Pacific Islands nations and Rugby...

These last couple of weeks have proved to be very interesting for the males in my household who are very interested in Rugby in general and especially with Pacific Islands nations qualifying for the Rugby world cup that is to be held in 2023.

In the last two weekends, Samoa has played Tonga and last night Samoa's place was sealed qualifying for the Rugby World Cup having won twice against Tonga. This was place as the undercard match before the All Blacks (NZ team rugby team) won twice against Fiji who were surprisingly strong.

However, the sad news for many Fijian players was that COVID-19 has ravaged the Island nation and there have been many recent deaths that has been so difficult for players who have not seen family members for months since boarder closures.

It was also good to see the camaraderie amongst Pacific nations players in understanding the connections between players and their families, faith and villages back home in their Island nations. It was also good to see this being displayed in dances and uniforms by fans and also commentary by the rugby commentators.

This is the dawn of a new era in Rugby, that although I'm not a great fan of the sport, it has been interesting to watch it's development especially around supporting Pacific nations rugby as it has a very direct impact on players livelihoods, families, villages and Islands nations...