Together, Apart

As Samoa and Fiji face off at the Pacific Nations Cup, rugby bosses say they're trying to close the gap between the top playing nations and the Pacific. And a new generation of Pasifika are ready to take their place at the table.

We're in Fiji for the final game of the Pacific Nations Cup, Samoa v Fiji - and the stakes are high.

As we look to the future, there are encouraging noises from NZ Rugby's Bailey Mackey;

"It is becoming of us to really dig deep and support the re-emergence of our Pacific brothers and sisters. Because a stronger Pacific can only be better."

The final episode of the series grapples with the wider issues we've seen along the way: race and equity, power and money - and the way tension between them plays out in the wider rugby landscape.

Player's Union boss Rob Nichol says if they band together, Pasifika rugby nations have a card to play. But Dan Leo, from Pacific Rugby Players Welfare, says it will be a long game:

'We'll never be enough in our own right, we need the assistance of the public to get these outcomes."

World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont seems to be on board:

"Our title is World Rugby. It's not, you know, the Top 10 Top, 12 countries. It's every country that's involved in the game. So it's incumbent on us to make certain that we do have a global game."

But is there the political will to make change?

Happily, a new generation of Pasifika has found their voices, like Moana Pasifika's Taylah Johnson:

"I'm 26. But it's taken this long to have a Pacific Super Rugby team. So I think that says a lot in itself. Now we have to deliver. It's up to us to really prove why we deserve to be here."

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details