Tana Umaga

Jonathan Ionatana Falefasa Umaga (born 27 May 1973) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player and captain of the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. Quotes I'm a bit funny, I don't get to go down there often. I feel I'm stepping into an area that I probably shouldn't be in. You know, there's a little bit of that imposter syndrome. The last thing I ever wanted to be was the 'in my day' guy, you know? We know what unconscious bias feels like, Others come in and say, well, you've just gotta suck it up. But they've never actually felt that before. Unless you've kind of been through it yourself and lived, walked, the shoes that these guys have been through, then you probably don't have a leg to stand on. You are actually part of the issue, you know? Unless that's acknowledged, nothing will change. The more times we call it out the more times we just don't stand for it, the more people will acknowledge it. There's a mind shift that needs to happen. But if we keep sweeping it under the table, then we're always going to stay where we are. Look everyone wants more games, Everyone's seen the stats about matches between tier one and tier two teams, and there's not many. We know a lot of that's monetary, and we know everyone's gotta play to survive. But we have to develop these countries too and have a semblance of a level-playing field. Everyone loves the underdog story. Everyone's trying to protect their patch. But I think the people who govern the game need to probably have a wider view of it. They're just thinking about taking more Tests for themselves the way I see it. 'I feel the pull of this calling': Tana Umaga on his rugby life, legacy and Pasifika challenge, October 26 2023 External links Category:Rugby union coaches Category:1973 births Category:Rugby union players from New Zealand Category:Living people