Tongans told to ditch green hair!

Angelo · Post by **Angelo** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 10:53 am

They do it because they are in need. Epi Taione had to change his name into Paddy Power to obtain sponsorship and money for RWC for Tonga, now green hair...Poor Tongans, next time...dressed as Irish elves?

Former Prop · Post by **Former Prop** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 11:00 am

To be sure !

Sideshow · Post by **Sideshow** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 11:29 am

From the reports i'd read Paddy Power had stepped in to help finance Tonga because the IRB had only paid them £40k of the promised £150k to fund their expenses during the World Cup. The players planned to dye their hair as a Thank You

orla - mumha abú! · Post by **orla - mumha abú!** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 12:38 pm

i have had green hair before, dyed it for paddys day.

i think its ridiculous that they wont let them do it! its just a bit of fun!!

Dave Angel · Post by **Dave Angel** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 12:53 pm

orla - mumha abú! wrote:i think its ridiculous that they wont let them do it! its just a bit of fun!!

The point is that it's not "just a bit of fun" though. It's corporate sponsorship.

If it was genuinely "for fun" then I doubt the IRB would have objected. It isn't though. It's being done in return for cash, in an attempt to bypass sponsorship restrictions.

g · Post by g » Fri Sep 28, 2007 3:21 pm

Syd Miller and his IRB cronies are just like the RFU a load of grumpy old past it dinosaurs who are all well past their sell by date and should be shot the lot of them.

Can I be first in the queue please.

Bill W · Post by **Bill W** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 3:33 pm

Isn't shooting too kind g?

orla - mumha abú! · Post by **orla - mumha abú!** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 4:51 pm

just seems unfair to me. the IRB wont give them money, but they stop those that are willing to.

Dave Angel · Post by **Dave Angel** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 5:01 pm

According to the IRB, Tonga's money is paid up as far as it should be at this stage of the tournament:

http://www.planet-rugby.com/Story/0,182 ... 93,00.html

Tonga claim they have only had £40k of the £150k whereas IRB say £100k has been paid & the other £50k will follow at the end of the tournament, as per the participation agreement, PLUS, the IRB has provided an additional £30,000 emergency payment to assist with the TRFU's tournament costs.
Furthermore all travel, accommodation, food, etc during the RWC is provided for the teams by the IRB at the tournament.

I don't think Tonga have been telling the press the whole story in an attempt to make themselves out as bigger "victims".

g · Post by g » Fri Sep 28, 2007 6:21 pm

Whether or not the Tongans are a bit economical with the truth I still think the old dinosaurs should be shot.

Ze Stade Fan · Post by **Ze Stade Fan** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 7:04 pm

Well, going to eat at a friends' place, let's hope there's a telly...

Tiger shirt is on, hope it brings some extra luck to Chuter. It is cold and damp in here, which should help the English.

Good luck, may the ref be fair and the game interesting.

muttley75 · Post by **muttley75** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 7:13 pm

Dave, I do think you're missing the point slightly.

It was meant to be a THANK YOU to Paddy Power from the Tongans. What's wrong with that? Now, I understand that you are only giving the facts cold and straight but surely you must agree that the Tongans are doing what they see as RIGHT and POLITE in the thank you?

Sometimes the IRB (and their sponsorship deals) take it a little too far! Surely if the Tongans had waited to say why they did it after the game everything would've been alright but knowing the IRB I suspect that they would've punished Tonga in some way such as reducing the numbers of the 2011 WC down to 16 and giving the 'minnows' (I don't like that term - especially after this WC) no chance whatsoever of qualification! Oh, hold on, isn't that already being done??

Bill W · Post by **Bill W** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 10:56 pm

orla - mumha abú! wrote:i have had green hair before, dyed it for paddys day.

i think its ridiculous that they wont let them do it! its just a bit of fun!!

And I am sure you looked lovely with green hair orla,

What is even more ridiculous is that in banning the green hair the IRB has generated more media attention to Paddy Power than would ever have been obtained if they had let it go.

Hoist by their own petard!!

Dave Angel · Post by **Dave Angel** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 12:09 pm

Whether it was a "thankyou" to PP or a separate sponsorship stunt it not the point. Either way, the purpose of the stunt was to publicise Paddy Power. That publicity was unauthorised & against the terms of the participation agreement that Tonga signed.

Had Tonga only announced why they did it after the event they could still very easily have been punished (the final £50 of the IRB payemnt isn't made until the end of the WRC & could easily have been witheld) and also they point of the stunt would have been wasted.

The media don't care about the details of a stunt after it has happened. It's literally yesterday's news by that point & the "thank you" or whatever it was would have been largely ignored by everyone.

Also, I heard that they only claimed it was a thank you after the IRB told them they couldn't do it. Initially they claimed it was a new sponsorship deal but then they realised that they wouldn't be allowed to do it then & tried to change tack.

muttley75 · Post by **muttley75** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 4:12 pm

Okay, I stand corrected!! (Must stop reading the Sun!! lol)

Thanks for the info Dave.