6 May 2017

Rugby league commentators get help with Pacific names

10:56 am on 6 May 2017

The General Secretary of the Tonga National Rugby League doesn't expect a repeat of the furore over the pronunciation of Pacific names during tonight's internationals.

Last year the Pacific Islands Media Association accused Australian commentators of racism for poor and the insensitive mispronunciation of a number of the players' names. .

Tavake Fangupo said he was unaware of the fuss but does acknowledge there have been problems in the past.

Australian broadcasters have met with Mr Fangupo and checked individual player names with him and he was happy with their efforts

"There have been times where certain names of Polynesian players haven't been pronounced correctly. I have been watching it over the last year or so and they certainly seem to be getting a lot better," he said

Maybe having feedback from people telling them that 'this is the right way to pronounce it', helps them make sure they address it properly live on TV, but I do see it definitely progressing."