Pacific Islands call for RFU to share gate receipts when they host an 'emerging nation' at...

[ASFN Admin]

The RFU has confirmed "it is working with World Rugby to see how emerging nations can be better supported", after the governing body revealed England will face Australia, South Africa and a to-be-confirmed "emerging nation" in the autumn of 2021. Rugby's governing bodies have come under fire in recent years over a lack of financial support for "emerging nations", which centres around the unwillingness of traditional "Tier One" nations to share their gate takings when hosting such teams. In 2014, Samoa threatened to boycott their match with England at Twickenham over this profit-sharing dispute. When the Samoans returned to Twickenham in 2017, they received £75,000 from the RFU as a "goodwill gesture". The recent release of the 'Oceans Apart' documentary, however, which highlighted the huge disparity in wealth between "Tier One" and Pacific nations, has thrust the issue back into the public consciousness. In the film, Dan Leo, the former Samoa flanker and head of Pacific Rugby Welfare, unsuccessfully pushed for World Rugby to help improve conditions for the Pacific Island national sides and provide them with a cut of profits from away fixtures against "Tier One" teams during an interview with the governing body's outgoing chief executive, Brett Gosper.

Continue reading...