Photo: PHOTOSPORT
NZR's season of reflection and change took another step on Friday at Eden Park, with the launch of its Pasifika Strategy. It follows on from the self-imposed commitment to the Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and the ambitious Women and Girls Strategy over the past 18 months, all of which can trace their roots back to the Respect and Responsibility Review in 2017.
That review certainly felt like it opened the door for this sort of introspection and is finally saying out loud what we already knew. In the Pasifika Strategy's case, that while brown faces are common on the rugby field, they're not in the rooms running clubs, provinces or the national union. According to the numbers, they're not really even in charge of games themselves, with only five percent of referees identifying as Pasifika.
It's been almost 100 years since the first Pasifika All Black, Walter Batty, was selected. Since then, the numbers have got to a point where over a third of both the All Blacks and Black Ferns are Pasifika. So it's obvious that some sort of framework needed to be implemented to address the culture that's given so much to the game here.
"It's a reflection of New Zealand Rugby saying we really need to do something," NZR Pasifika Engagement Manager Saveatama Eroni Clarke said, after a presentation to around 150 guests.
"Moving forward, we need to be making sure we're answering those questions. So that's why today we're here as a community to recognise the fact that NZR have said 'yep, we do need to do this'. It's going to be a wonderful thing for us as a community to engage better."
And that's been the common theme among these reviews, something that NZR CEO Mark Robinson readily admits and says that the Pasifika space is something they need to "think differently" on.
"We've been very, very strong on the fact that the game needs to change," Robinson said.
"One key aspect of change is the way we're open and engaging with a wider range of people. Pasifika is an incredibly strong contributor to our sport and we know there's much more potential there. But it's going to take a lot of hard work."
Robinson certainly isn't wrong there. While boosting the numbers of girls playing is tangible to the point of it being a free hit on an organisational KPI (it's gone up 20 percent in one season alone), having Pasifika in meaningful leadership roles is a challenge that New Zealand society as a whole faces.
Then, there's the intersectional issue of taking into account the predominantly matriarchal Pasifika communities themselves - something that strategy author, NZR Tausoa Fa'atasi Co-Chair and NZR Emerging Director Pauline-Jean Luyten is well aware of.
"The strength that some of our ladies have, I think it's showcasing that they can be in these spaces too, and lead. The action plan is really going to highlight the strength of our women mobilising and moving our communities." Luyten said.
"This is a really stressful time for organisations financially. So partnering with government agencies is important - we don't have to shoulder all of it ourselves, we can share it in a team, basically."
That's what the strategy seems to be about, mainly. It does lack the hard targets of the Women and Girls Strategy, and given that Pasifika representation in playing ranks are already very strong, it will make it hard to actually quantify how successful it is outside of simply adding more board members and coaches. How many will it need is something that is, at best, a guess right now.
NZR currently has one serious issue on its hands in this space anyway in a high performance capacity, with the Moana Pasifika project entering a critical phase of its existence. The team won one game in Super Rugby Pacific last year and currently has not got a home ground locked in for 2024. While former All Black captain Tana Umaga will be taking over at head coach, his is joined on staff by two Palagi in Tom Coventry and Welshman Stephen Jones.
Robinson admitted there will be "frustrations".
"That's just part of building consenus and building alignment around the direction of the game…I was fortunate enough to play alongside some incredible Pasifika athletes. Right throughout my career there were guys had huge impressions on me, Jonah Lomu, Tana Umaga, Marika Vunibaka. Great friendships, great memories and we want to make sure that continues to be built on for the future."
Luyten is hopeful this will signal meaningful change.
"We've been hurt for so long, people have given us empty promises and never deliver on them. It's been 100 years since we've been contributing to this."