

This in spite of the fact 30% of the players at the last World Cup were of Pacific Island origin. This in spite of the fact the game is now played in over 100 nations. So it’s no surprise Samoa has been treated as an after-thought. 

But the real damage was not done as a result of the European qualifying saga. 

It was done long before, with the qualifying series shrinking rapidly since the end of the last century and effectively being outsourced to the regional associations. 

That’s how we ended up in this mess. But I’d stop short of condemning World Rugby for the way it has handled the problem. 

Conversely, I’d say they’ve made all the right decisions. And as absurd as it seems, Germany and Portugal have every right to playoff for the right to meet Samoa, as this has always been part of the qualifying process. 

Just why Europe’s second division winner should figure is a bit of a mystery, but that decision was made long ago.

 

I. Wingman 

Samoa Observer

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