What right has New Zealand Rugby (NZR) to coerce Pacific Island players to sign contracts that lock them in to represent the All Blacks rather than their own countries?

Let’s not sugar coat it. This blatant discrimination enables NZR to dangle an employment contract before island rugby players but coerces them into giving up their birthright. “Want big dosh, then sign on the dotted line here, mate?” is the NZR pitch via its Super Rugby Pacific (SRP) franchises.

That is tantamount to bullying. Flying Fijians head coach Mick Byrne, though, disagrees, based on his interview with Fiji Village’s talk show host, Vijay Narayan, in an interview released this week on YouTube.

“I’m not sure it’s bullying at the start because a lot of those players chose to go play in New Zealand,” he had countered when Narayan posed the question.

Byrne appeared to be suggesting players who ply their trade in other rugby union nations’ competitions are also asked to forfeit their birthright to slip on a jersey for a pro club?

The “honour of playing for the All Blacks”, as Byrne alludes to, is harking back to the imperial days of last century. Ask NZ players who have no qualms about putting their livelihoods ahead of the black jersey nowadays.

Byrne needs to plant his stake firmly in the ground. Gravitate towards NZ, where he was once a specialist kicking coach under Steve “Shag” Hansen’s tutelage or help a peripheral nation that has enough potential and talent to kick Tier One butts, if given a level playing field.

Mick Byrne. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

He called it “a little bit controversial” because he was “working on something” that would see the likes of Blues backrower Hoskins Sotutu and Crusaders prop George Bower become available for Fiji. Hang on. This is hugely controversial, and unacceptable.

“Look, there are Fijian players who want to play for us but, unfortunately, they can’t,” he explained, adding he had had brief chats with the Highlanders pair of fullback Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens and winger Jona Nareki but their contracts have a caveat that ensured they would have to be available for the All Blacks.

Byrne revealed he was engaged in dialogues with newly appointed Acting Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) CEO Koli Sewabu to negotiate with NZR on when Fijians playing for SRP will be available for their birth nations. “New Zealand can pick players from 4 to 5 countries; we just want our players to play for our [Flying] Fiji,” he lamented.

Putting up a valid argument, Byrne said it would be prudent for NZR to be able to indicate, with some immediacy, which Fijians could be released to play for the FFs, especially if they hadn’t been selected for several years, without jeopardising their SRP contracts.

But it’s downright bias that NZR should be allowed to hold players at ransom, even for a year. You don’t have European/Japanese/UK clubs entertaining such discriminatory clauses in their player contracts to the All Blacks, other Kiwis and Aussies. If there is, it’s time to expose the practice, warts and all.

With Fijians fearful of losing their SRP income, they are reluctant to push the envelope. What disturbs even more is Byrne doesn’t know what the black-and-white, nitty-gritty details are of the SRP contract, pertaining to availability for the All Blacks. Frankly, such general details must be stated openly on player union websites.

With a nervous laugh, Byrne said he needed to let NZR general manager of professional rugby & performance Chris Lendrum know that the “Straight Talk” interview would be out.

The SRP nine-person board boasts an independent chairman, four independent directors, and a representative each from NZR, Rugby Australia (RA), the New Zealand Rugby Players’ Association (NZRPA), and Rugby Union Players’ Association (RUPA, Australia). Where are the Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga reps?

Including a wishy-washy whimper for them under NZRPA just doesn’t cut it. This is draconian. World Rugby must address this prejudicial practice in the 21st century. Such a sense of entitlement is going be the ruination of rugby union, which is trying to shrug off the tag of an elite few nations profiting from the code.

Byrne is echoing common knowledge that some Northern Hemisphere (NH) clubs put pressure on the Fijian players but what can he and Sewabu do about that, too? It’s great news that “most NH Fijians want to play [for the FFs]” and he can field a relatively strong starting 23 against the Wallabies and Scotland next month. But a three-day camp before the Aussie Test on July 6 is ridiculous. No other nation would entertain that.

It’s all good to give professional clubs and competitions leeway but it would be myopic to lose sight of the bigger picture — a dignified presence for World Rugby-affiliated nations in the Test arena and at the code’s ultimate shop window, the Rugby World Cup.