'Very white' Australian rugby cops criticism

As the NRL gathers on the Gold Coast to show off its glittering stable of indigenous stars, a leading indigenous rugby figure says a ''very white'' union has failed to embrace and cultivate Aboriginal talent.

Just three of the 118 players on Australian Super 14 rosters are of indigenous heritage. The NRL boasts 11 per cent of its ranks - including some of its biggest stars - as being aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders.

Tom Evans, the chief executive of the ARU-affiliated Lloyd McDermott Rugby Development Team, says a refusal to broaden the recruitment net outside of private schools means the code has little chance of unearthing future indigenous champions. The former Randwick player and coach also says the huge influence of Polynesian players in the code isn't being reflected in the make-up of the ARU.

''If it wasn't for the Polynesians in Sydney club rugby, there wouldn't be rugby union,'' Evans said. ''But the system is still very white, Anglo-Saxon, teacher-schoolboy.

''I sit with the NSW and Australian Rugby Union community rugby and the whole office is very white Anglo, yet if you have a look at the player roster of all these teams, the Polynesian influence is massive.

''They've done very little to embrace that. They've done very little to embrace indigenous participation in rugby. If it wasn't for our organisation, there wouldn't be any indigenous program.''

Will Chambers (Qld), Kurtley Beale (NSW) and Matt Hodgson (Force) are the indigenous players set to feature in the Super rugby season. Chambers joined the Reds from rugby league's Melbourne Storm, while the QRU says the Faingaa twins, Anthony and Saia, have some indigenous heritage on their mother's side.

Evans, whose organisation is self-funded but operates out of ARU office space and receives logistical support for its tournaments and events, says rugby scouts are failing to identify junior indigenous talent, while the state-based recruitment system can often become bogged down in school-driven politics.

''There's plenty of kids who can play the game at the right level. You can see that in league. Thurston, Inglis is there. Rugby has to get better at identifying those guys when they are 14, 15 and 16 but it's still the private school system. They [the ARU] still haven't embraced the whole of society,'' Evans said. ''But it will happen because they have to look at it.''

An ARU spokesman said the organisation was committed to developing more indigenous talent and had numerous programs and grants in place. ''We would like to be in a position to assist with further funding for all our constituents,'' he said.

To date there have been 11 aboriginal players - Lloyd McDermott, Mark Ella, Glen Ella, Gary Ella, Lloyd Walker, Andrew Walker, Jim Williams, Wendell Sailor, Timana Tahu, Hodgson and Beale - to represent the Wallabies.

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