Pasifika engagement manager in 2021, and is leading the recently announced Pasifika strategy for the national union. Hayden Meikle talks to him.
What does your role entail, Eroni?
The role came about through a couple of reviews in collaboration with New Zealand Rugby and the community. They really highlighted the need for proper engagement with the Pasifika community. The "Navigating Two Worlds" report then delved even deeper around how do we connect? How do we engage with the Pasifika community, especially around non-playing roles. We can see them well represented on the field but when you look at the administration of the game, and the governance of the game, you see a very low percentage of Pasifika involvement. So the recommendations from there highlighted a need, and so this role came about. It’s just about broader engagement with the Pasifika community, and helping New Zealand Rugby make some decisions to engage better with the community. We’re also looking at the cultural responsiveness of the rugby environment. And also creating pathways for Pasifika in some of those non-playing roles. There are only 3% Pasifika at governance level across the 26 provincial unions. So how do we get people from our community to consider a governance role?
So your measure of success will be things like having more Pasifika people on union boards and in coaching and refereeing and so on?
That’s right. We particularly want to look at the off-field roles. It’s not that the Pasifika community doesn’t have the capability to fill those roles — it certainly does — but it’s just about how we promote those areas.
Because it’s about providing role models, right?
I was 7 years old when I watched my first big rugby game. It was the All Blacks v Scotland at Eden Park — the flooded test. My dad said, "Son, watch the No 11." And it was Bryan Williams. For me, it was the first time I ever dreamed of playing for the All Blacks. Beegee looked like me, and I learnt that he was of Samoan descent. It really lifted my aspirations. Similarly, if we see more Pasifika people in off-field roles, it will inspire others to come into those roles.
You look at the role we’re doing here, and now we have Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua in Super Rugby. That’s a really wonderful way of acknowledging the contribution of Pacific rugby to Aotearoa and the southern hemisphere. Bryan was that first real role model for us. And Jonah was our first real superstar, and he inspired every kid. Having this Pasifika strategy now acknowledges the contribution Pasifika people make.
Auckland is no doubt a big focus but have you had a chance to look at Pasifika rugby in the Heartland? Especially a place like my home town, Oamaru, where rugby has really been transformed by Pasifika people.
It was really important, when we were going through the consultation phase for our Pasifika strategy, that we engaged with the Heartland unions. We had community consultations throughout Aotearoa. Our first was actually in Timaru. It’s important we engage with the CEOs in the Heartland unions to ask about the influx of Pacific people and how we engage better with them. The strategy is all about the voices of our community.
It’s a wonderful way to acknowledge Pacific contribution to rugby, and it’s great to see New Zealand Rugby supporting the Pacific nations. It means our players don’t need to head up to the northern hemisphere. There are options here — Moana Pasifika, the Drua. We can keep our talent here, and I can only see greater things if we continue to support our teams.
You might need to be careful what you say about your employers. But should New Zealand Rugby be doing more for the Pacific nations? Should the All Blacks be playing regularly in the islands?
I think the really positive thing is that we’ve made huge strides to ensure the foundations of Pacific rugby have a pathway to get stronger. Moana Pasifika and the Drua are great ways for us to see a real strengthening of our home nations. I would like to think, in time, we can look at the infrastructure and the amenities we need in the Pacific nations before we look at having more games in those nations. I really believe I can see that in the future, and I can see those tests being played.
Not everybody down here will know this, but you were a Highlander for a short time. What do you remember of your stint here in 2001?
I was so blessed. I was getting towards the end of my career, and to be called to come down to the Highlanders was a real answer to a prayer. The Highlanders are close to my heart. I’m Highlander No 64. I remember playing the Brumbies at Carisbrook. I thought I was going to be a reserve but when I arrived, they said I was starting. We beat the Brumbies that night, and they went on to win the final. What was so enduring for me was when we went over to the scarfies after the game, and there was this huge roar. It was incredible. Someone shouted out, not a word of a lie: "Eroni, you’re a southern man". Absolute gold. My heart just melted. After years of being jeered at, they were cheering me on. I was so thankful to Peter Sloane, the coach at that time, for giving me a chance. After the Blues, the Highlanders will always be my team.
It was a time when it was all very unknown. We didn’t know what to expect. I suppose, as players, we were just thinking, great, we are not going to have to work again, ha ha. After the first game we played against the Hurricanes in Palmerston North, wow, the game just exploded. It was wonderful. The Blues, and those Auckland teams in the 1990s, were already really professional in terms of attitude and dedication. We just maintained that professionalism. We had experienced leaders, and some superstars on the wing.
What was it like to look to your left and see Jonah, and to look to your right and see Joeli Vidiri?
Oh, yeah. As a centre, your responsibility is to create space for your outside backs. But I learnt very quickly that you don’t need to make space for Jonah and Joeli — you just give them the ball. Just seeing Jonah in full flight was incredible. The power and strength and speed of Jonah, and the sheer speed of Joeli and that big smile . . . wonderful. I think about those two amazing men, and they’re not with us. And I think about others we have lost from those early Blues teams. We lost Jarrod Cunningham, and Norm Berryman, and Dylan Mika. A number of our brothers have passed on, and we need to keep their memory alive.
Your other major Otago link is that your first coach with the All Blacks was Laurie Mains. What are your memories of Laurie?
As Aucklanders, Laurie was really an unknown quantity for us when he came in. I remember we got through the centennial test series when he started, but we only really learned about Laurie when we had a tour of Australia. That was one of the toughest tours I’d ever been part of. Then we had the tour to South Africa, which was amazing. We really got to understand Laurie and develop a great respect for him.
It was . . . yeah. That sense of pride, you know. It’s watching your son and all those memories of spending time on the sideline supporting the kids. You see something special and you think, wow, how far can he go with this talent? You do everything you can as a parent to support your kids. And it’s that feeling of, you know, the world getting to see his ability and his talent. My hope for all of my children is that they go on to express their talent. There’s a lot more to see with Caleb. My hope is that this will be a really good year for him. He’s working really hard.
I finally got around to watching Match Fit, the show that brought former All Blacks together to sort of focus on health and wellbeing. And it was really entertaining. How did you enjoy the experience?
Oh, it was hard work. But we all know that to get what we want, it’s going to take hard work. What we loved was that we did it together as mates. To catch up with our brothers, and to come together to really get ourselves back on the path to good health, was incredible. We all felt that if we could inspire just one person, we had done our job. The feedback that we got from the public was incredible. We’d be walking along the road and people would come up to us. We had women saying, thank you so much, you got my husband off the couch.
I hate to end on a sad note but I want to ask you about the great Va’aiga Tuigamala, who was really turning himself around on Match Fit before he died. What do you miss about Inga?
Inga was an inspiration. He faced his challenges. He knew that he was in a place where life was going to be a struggle if he didn’t do something about it. He realised it was going to be hard, but he knew he needed to be a role model to our community, so he took on the challenge. We did a lot of our training together. He beat diabetes, he dropped about 40kg — just incredible. To lose someone like that . . . it was a huge loss. He inspired people. It was so sad his life was cut short. To call him my brother, and to call him my friend, was a real privilege. I go for bike rides on my own and all I can do is cry because I have so many memories of riding alongside Inga. I am thankful for him.
