Pacific Warriors (2015)

Rugby from the Islands, 13 March 2017

I became a fan of rugby later in life. Growing up in the United States, I didn't have any opportunities to watch the game – especially in the pre-cable 1970s. I grew up in the South where college football is more of a religion than a sport. When I finally discovered rugby around 2000, I knew almost instantly I had found my new favorite sport. Now, it's the only sport I watch and follow with any regularity. I love it! I'm not sure how I missed Pacific Warriors in 2015. I was paying attention to the run-up to the World Cup, so you'd think I would have at least heard of the movie. I just stumbled on it a couple nights ago and decided to give it a go.

Overall, Pacific Warriors is a very nicely made documentary. If you're a fan of rugby union, regardless of the team or nation, you owe it to yourself to give it a go. The movie tells the story of the triumphs and struggles of Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji in the rugby world. The movie highlights their successes in past World Cups given the budgetary and training limitations they face when compared with the game's giants like England and South Africa. Given an equal playing field, I'm positive that one of these tiny nations would have at least played in a title game by now. There's a lot of information on players, games, and behind the scene stories from the three Pacific Island nations. While host Brian Cox is rock solid, it's the actual players that sat down and recorded their thoughts and recollections that really make this movie shine. I was especially impressed with the stories from Epi Taione and Nicky Little. They have an infectious way about them that made their stories sparkle. I also enjoyed the bits from competitors like Jonny Wilkinson and Bakkies Botha that put the Islanders' tremendous abilities into perspective.

In the end, I suppose that the purpose of any documentary is to teach something about the subject matter at hand. With that as a goal, I'd say Pacific Warriors is very successful. As a bonus, it not only enlightens, but also entertains. When you combine the two, you've got a winner. I can easily rate Pacific Warriors an 8/10.

8/10