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Fekitoa set to make Tonga switch.
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<blockquote data-quote="Cruz_del_Sur" data-source="post: 1042592" data-attributes="member: 55747"><p>Found this thread too late i guess.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Rant mode on: Sometimes I read threads about this subject, here or on social media, and i feel like i am from a different universe. It's not that i am right and they are wrong. I (not alone here, pretty sure) just want different, incompatible things from what others and governing body want. I do. And i know i part of a minority.</p><p>I also believe that, compared to others, i tend to post more with the head than with the heart, meaning that if i see something i believe to be wrong, i don't care whether it favours Argentina or not, i will speak against it (I've yet to hear a single Irish poster complain about CJ Stander playing for Ireland. Not one).</p><p>If i don't, please point it out.</p><p></p><p>The sport is growing (albeit slower than expected) granted. But i see a small group of people that are incredibly disillusioned with how things are being run. These are not newcomers or people who just show up for world cups. People who week in and week out pay their subscription, go to the stadium or the pub and watch their team. This group is more often than not the spearhead that lures a lot of people into the sport, both as players and spectators. We are losing interest in international rugby. We are. Not all, course, but that few either. It is bloody sad to admit it, let alone say it out loud, but we are.</p><p></p><p>Naturally, i won't stop following the sport, but i will focus more on club games. For the lack of a better phrase, i am not interested in watching barbarian like teams facing each other while singing national anthems in a desperate attempt to add some sort of authenticity to the event. I find that quite difficult to swallow. I really do.</p><p></p><p>If i want to watch the best team money can buy I'll stick to the french league. But that is not what i am looking for when i watch international rugby.</p><p>What makes things worse is that some have found a very inelegant way to push back: they just call you a xenophobe or even a racist, which is nothing short of ludicrous.</p><p>I know i know. The financial aspect. Some will argue: but the players pay is severely affected by this. Let me be honest about this. I come from a place where a doctor (MD) earns 600 USD a month. Do you really think that a player earning 200k a year instead of 400K is something i care about? I do not. I do not give a flying turd to be honest.</p><p>We've somehow managed to relativize this issue to the point where the players' bonuses dictate what the rules should be in order to represent the country. And we speak about it openly and proudly. What the actual ****?</p><p>I know, idealist. True. And you have the power to dismiss everything I'm saying. Every single word. That is also true. And i know it.</p><p></p><p>I understand some cases are not straightforward: born in A, mother from B, father from C, raised in D, been residing in E for 5 years. Who does he play for?. Fair enough. I would like the player to have no choice whatsoever, but we are nowhere near ready to have that conversation, so i am willing to compromise. He can choose. But once and only once. He plays for country's A under 12's side in a friendly, that's it. You can play for that national side and only that national side. No exceptions.</p><p> </p><p>I understand this will not be popular. Many will argue some sort of fairness issue. I don't buy it. I think they will call it out because it affects their team in a negative way. The countries that scream the loudest on this issue are the ones affected the most (hence my comment about pointing it out to me if I ever contradict myself here). The arguments are more about defending what is convenient to your team than what is right.</p><p></p><p>This is not about their right to work, wherever and for whomever they chose to. That is what clubs are for. I want national sides to stand for something else. Again, we might very well want different things.</p><p></p><p></p><p>One last thing: history sometimes works a bit like a pendulum in many ways. Things go one way and display a crystal clear trend that appears to be overwhelmingly popular. Then suddenly, and maybe precisely because of that, the opposite view (with both faults and merits) is missed and gains popularity. Then things go all the other way. I believe this is one of those cases. I have nothing but anecdotal evidence to support this and no tangible data to support it.</p><p>Whenever i am at the pub and CJ is singing Ireland's call, every single non-Irish person there is laughing or smirking. They find that bad for the sport.</p><p>They tolerate it, but they do not like it one bit.</p><p>My guess is that this will get to such a ridiculous level (not difficult to argue we are already there) that the backlash is nothing but inevitable.</p><p></p><p></p><p>I don't think it is. How many cases are 'complex' ones? 1? 2%? yet we make the rules based on those exceptions and let the other 98% exploit those rules. </p><p>It's not tricky, you just need to be willing to upset some people and accept the fact that no solution will please everyone on this.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cruz_del_Sur, post: 1042592, member: 55747"] Found this thread too late i guess. Rant mode on: Sometimes I read threads about this subject, here or on social media, and i feel like i am from a different universe. It's not that i am right and they are wrong. I (not alone here, pretty sure) just want different, incompatible things from what others and governing body want. I do. And i know i part of a minority. I also believe that, compared to others, i tend to post more with the head than with the heart, meaning that if i see something i believe to be wrong, i don't care whether it favours Argentina or not, i will speak against it (I've yet to hear a single Irish poster complain about CJ Stander playing for Ireland. Not one). If i don't, please point it out. The sport is growing (albeit slower than expected) granted. But i see a small group of people that are incredibly disillusioned with how things are being run. These are not newcomers or people who just show up for world cups. People who week in and week out pay their subscription, go to the stadium or the pub and watch their team. This group is more often than not the spearhead that lures a lot of people into the sport, both as players and spectators. We are losing interest in international rugby. We are. Not all, course, but that few either. It is bloody sad to admit it, let alone say it out loud, but we are. Naturally, i won't stop following the sport, but i will focus more on club games. For the lack of a better phrase, i am not interested in watching barbarian like teams facing each other while singing national anthems in a desperate attempt to add some sort of authenticity to the event. I find that quite difficult to swallow. I really do. If i want to watch the best team money can buy I'll stick to the french league. But that is not what i am looking for when i watch international rugby. What makes things worse is that some have found a very inelegant way to push back: they just call you a xenophobe or even a racist, which is nothing short of ludicrous. I know i know. The financial aspect. Some will argue: but the players pay is severely affected by this. Let me be honest about this. I come from a place where a doctor (MD) earns 600 USD a month. Do you really think that a player earning 200k a year instead of 400K is something i care about? I do not. I do not give a flying turd to be honest. We've somehow managed to relativize this issue to the point where the players' bonuses dictate what the rules should be in order to represent the country. And we speak about it openly and proudly. What the actual ****? I know, idealist. True. And you have the power to dismiss everything I'm saying. Every single word. That is also true. And i know it. I understand some cases are not straightforward: born in A, mother from B, father from C, raised in D, been residing in E for 5 years. Who does he play for?. Fair enough. I would like the player to have no choice whatsoever, but we are nowhere near ready to have that conversation, so i am willing to compromise. He can choose. But once and only once. He plays for country's A under 12's side in a friendly, that's it. You can play for that national side and only that national side. No exceptions. I understand this will not be popular. Many will argue some sort of fairness issue. I don't buy it. I think they will call it out because it affects their team in a negative way. The countries that scream the loudest on this issue are the ones affected the most (hence my comment about pointing it out to me if I ever contradict myself here). The arguments are more about defending what is convenient to your team than what is right. This is not about their right to work, wherever and for whomever they chose to. That is what clubs are for. I want national sides to stand for something else. Again, we might very well want different things. One last thing: history sometimes works a bit like a pendulum in many ways. Things go one way and display a crystal clear trend that appears to be overwhelmingly popular. Then suddenly, and maybe precisely because of that, the opposite view (with both faults and merits) is missed and gains popularity. Then things go all the other way. I believe this is one of those cases. I have nothing but anecdotal evidence to support this and no tangible data to support it. Whenever i am at the pub and CJ is singing Ireland's call, every single non-Irish person there is laughing or smirking. They find that bad for the sport. They tolerate it, but they do not like it one bit. My guess is that this will get to such a ridiculous level (not difficult to argue we are already there) that the backlash is nothing but inevitable. I don't think it is. How many cases are 'complex' ones? 1? 2%? yet we make the rules based on those exceptions and let the other 98% exploit those rules. It's not tricky, you just need to be willing to upset some people and accept the fact that no solution will please everyone on this. [/QUOTE]
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Fekitoa set to make Tonga switch.
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