NZR chairman Brent Impey said leaked minutes of a meeting, allegedly involving Sanzaar chief executives, was "illegitimate".
OPINION:
In the end, the decision by New Zealand Rugby to shy away from including a Pasifika team in Super Rugby next year was driven by fear.
It's hardly a new story for the Pacific Islands, as fear has been their real enemy ever since Western Samoa left the WorldRugby blazeratti spluttering into their gin and tonics when they splatted Wales in Cardiff at the 1991 World Cup.
It's been fear that has led to rugby's richer nations keeping the Islands in a near-permanent state of subjugation for the last 30 years so they can ruthlessly mine and exploit Pasifika's talent base to prop up their own empires.
And like all stories that involve an abuse of power, the dominant have been able to twist the narrative to suit their needs and cover their tracks as was the case last week when NZR chairman Brent Impey said there was fear among the board that a Pasifika team would further test the already stressed financial resources of the competition and a fear they wouldn't be good enough on the field to hold their own.
But the real fear, the one that has sat in the pit of the established rugby world's stomach for almost 30 years now, is that if Pasifika is ever given the chance to collectively harness, nurture and develop its phenomenal playing base it will shift the balance of power in the global game.
If there was, finally, a genuine development pathway leading from a high performance, professional club competition to the national teams of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga the Celts, the Italians, the Pumas and even the Wallabies would be vulnerable to dropping down the world pecking order.
And maybe the emergence of three strong Island nations on the international scene isn't a real fear for New Zealand, but what is, would be the impact that would have on their labour supply.
The real fear within the NZR board is that a Pasifika Super Rugby team would divert some players currently en route to the All Blacks and re-direct them to Samoa, Fiji or Tonga.
In excess of 40 per cent of New Zealand's current Super Rugby players identify as Pasifika and of that 40 per cent there are less than two per cent who are not eligible to play for the All Blacks.
NZR currently operates with a high degree of confidence that it is King of the Pacific and can ensure that every dual qualified player they want, ends up in the All Blacks.
They know, that such is their control of the market, that the likes of Sevu Reece, Shannon Frizell, Waisake Naholo, Vaea Fifita, Malakai Fekitoa and Sitiveni Sivivatu who came to New Zealand in pursuit of education in their mid-teens, will be steered into a black jersey.
All Blacks right wing Sevu Reece beating Namibia's Johan Tromp before scoring during thier RWC2019 pool match at Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo, Japan. Photo / Mark Mitchell.
The system is rigged in New Zealand's favour. They have the money, the power and the means.
But if there is a Pasifika team in Super Rugby, there will be competition for dual-qualified talent and the next Reece, Frizell or Naholo – and as Sir Bryan Williams has pointed out, the Islands have a near inexhaustible supply chain – could end up playing for Samoa, Tonga or Fiji.
NZR fears that scenario. It will always sit at the top of the Pacific food chain as it were, but there will be a few mouths grabbing the odd morsel underneath them should Pasifika join Super Rugby and that will impact the All Blacks – the team that generates about 70 per cent of all NZR's revenue.
So this twisted claim that neither Pasifika Moana nor Kanaloa Pasifika had the playing talent to be taken seriously is as insulting as it is compromised.
New Zealand has expertly mined the hidden Pacific talent base for the last 30 years. It knows that there are hundreds of young, unknown but potentially brilliant players lurking in the Islands and margins of the club and provincial scene here.
They know that all these players need is exposure to high performance systems and a chance to play and many will be superstars within a year.
Shannon Frizell signs autographs for fans following a New Zealand All Blacks training session at Rugby Park on September 22, 2020 in Whakatane. Photo / Getty Images.
The All Blacks happily picked Reece in their World Cup team last year. They called up Shannon Frizell, too. They have fast-tracked Tupou Vaa'i into the All Blacks this year.
In 2017 they picked Fifita the instant he had served his three-year residency period, which was much the same with Sivivatu.
Go back through time and it has always been thus – New Zealand has snaffled any and all Pasifika talent that has ended up here and stuffed them into the All Blacks as fast as they could.
And yet with no hint of shame or hypocrisy, the national body has cast doubt on the ability of Pasifika to put 30-plus players together in one squad and make themselves competitive.
New Zealand wants to control the labour market so it can help itself to the best of Pasifika and the fear of losing that is why Super Rugby Aotearoa will only have five teams in it next year.
