Tonga's parliament defy the International Rugby Board (IRB) and the pig

In a rare show of unity, the people's and nobles' representatives in Tonga's legislative assembly voted overwhelmingly to dump the chairman of the Tonga Rugby Authority, Bob Tuckey, but retain him as CEO only. This despite an emotional appeal from deputy Prime Minister Samiu Vaipulu and letters of support for Mr. Tuckey from some senior players and the coaching staff of the Ikale Tahi. The IRB also expressed its approval of Mr. Tuckey's performance and warned that Tonga's participation at the 2011 World Cup, now only three weeks away, could be jeopardized. But Tonga's parliament defied them all. It can be characterized as an act of bravery or tomfoolery or hypocrisy or all three. It was the embattled Speaker, Lord Lasike (pronounced Lar-sick-eh) who led the charge on Mr. Tuckey. Lasike, who is married to the Agriculture Minister's sister and is facing demands for his resignation over allegation that he has a mistress, said that he can tolerate a Tongan being both chairman and CEO of the rugby authority but not a foreigner. So it is his foreignness that is the issue. The problem is that this year's budget, as was last year's, is buttressed by foreign cash supplied by the Australian and New Zealand governments; which contributes to the two salaries that is drawn by Lasike. His salary as a Speaker and another as a noble; in other words, a second salary for doing nothing. I care less as to who chairs the Tonga Rugby Authority but why ridicule, belittle and rattle the national side one day before a test match. I therefore propose a compromise candidate, a pig. A big fat sow. A powerful chief had once crowned a pig as the secular king of Tonga to silence all the contenders. So a pig might just be the solution to all the feuding over the administration of rugby union here in Tonga. And maybe the players and coach will be left alone. The sores that afflicts the sport here is due in part to ex-president of the Tonga Rugby Football Union, Sangster Saulala. He boasted to the Kele'a newspaper on 13 July 2011 of how he had stood up to the IRB and that "the money sent...to Tonga by the IRB is Tonga's money anyway...but it is being portrayed as IRB money."