Tana Umaga hails ‘humbling’ First Nations & Pasifika XV experience as Lions challenge awaits
Tana Umaga on/hails 'humbling' First Nations & Pasifika XV experience as Lions challenge awaits
The British and Irish Lions are set to face the First Nations & Pasifika XV on Tuesday, July 22 as they rotate their squad following their first Test against Australia.
The First Nations & Pasifika XV will be the first of its kind. The team consists of Samoan, Fijian, Tongan and Indigenous Australian cultures – all of which play such an important role in Australian heritage.
Assistant coach, Tana Umaga, spoke to reporters after the team were treated to a welcome and smoking ceremony by a senior Wurundjeri elder of the Kulin Nation.
“It’s always exciting and very humbling and a privilege to learn about a new culture, and especially as one that is so old,” he said.
“It’s really enriching for us as a group.”
Rugby – the great connector
Bringing the different cultures together through rugby, Umaga spoke about how the sport has become so ingrained in many cultures around the world.
“I’m a big believer that rugby connects everybody who comes in contact with it,” he explained.
“I’ve been fortunate to meet people and go to countries where you wouldn’t think rugby is even known. Our game reaches a lot of people.
“A lot of people travel. They come into contact with the game. They love the game. They take it back to their culture and their countries, and they believe in the ethos and the values around it.
“There are some great lessons that you can learn from our game: resilience, thinking under pressure, also camaraderie. We’re a group of men, especially when our groups come together. It’s the one place where we can’t stop men talking.”
Relating rugby to the First Nations and Pasifika culture, Umaga continued: “When the talk about their culture, you’ll see their eyes light up, and you’ll see them want to talk about it because they feel a connection to it.”
First Nations and Pasifika XV
This is the first time the Pacific Islands and the First Nations have come together, but the journey so far has been enriching for Umaga and co.
“It’s so exciting, a First Nations and Pasifika team, the first of its kind,” he said. “I like having been a part of something like that, really promoting the culture, our cultures, the cultures of the people of this land, whom we give our thanks and respect to, and then combining that with the different cultures within our team.
“It’s something that you’ll never get anywhere else. I’m fortunately involved with a club (Moana Pasifika) that promotes our culture of the Pacific. So again, I get a new group of guys, some that haven’t been involved in that, I can share some of this knowledge that I have.”