Manu Samoa - once upon a time in the 90s - they were the darlings of world rugby. But since the game turned professional, the team has failed to make even the World Cup quarter finals.

Many Pacific players are turning down the chance to represent their nations to keep big money contracts in Europe, and secure their futures. Has professional rugby killed the international game for Tier 2 nations like the Samoa? And, what sacrifices do Pasifika players have to make? John Campbell is inside the Manu Samoa camp as they prepare their David vs Goliath fight of the Rugby World Cup.

By Divisha Deepti 

Who Are U?

It’s always hard trying to explain to people who you are. In Oceania I guess everyone struggles with a bit of an identity crisis. 

The worst part is having to logically explain it to someone when you’re kind of in the middle of trying to figure it out yourself.

You see, I’m Fijian but I don’t speak Fijian/itaukei because I’m a Fijian of Indian descent. My mother tongue is Hindi but not the Hindi spoken by those in India. I speak a different version of it altogether.

I didn’t think this was a problem in the first place because when you live in FIJI it’s normal to see all different types of people from all over the world and the calamity of having to explain your origins never come up… why? Because people here just know that you’ve probably got mixed blood in you. Fijians of Indian Descent have been living alongside itaukei’s (native Fijians in case you didn’t know) since forever now.…more

The bag reveals as much as it conceals 

Carried Away: Bags Unpacked showcases over 150 individual bags from Auckland Museum’s collection, many on display for the first time.

Every bag has a history, a story to tell – from haute couture fashion to cultural traditions. Bags can convey social standing, practical needs or be a statement of art.

The curators of the exhibition really wanted it to be an object focused collection - a single object and what that could tell us about our community, our society and our place in New Zealand. 

A lot of the bags in the collection are very eurocentric which you can anticipate because of all the European settlers coming in and bringing their heritage, their culture and what they were used to.  

They have however, worked with the Maori & Pasifika curators in the Museum to highlight indigenous practices & techniques to help broaden that view of what a bag is and what kind of techniques are used which speaks to Maori & Pasifika place in Aotearoa.…more

Dwayne Johnson talks about taking his Mum, Ata Maivia to the "Hobbs & Shaw" set and how she reacted when she saw their Samoan culture represented in the movie.

Check out the action from the World Hip Hop Dance champs in Phoenix, Arizona.

New Zealand represented and had 3 crews place in the finals.

Swagganauts & Masque came 1st and 3rd respectively in the Varsity division and Lil Saintz placed 3rd in the Junior Division.  Check out Swagganauts Gold winning finals routine in the video above + Masque & Lil Saintz in the videos below 

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Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans center Kevin Mawae addresses fans at the 2019 NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony.

Mawae pays tribute to his family, coaches and teammates. Mawae reflects on his playing days at LSU. He thanks his former coach Herm Edwards who he is now an assistant coach for at Arizona State. Mawae thanks Bill Belichick for the way he challenged him throughout his Jets career.

Over 5,000 athletes from 24 of our Pacific Island nations gathered in Samoa for what they call the 'Olympics of the Pacific' - the Pacific Games 2019.

Check out why it's such an important Games for our Pacific Islands athletes.