Newsgroups: rec.sport.rugby
Subject: Re: Its great to be on top
From: wft@math.canterbury.ac.nz (Bill Taylor)
Date: 23 Jul 92 18:31:32 +1200
Distribution: world
Organization: Department of Mathematics, University of Canterbury

>    Take the West Samoans, the Cook
>Islanders and other economic refugees from the SOUTH PACIFIC
>out of the ABs and the top NZ provincial teams, and what is
>left?  How would a team of all Pakehas go in AB colours?
                            ~~~~~~~~~~~
OOPS !
I don't know how kindly our Maori posters (are there any?) are going to react
to the implication that they're not "really" New Zealanders.    ;-)

However this slight tendency toward political incorrectness (or do I mean
cultural insensitivity?) is a trifling flaw in this otherwise fascinating
article.

Nice post, Philip Greentree @ wombat.   (what a lovely address!)

I think your analysis of the situation (vis-a-vis union & league) is very
sound, and your conclusion highly accurate. We are indeed in for a series
of successive jolts and pains over this, such as we've never had before.

However, there just *might* be a ray of hope. Now that shamateurism in most
sport is becoming outmoded, it is faintly possible that the world rugby unions
might allow real professionalism for rugby union players. I think this would
be a good thing, not in any way incompatible with the sport as now played at
grass-roots level. (Look how tennis has thrived since they changed). And it
would certainly undercut the pull of league on the best players in a biiiiig
way.  I predict we'll see substantial efforts to introduce this over the next 
few years, especially by the NZ & Oz unions (probably with SA support, as their
poor nonwhites come into the game more & more). I don't know how they'll
overcome the massive old-school-tie conservatism of the home unions though.

Incidentally, there will be MASSES of money to produce these payments; from
TV rights if nothing else. This is shown by the recent shocking sale of the 
SA TV game rights, (so that most of NZ won't get to see SA games live; heads
should roll over this !!!)
----------------------. 
                      | So come on, international unions, (if you're listening).
          \           | 
           \          | If the Olympic community can do it, so can you !
           \\         | 
            \\        | Let's pay the players, and remove this massive
             )`--')   | seduction toward disloyalty.
            <  o /    |                                     _
             `\  /    | And let's all see the games on TV, LIVE.
              / /     | 
         /_,, ~~      | Thanks again, Philip, for your interesting post.
        /   )         |=======================================================
        |  /          |
       /  _>    <-------- Bill Taylor         wft@math.canterbury.ac.nz
      /  /            |
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