About: http://data.cimple.eu/news-article/95fc5cbd798cfd074ab07d404fe418ef190556ef9e49480004e61425

Facets (new session)
Description
Metadata
Settings
- owl:sameAs
- Inference Rule:

About: http://data.cimple.eu/news-article/95fc5cbd798cfd074ab07d404fe418ef190556ef9e49480004e61425 Goto Sponge NotDistinct Permalink

An Entity of Type : schema:NewsArticle, within Data Space : data.cimple.eu associated with source document(s)

Attributes	Values
rdf:type	schema:NewsArticle
schema:articleBody	New Zealand Rugby issued licences Wednesday for two Pacific island teams to join the southern hemisphere's Super Rugby competition from next year, in a major milestone for the long-awaited expansion. The two teams -- Fiji Drua and Moana Pasifika -- must still have their finances approved before they can participate, but World Rugby last month said it was helping boost their coffers. "We are now on the cusp of realising a long-held desire to include Pasifika in our professional game and the opportunity to embrace all that comes with that," former Samoa and All Black legend Michael Jones said. An estimated 20 percent of elite rugby players worldwide have Pacific heritage but top talent is almost always lured offshore because the islands lack a professional team competition. The aim is for Fiji Drua and Moana Pasifika to fill that gap, allowing the island nations of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa to reap the rewards of their rich rugby heritage. Their inclusion in Super Rugby next year means the 2022 season would have 12 teams, five New Zealand, five Australian and two Pacific. However, the New Zealanders -- who emerged as Super Rugby's de facto powerbroker in the coronavirus era -- have made clear that any Pacific teams must be commercially viable and well governed. "We have confidence that Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua will be able to meet the conditions of the licence, which includes final sign off on a sustainable business plan by 30 June," NZR chief executive Mark Robinson said. World Rugby is providing the Tonga, Fiji and Samoa rugby union with a collective 3.2 million pounds (US$4.4 million) over three years to help cover costs, as well as supplying administrative and high-performance expertise. The Fiji Drua would be Suva-based and Moana Pasifika would be based in New Zealand, probably Auckland, focusing on attracting players from Samoa and Tonga. Fiji Rugby Union Chair Conway Begg said having the licence allowed the team to finalise sponsorships, appoint coaches and contract players. "We are on the home stretch and excitement is building across Fiji," he said. ns/dm/jfx
schema:headline	Pacific teams get licences to join Super Rugby next year
schema:mentions	Rugby union Cusp form Pacific Islander Fiji Lured Cultural heritage Auckland De facto New Zealand national rugby union team Pacific Ocean Tonga United States Coronavirus Moana Hotel Fijian Drua Drua Conwy New Zealand Railways Department World Rugby Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby
schema:author	http://data.cimple.eu/organization/1f0054d541e000623a2c1e561a247c073ef6328e8be9ffafda7b3fcd
schema:datePublished	2021-04-14 (xsd:date)
http://data.cimple...sPoliticalLeaning	other political leaning
http://data.cimple...logy#hasSentiment	negative sentiment
http://data.cimple...readability_score	79 (xsd:integer)
http://data.cimple...tology#hasEmotion	happiness

Faceted Search & Find service v1.16.115 as of Oct 09 2023

Alternative Linked Data Documents: ODE Content Formats:

RDF

ODATA

Microdata

About

OpenLink Virtuoso version 07.20.3238 as of Jul 16 2024, on Linux (x86_64-pc-linux-musl), Single-Server Edition (126 GB total memory, 11 GB memory in use)
Data on this page belongs to its respective rights holders.
Virtuoso Faceted Browser Copyright © 2009-2025 OpenLink Software