Rugby and culture connecting players to new opportunities
Caption: Malakai Alatini with sons Pita (L) and Tony (R) at the Tongan Barbarians jersey presentation.
Malakai Alatini was asked to say a few words to inspire the Tonga Barbarians rugby team who played at the World Schools Sevens in December.
What the former international, who was part of the ‘Ikale Tahi side which famously beat the Wallabies in 1973, said was translated as:
“Play to win, don’t be scared, eat some rocks tonight and make your families proud.”
The squad took the message to heart, advancing unbeaten in pool play, only losing to the NZ Condor Boys team in the tournament final, 21-14.
Culture and brotherhood was harnessed to bring the players and management, who come from schools in North Harbour, Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington, together as a team in a matter of days.
“The coaches stayed with the boys at Kolmar the whole week, sleeping in the same space, they travelled in the same van and ran a Bronco with them at the end of training,” says MIT School of Sport lecturer, Fran Serrano who assisted the side.
“It was complete equality. They see the coaches doing the same thing they are. It was very important to getting that buy from them,” he says.
“If players come to us (and not New Zealand). We want to make sure they get the whole scope of the environment that makes them know they have made the right choice,” says Malakai’s son and former All Black Pita Alatini who was campaign manager for the Tonga Barbarians.
“Our faith is huge, so learning something as simple as a hymn is part of our identity. Having the boys lead that is very special,” he says.
Pita’s brother Tony Alatini was also part of the management team. He recently completed the Graduate Certificate in Cross Cultural Supervision and Bachelor of Applied Sport and Exercise Science (Level 7) through MIT.
As a youth worker with Oranga Tamariki, Tony sees the potential to use sport to help develop skills transferable to other careers and encourage young people to make positive decisions about their futures.
“They need some guidance on what they can do after sport and there are career pathways for you if you do this study,” he says. “I made the Tongan team in ’96. Without blinking an eye about my future that rugby was going to go pro, I just said, ‘yup,’”
That decision influenced the rest of his sports career, making Tony a less attractive option for New Zealand Super Rugby franchises, leading him to follow a series of semi-professional opportunities playing and coaching in Wales, England, Australia and Germany.
The two brothers founded the Malakai Alatini Trust to help develop and foster the careers of a new generation of players using sport and culture as the foundation for a pathway to success on-and-off the field.
They named the trust in honour of their father who like so many of his generation left the islands to pursue a better life for his children in Aotearoa.
MIT is partnering with the Trust to deliver an intake of the New Zealand Diploma of Sport, Recreation and Exercise (Multi-sector Level 5).
“The strength of doing this diploma contextualised in culture and rugby is it provides a safe space for Pasifika students,” says Fran Serrano.
“There is a stronger connection to the programme embedded in a cultural environment. Students are taken to schools and engage with industry. By the end of the year they’re comfortable in that environment. Very often the same stakeholders they engage with are the ones who offer job opportunities. Tony is energetic. His heart is in developing the future generations of youth.”
Caption: Malakai Alatini talks to players from the Tonga Barbarians who finished runner-up in the World Schools Sevens tournament in 2020.
The diploma enables students to pursue careers such as school sports coordinators, recreation programmers, coaching, coaching co-ordinator, sport administrator, event manager, personal trainer or to continue studying towards the Bachelor of Applied Sport and Exercise Science.
Tony will graduate later this year with that qualification. He used his experience as assistant manager of the Tongan team at the 2019 Rugby World Cup as a practicum for the degree.
“Going to a massive event, problem solving, it was a huge growth for me, being in charge of a group of 50-plus at the World Cup, making sure day-to-day things were in line. It was stress city. But I wouldn’t replace it for anything. My studies gave me confidence,” he says.
If you’d like more information on NZ Diploma in Sport, Research and Exercise with the Malakai Alatini Trust please email tonyalatini21@gmail.com or fran.serrano@manukau.ac.nz
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