Readers slam Sevens ruling

'Double standards, cop-out, bull-s**t'

Planet Rugby readers, normally the friendliest bunch about, are not happy. Why? Well, the latest ruling that cleared the New Zealand Sevens squad of any wrongdoing - for fielding two players that were initially deemed ineligible - just does not make sense to them. Here are your responses on this issue.

UNBELIEVABLE RULING!

"What a bloody cop-out! The people at the IRB are an absolute disgrace to the sport they are supposed to be running. If this had involved any nation outside of the top ten the punishment would have been swift and swingeing! It's no surprise at all that the smaller nations see the IRB as a body whose only interest is to look after the bigger rugby playing countries. Even as a supporter of one of the 'big' nations I find the IRB an embarrassment and can rarely, if ever, justify any of their rulings. Perhaps the minnows of the world should start up their own board and their own competitions and leave the 'big guns' to themselves, I know who would suffer in the long run!"
- Tom Burbury, Worcester

"If there was confusion about whether the two players were covered by the ruling, why oh why did the NZRU not check? And now, suddenly, there is a 'period of confusion' that just happens to let them got off scot free, and also allows them to keep the players for the future. Typical IRB bull. They've just had a big get together where the issue of pacific islanders getting 'poached' was raised, yet still the decisions are going the way of Australia and New Zealand. I believe that the most that NZRU should have gotten would be no fine, but loss of some sevens points where the ineligible players took part, and the players then being Samoan not All Blacks."
- Alan Marshall, London

"It's total bull-s**t that they use such a s**t excuse! I hope Russia makes a huge scene! Actually - all the countries should!"
- Christiaan, Cape Town

"Staggering. What an amazing cop-out from the IRB. I feel very sorry for Russia after their exclusion from the RWC. But should any of us be surprised by this outcome? I guess not. And ultimately this is reasonably good news for the Sevens circuit as an exclusion for NZ would have been BAD - at least now England can win this year fair and square [unlike the Kiwis]!"
- Whitbags, UK

"The Kiwis have too much power. They hammered Russia last year, kicking them out of the qualification for the World Cup for fielding South African ringers. It could be argued that the ban damaged irreparably the development of rugby in Russia. Yet, when Scotland and Wales fielded Kiwi ringers, nobody was banned. I am sick to the teeth of the way Aus and NZ lord it over the Pacific Islanders, stealing their best players with scholarships and 30 pieces of silver. There are no sheep farmers left so they have to go to the Islands."
- Brendan Grehan, Blackrock Dublin, Ireland

"Once again the IRB shows it has no back-bone!!"
- Lesli Zehmke

"Justice has not been done. NZ should have suffered the same penalty given to the Russian side. The NZRU have a terribly patronising attitude to pacific islands rugby. The IRB and NZRU have to realise that rugby needs ruby in these nations to be a success, to support global interest in professional rugby. Short-term that might harm the All Blacks. Less players available to them. Long-term NZ need to concentrate on their own game if they want to be number one again. They're living in the past. It does themselves no good and it's no good for rugby worldwide."
- Michael Lewis

"What a surprise, the IRB fail to punish one of rugby's big boys ... again. I wonder if they would have been as forgiving if the team in question was a smaller nation, like Fiji or one of the emerging African nations? Don't count on it! I'm afraid it once again appears to be the IRB making one rule for its 'favourites' and another rule for everyone else."
- Dan O'Leary, London

"Another case of one rule for the minnows and another one for the powers ... Yellow-bellied IRB once again, scared to take on NZ/Australia over their ongoing flaunting of the rules to suit themselves."
- Mike Millard, Johannesburg

"Shock, horror, the New Zealanders are poaching Pacific Islander talents again. No real surprise there as they've done it for years. You can't blame the players as they've got themselves to look after [pay, etc.], but you do wonder whether NZ would have been half the team it has been without the steady influx of imported talent. I know England is not exempt from this [Catt, Abbott, Ubogu], but the book should get thrown at the NZ team. After all, they're hardly helping the growth of rugby worldwide, are they?"
- Ally Liddiard, England

CORRECT DECISION:

"Glad to see that sense prevailed and those good Kiwi lads are able to play for their rightful country of NZ. No doubt the boorish will wag their fingers and dream of Pacific conspiracies."
- J Lindsay

"The full New Zealand side has always been a NZ Lions anyway and relied heavily on Pacific Islanders to bolster them [add real talent]. Why should the Sevens be any different?? Removing them from the tournament would not have been good for the game - I would rather England beat them [which they will] fair and square rather than by any default. NZ love a good excuse when they lose. Can't see how a fine would have been right either seeing as the IRB couldn't get their act together."
- Damo, London

... MORE TROUBLED READERS:

"The latest NZ Sevens drama regarding Samoan players has got to be the final straw in this ever ongoing debate over who should represent which country. A few things need clearing up.

"Samoa, Fiji etc players are NOT poached by NZ or Aus. They are born in or immigrated to these countries at a young age, then raised locally. I don't deny that there is an issue with the small nations, not getting their players but the repetitive nature of these claims is getting tiresome. NZ and Aus are both world leaders when it comes to marketing their teams, sponsorship etc and the global exposure which comes with that far outweighs when playing for a smaller nation.

"This is where the IRB needs to step in. It's up to them combined with the smaller island nations to do something about this global issue. Expand Super 12? Combined Island Nations rugby team? Hang on ... hasn't the IRB already turned that request down repeatedly? Yes, there are Tests this year, but having follow pacific rugby religiously for well over 10 years now, this should have been done a long time ago when it was first mooted.

"On the flipside of this argument, there is no doubt that NZ does offer incentives to young players to play for NZ. But what's wrong with that? Raised in New Zealand, they all own an NZ passport and were all educated in NZ. It's likely, they will never emigrate back to their home nations, and they will also follow the All Blacks and cheer them on. For many, their life's ambition has been to play for NZ. Turning this attitude around is not an overnight process.

"Until the IRB steps in and assists marketing and promoting these small nations the problem will not go away. Every dime donated or sponsored from the pockets of the NZRU or ARU is a dollar lost to their own campaigns. We have already seen after last year's RWC hosting debacle that rugby is really just another business. The best team won the World Cup ... but remember, they were also the most expensively assembled and trained [by quite some margin]. Money counts.

"Finally, back to the original story about the Sevens team ... Could the NZRU be so stupid as to have fielded ineligible players? I guess we'll find out, but surely after lessons learned last year they wouldn't be stupid. Dispensation has been offered before [Steve Devine] so maybe again ... but this must have come from the IRB."
- Matthew Dalgety

"I think that while over the past few years the NZ administration have shown they inept, this incident highlights the fact that the IRB are even more so!!! Issues like this should never have come to light, given it is a misinterpretation or blatant stirring by the Island nations, which also should be seen, by the IRB as a desperate plea for help!
 
"What is NZ to do, stop picking players, born in NZ, or travelled there early in their life just because they have Samoan, Tongan or Fijian ties? The IRB needs to get their heads out of the clouds and start looking at ways of making rugby a truly global sport, by helping the little guys, while not letting issues like this could the judgement or opinions of people who do not know any better than to believe what they read in the press.

"Anyone who lives in or has been to NZ will know that the make up of NZ sides fairly represents the cultural make up, NZ although is a former British colony has diverse cultures that includes people who are not white! Remember Maori are also Polynesian!"
- Wayne Ballantine