In 2011 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu received a six-month suspended ban from the Rugby World Cup for tweeting that top referee Nigel Owens was biased & racist as well as comparing the treatement of Samoa and other Tier 2 countries at the Cup to slavery and much more.

He explains his frustration with the biased policies of World Rugby to both Close Up (video above) and John Campbell (video below).

"I just want the next generation of Samoan rugby players to be given a level playing field, I want them to stop treating the tier-two teams like crap." - Eliota said in his interview with Close Up 

Sadly the issues Eliota raised in 2011 are still major talking points at this Rugby World Cup in 2019 - biased reffing against the Tier 2 teams in particular when playing Tier 1 teams and an obvious bias towards the Tier 2 teams giving them only three or four day breaks between matches when Tier 1 teams like the All Blacks have up to a week rest in between games.

Jope’s experience of growing up in a household facing domestic violence sparked an interest in gender and politics. His academic research is driven by first hand knowledge of how these social structures affect people’s lives every day.

His experience led him to rethink what it means to be a Fijian man in today’s society and to question the role and power that he has as a man in Fiji.  Jope’s talk invites us all to re-think the Fijian man.  Jope Tarai is a research student and teaching assistant at the University of the South Pacific (USP) who spent his early years growing up in the interior parts of Fiji before moving to Suva.

He is dedicated to research in areas of diplomacy, Pacific politics, youth development, social media and gender where he challenges the traditional structure and asks people to question the status quo. Jope attended Assemblies of God Primary School (A.O.G) and Stella Maris before moving to Marist Brothers High School (MBHS) before completing his tertiary studies at the University of the South Pacific (USP).

The pawpaw or papaya is reputed to carry the most health benefits of any fruit and grows in abundance around the Pacific Islands.

With a lot of hidden benefits for skin, health and hair, coupled with its deliciousness, pawpaw now ranks as one of the most beneficial gifts nature has blessed us with.

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So what are the health benefits of Pawpaw? 

One extremely important health benefit of Pawpaw is that pawpaw leaves juice is widely recognised as a natural cure for dengue fever which is very prevalent in the Pacific Islands.  The leaves have a mix of nutrients and organic compounds which help in increasing your platelet count. Papaya leaves also have a high level of vitamin C which stimulate the immune system.

All you need to do is crush the leaves and stain the juice from the crushed leaves.…more

The NRL share this heart-warming real-life story about Fijian Parramatta Eels rugby league player Maika Sivo and his father, Joeli.  It centres around the fact that Joeli Sivo has never seen his son play in the flesh.

Sivo senior has never left Fiji, nor does he own a passport.  Maika Sivo, who came from humble beginnings and only recently started playing rugby league for the first time four years ago, is now one of this season’s top try-scorers.

At UFC 243 Eugene Bareman & his team from City Kickboxing New Zealand will have 3 fighters facing off in the Octagon - 2 of them are the co-main event.  

NZ born Eugene is half Samoan/half Dutch and grew up in West Auckland. He has 2 other brothers & his sister, Sarai Bareman, is the Chief Womens Football Officer for FIFA & was recently named in Sportspro as one of the top 10 people on the planet who would have the greatest influence on sport in 2019!

Eugene first took over City Kickboxing Gym 11 years ago with K1 fighter Doug Viney (they bought the gym off the owner Duane Marshall) & now have 5 NZ based UFC fighters on their books Adesanya, Kai Kara France, Dan Hooker, Shane Young & Brad Riddell as well as King in the Ring champ Carlos Ulberg and Heavyweight boxers Hemi Ahio & Junior Fa.

As well as a coach he's still fighting himself and has had 48 fights across all the different disciplines & recently received a black belt in Atos Jiu-Jitsu.…more

At the age of six, Sala Tiatia experienced domestic violence for the first time. It was the verbal abuse however, that bought the most darkness to Sala’s internal world⁠—until one particular English class, with one particular English teacher, turned Sala’s dark world around.

In this compelling and emotional talk, Sala shares the words that bought light to his world and how he speaks light into the world of some of New Zealand’s most vulnerable young people. Sala Tiatia is a local youth educator who has been involved in youth work for the last 30 years; his roles have varied from church ministry, community work and running youth work workshops about youth work for youth workers, right through to running leadership programmes in mainstream schools and alternative education.

He is still working with youth and their whānau today, and is a huge advocate for everyone, especially men, to seek help in counselling, have a greater sense of self care and be intentional with their holistic health.…more

Stand Up Stand Out is Auckland's premier secondary school music and dance competition - from RnB, Reggae, Folk, Rock to Jazz Ballet, contemporary to hip hop.

Stand Up, Stand Out gives Secondary School youth a chance to shine, gaining experience and exposure in front of judges from the NZ Music and Performing Arts industry.

They're also in to win more than $6k in prizes!  

Check out highlights from the finals here ...

All Blacks Loose Forward Ardie Savea recently started a podcast as a space to bridge the gap between the listeners and professional athletes.  Along the way he shares his journey and thoughts as well as interviews other people "so we can all learn and grow".

In this episode he interviews All Blacks Prop forward Angus Ta'avao (Samoan/Australian) who shares his journey through rugby, family, life, the uncertainties of being a professional athlete and finally making the All Blacks at the age of 28.

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Subscribe to Ardie's podcast on any of the platforms below and check out his clothing line here:

https://ardiesaveaclothing.co.nz/