The Flying Fijians v Tonga in Nuku'alofa in a Pacific Nations Cup Pool A match last year. Photo: World Rugby
As the Flying Fijians gear up for the upcoming Pacific Nations Cup (PNC) 2025, head coach Mick Byrne has raised two key issues that he says continue to affect Pacific Island teams.
Byrne told RNZ Pacific that with Fiji, Samoa and Tonga and Samoa having majority of their players based in Europe, short preparation time and smaller squads "makes it very difficult for us to get ahead".
He said he had raised the short preparation times given to teams competing in the PNC, and July internationals, compared to Rugby World Cup preparations.
The Flying Fijians could only start their preparations for the one-off Test match against the Wallabies on 6 July the weekend prior to that.
Mick Byrne Photo: Fiji Rugby
Following the match against Scotland, members of the Flying Fijians squad have dispersed and returned to their various clubs, some returning to France and the United Kingdom.
They will march back into camp in Suva mid-August to prepare for their PNC match against Tonga in Suva on 30 August.
It is a financial issue because of the costs incurred, but Byrne said World Rugby should play fair.
"I've spoken to World Rugby at a World Rugby coaching conference over in Sydney earlier in the year, where I raised the issue around you know, our teams perform well at World Cups because we get a five or six week window to prepare before we go to a World Cup," he said.
"We should have those windows all the time. But you know, it's a cost, and it's an expense, and at the moment, it's being pushed on to the unions.
"But for us, and for Tonga and Samoa, our players are in the northern hemisphere. A lot of our players are playing and earning their income from the Northern Hemisphere. So we can't just, it's not an easy expense.
"It's not like Australia or New Zealand, where all the players are in that country, and you can run a three day camp and they'll just turn up on the Sunday.
"We've got to fly players in from all over the world. So it is a challenge."
Manu Samoa v 'Ikale Tahi during the Pacific Nations Cup 2024. Photo: World Rugby
'Set up for the rich clubs'
He said, while Rugby World Cup allowed for squad numbers of 32 or 33, the PNC teams are only allowed 28 players each.
"I think the PNC is not set up for us as well. It's set up for the rich clubs and the rich organisations, because we're only allowed to name 28 players, which isn't enough for us to survive on," he said.
He said if one of the 28 players got injured, the team have to replace the player out of the tournament.
"In the World Cup, you get 32 or 33 players. I don't understand why the PNC organisers are making it so difficult for the islands to get ahead, and I'm really annoyed with that.
"The fact is, I've been told I can select 28 players, but if I get a player injured and I have to replace him, I have to replace him for the whole tournament, and our depth just doesn't go like that.
"So, I'm not sure what the PNC are trying to do. I know they do it in a World Cup, but I think PNC should be trying to grow the organisations in the Southern Hemisphere and the Pacific Islands, not making life more difficult."
Byrne said if they name five props and three hookers, plus three halfbacks that is 11 players already, which would leave the other 12 positions shared by 17 players.
"If you name your five props, and one of your props gets injured and he's only going to be out for a week, but you can't afford to not replace him, because you need to be able to put fit players on the field.
"So if we had to lose a prop for a week, we've got to actually lose replace him out of the whole tournament. Absolutely, absolutely ridiculous.
"And I'm not sure who the PNC think they are when they put these sort of restrictions on struggling organisations like Tonga Samoa and Fiji.
"I'm sure the USA and Canada are in the same boat, but the USA are playing in the USA. So you know, at the end of the day, when we get to a final series, we gotta travel. We gotta fly people over to replace for one week. It just makes it very difficult for us to get ahead."
RNZ Pacific has reached out to Oceania Rugby, which manages the PNC on behalf of World Rugby, for clarification on the issues Bryne raised.
Tonga's head coach Tevita Tuifua also raised the same issues during the week, adding that is is a difficult situation for them.
He said while they are supported mainly by World Rugby, they are hopeful that both the issues could be looked at and rectified, to ensure that island unions are able to compete on the same levelled playing field with bigger nations.
"It is a challenge and a big one because with the preparation time it is just too short but it is also expensive to have longer camps," he said.
"On top of that, like Fiji and Samoa, we are also flying our players from different parts of the world.
"And then having to go through the squad numbers and replacement rules, that makes it tougher on us, because we do not have the player depth."
Last Thursday, Manu Samoa assistant coach Census Johnstone said they had to cramp their preparation for their one-off test against Scotland into a short week.
He said that is a major challenge island nation unions face.
