PASIFIKA RUGBY HALL OF FAME TO HONOUR & CELEBRATE RUGBY GREATS
On Saturday the 24th November, Former All Black and rugby legend Savae Sir Michael Jones announced the establishment of the Pasifika Rugby Hall of Fame at a small gathering in the Pacific Media Network's Wav Room.
The establishment of the Pasifika Rugby Hall of Fame will provide a global platform to honour, recognise and celebrate the contribution of the Pacific’s rugby heroes, past and present; empower and lift our Pacific communities through the power of rugby as well as inspire the next generation of Pasifika rugby heroes and influencers to excel, lead and serve.
The movement will celebrate, connect and champion Pacific rugby players and their collective hopes and aspirations.
The creation of the Pasifika Rugby Hall of Fame has taken a lead from the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame, established ten years ago by former NFL players and Super Bowl Champions Seiuli Jesse Sapolu and Ma’a Tanuvasa to honour the greatest players, coaches, and contributors of Polynesian heritage to gridiron football. Seiuli Jesse Sapolu has also come onboard as a member of The Pasifika Rugby Hall of Fame USA committee.
“There were those that came before Savae and before myself and we don’t want their journey to be forgotten.
What the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame and the Pasifika Rugby Hall of Fame will do is bring their memory back for our young present and future stars, so that they’ll understand that there were those who laid the foundation and when the door was closed there were those who knocked it down to allow all of us to come through" Seiuli Jesse stated.
The U.S. arm of the PRHOF reflects the close working relationship with the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame, the growing influence of Pasifika in the US rugby landscape and the excitement for the 2031 Rugby World Cup in the United States. The PRHOF U.S. Board will draw on the experience of Seiuli Jesse Sapolu and Savae Sir Michael Jones as Chairman. Additional board and committee members will be announced in the coming months.
“Jesse and other Polynesian NFL legends like former Philadelphia Eagles star Vai Sikahema (Tongan), and Denver Broncos two-time Super Bowl Champion Ma’a Tanuvasa (Samoan) have inspired our Pasifika rugby fraternity to replicate what they have successfully built in the United States.
Their outstanding work celebrates Polynesian players and the positive impact of sport on young Polynesians in the US Mainland, Hawai’i, American Samoa, Samoa, and Tonga. They have shown us it can be done extremely well, and it’s time for rugby to do the same for our people,” said Savae Sir Michael Jones, Pasifika Rugby Hall of Fame Co-Founder & Chairperson
Joining Savae Sir Michael Jones on the PRHOF Board of Directors are Black Ferns Legend and Rugby World Cup winning Captain Seiuli Fioao’o Fa’amausili, former All Black and Tongan community leader Pita Alatini, Manu Samoa legend Lemalu Silao Vaisola, and Cynthia Ta’ala Timaloa, former Captain of the Samoa Women’s team, Manu Sina. The PRHOF global presence will be reflected through committees positioned across the globe , representing U.K., Europe, Japan, and United States.
"Pacific rugby players have a global impact. If you think about the last Rugby World Cup, over half the teams had Pasifika playing for them, it wasn't just Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and the All Blacks, it was just about every other team that had Pasifika influence threaded or weaved into that team.
We need to harnass that, capture and mobilise it, why? So we can lift our communities, inspire the next generation and we can ensure those generations understand the importance of leading and that we've got to serve. It'll then have a natural impact on our communities." Savae Sir Michael Jones said.
Savae Sir Michael said they have already connected in with the Tuilagi's and Lauaki brothers, they have Bundee Aki in Ireland, Mikey Te’o (2022 US Major League Rugby MVP & current San Diego Legion player) and Jordan Mailata (former rugby league player in Australia and starting tackle for the NFL Philadelphia Eagles) in the USA.
The PRHOF will also pay tribute to Pasifika’s first global superstar and rugby icon, the late Jonah Lomu, by establishing the Jonah Lomu Memorial Award to be awarded at the Pasifika Rugby Hall of Fame awards.
"Jonah Lomu was probably the greatest influence of our game and I don't say that lightly. Nobody took rugby to the next stratosphere like the late Jonah Lomu, no one put Tonga on the map like Jonah Lomu, no one put Pasifika on the map like Jonah Lomu, no one put South Auckland on the map ...
When we came together as a leadership we had to make sure that we always remember Jonah, his legacy, what he contributed and everything that he stood for is what we want to protect, we want to steward and ensure that as a Pasifika Rugby Hall of Fame we can be a voice, we can advocate, we can stand in the gap and we can influence."
The PRHOF acknowledges the support of Jonah’s wife Nadene for endorsing this special and significant award.
The inaugural Pasifika Rugby Hall of Fame Celebration Ceremony will be held in the first quarter of 2024, in Auckland, New Zealand. The event will honor the first four PRHOF Inductees as well as the winner of the Jonah Lomu Memorial Award. Other awards to be presented at the Celebration Ceremony include Pasifika Coach of the Year, Pasifika Women’s Player of the Year, Pasifika Breakthrough Player of the Year and Pasifika Administrator of the Year.
"It truly is an honour and a privilege to be part of an amazing but very powerful collective to be the voices for our Pasifika people. For me having Jonah a part of this and the inaugural Jonah Lomu Memorial Award is very close to my heart.
Sport is the vehicle but there is so much around that, which is why the memorial trophy which will be awarded annually, isn't limited just to a heroic or a really phenomenal sports player in rugby, it goes beyond that which is important because it (PRHOF) really is a platform for our people to know their worth, what they bring, that they can be a voice and they do have a voice" said Jonah's widow and the mother of his children, Nadene Lomu.
A Selection Committee will be established and tasked with selecting the annual class of Inductees, the Jonah Lomu Award honoree, and winners of the various categories.
Saveatama Eroni Clarke who is the Pasifika Engagement Manager for NZ Rugby said it's a significant moment in time for us as Pasifika as we'd just seen recently the launching of the Pasifika Strategy for New Zealand rugby and now we're seeing this at a global scale with the launching of the Pasifika Rugby Hall of Fame, a wonderful recognition of our Pacific contribution to rugby globally.
He said no other ethnicity or people group have played in different nations around the world like Pacific Islanders have with the game of rugby.
"Our Pacific nations, the small size that we are, yet in the vast oceans that unite us, we give so tremendously so that's why today is so significant" Saveatama added.
Former Manu Sina captain Cynthia Ta'ala-Timoloa who is on the PRHOF board said she's really excited to 'be the salt' and open doors for our Pasifika women who are doing amazing things in rugby around the globe.
"I'm really privileged and honoured to be on the board especially in our space and have a voice together with our brothers. That's how it should be, that's how it is for Pasifika - everything is done around the table. I don't take the position lightly"
Seiuli Jesse Sapolu also stressed the importance of Pasifika having a 'seat at the table' and said the only way to get it is to keep telling our story because if we sit on it and expect them to give it to us ... chances are they won't.
He said if we do work of service and keep telling our story, "remind them what Jonah Lomu did, what Savae Sir Michael did, what Tuifa'asisina Bryan Williams did in bringing the game along, in planting a seed for a lot of the South Pacific kids that they can also make it to the All Blacks - that's what we bring to the table and they need to acknowledge that and it needs to be honoured."
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The Pasifika Rugby Hall of Fame is proud to have the support of Founding Partners Major League Rugby and the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.
For more information on the Pasifika Rugby Hall of Fame, visit www.PasifikaRugby.org and follow them at @PasifikaHOF on X, Instagram and Facebook.
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Cover image by Seth Siope
Public Interest Journalism funded by NZ on Air