Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publishe ...

Mere Samisoni Adi Mere Tuisalalo Samisoni (born 28 July 1938) is a Fijian businesswoman and politician, from Lomaloma villageAi Vola Ni Kawa Bula, Tokatoka No.7 on the island of Vanua Balavu in Fiji's Lau archipelago. Samisoni is current Member of Parliament ...

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Di ...

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

Mike Atherton Michael Andrew Atherton (born 23 March 1968) is a broadcaster, journalist and a former England international first-class cricketer. A right-handed opening batsman for Lancashire and England, and occasional leg-break bowler, he achieved the ca ...

Toby Young Toby Daniel Moorsom Young (born 17 October 1963) is a British social commentator. He is the founder and director of the Free Speech Union, an associate editor of '' The Spectator'', and a former associate editor at '' Quillette.'' A graduate ...

Laura Trevelyan Laura Kate Trevelyan (born 21 August 1968) is a British-American journalist who worked for the BBC for 30 years. She served as an '' On the Record'' reporter, United Nations correspondent (2006–2009),Simon Hall and "''The Dig Tree''" author, the late Sarah Murgatroyd. While studying in Cardiff, he worked as a subeditor on the

Western Mail (Wales) The ''Western Mail'' is a daily newspaper published by Media Wales Ltd in Cardiff, Wales owned by the UK's largest newspaper company, Reach plc. The Sunday edition of the newspaper is published under the title ''Wales on Sunday''. It descri ...

and DJ on South Wales radio station

Red Dragon FM Capital South Wales is a regional radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global Media & Entertainment, Global as part of the Capital (radio network), Capital network. It broadcasts to Cardiff and Newport, Wales, Newport and the s ...

. Charters was a stringer for United Press International (

UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

) in Croatia, a TV presenter in Fiji and a freelance journalist in Hong Kong before embarking on a sports marketing career with

Seamus O'Brien Seamus may refer to: * Séamus, a male first name of Gaelic origin Film and television * Seamus (''Family Guy''), a character on the television series ''Family Guy'' * Seamus, a pigeon in '' Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore'' * Seamus Mc ...

at the

World Sport Group Headquartered in Singapore, World Sport Group was a sports marketing, event management and media company in Asia, with a roster of golf, association football and cricket events. World Sport Group manages almost 600 days of sports events annually ...

. Along with

Dale Tempest Dale Michael Tempest (, born 30 December 1963, in Leeds) is a former professional footballer, best known for his time spent playing in Hong Kong. Born in England but spent much of his youth in Peebles, Scotland, Tempest had played for several Eng ...

and Spencer Robinson, Charters was a noted part-time sports presenter for Hong Kong's

ATV World ATV World, was one of two free-to-air English language television channels in Hong Kong, the other being its arch-rival TVB Pearl. Its sister station, ATV Home, broadcast in Cantonese language. It is owned and operated by Asia Television, a ...

.

Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance

The idea of combining the best rugby talent in the Pacific dates back to at least 1924, and the first tour by a Fiji side to Samoa. This visit proved so popular that a hybrid 'inter-island' team to play in New Zealand was proposed but never eventuated. On 26 August 1995 the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

(IRB) declared rugby union an 'open' or professional game. Quickly teams within the resulting South Africa, New Zealand and Australian Rugby unions (

SANZAR SANZAAR (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby; previously known as SANZAR) is the body which oversees Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship competitions in rugby union. SANZAAR meets annually and is composed of the CEOs from ...

) structure as well as Australian club and New Zealand

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship, ...

teams began offering lucrative professional contracts to island players forcing the largely amateur rugby structures in the Pacific into near-collapse as they tried to hold on to their best players and brightest prospects. It was in these conditions, with the three Unions playing fewer Tests and losing by larger margins as more of their top players were contracted in New Zealand, Australia, Japan or Europe, that the time was right for the three Unions to consider pooling their talent. In 2001 Charters, then marketing manager of the

Fiji Rugby Union Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Fiji. It is divided into over 30 provincial unions. The Fiji Rugby Union is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA), along with Samoa Rugby Football Union, ...

, attended a meeting in Auckland, which outlined possible governance structures for

Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance The Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) was set up in 2002 as a basis of co-operation between the Fiji, Samoa and Tonga Rugby Unions. Niue and the Cook Islands also became members of the Alliance and supplied players to the Pacific Islanders ...

(PIRA) using the model of the four-country

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

. With his background in sports marketing. Charters was selected as PIRA's first chief executive officer. The initial idea was to launch the Islanders in 2002 with lucrative first matches against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 198 ...

and

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

. But, before the dates of the proposed Islanders' Tests, the England rugby team were scheduled to tour Fiji, Samoa and Tonga individually and with the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It promo ...

refusing to accept the proposed tour dates because of the late-running of the then

Zurich Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

, the IRB were forced to adjudicate, refusing to sanction the proposed 2002 Islanders matches. In April 2003, the IRB agreed to the concept of the Pacific Islanders with the first Test match against the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

the following year. For former

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

Michael Niko Jones Sir Michael Niko Jones (born 8 April 1965) is a New Zealand former rugby union player and coach. Jones was a member of the Auckland team which dominated New Zealand rugby in the late 1980s and 1990s, and the Auckland Blues team which won the f ...

, then coach of

Manu Samoa The Samoa national rugby union team (also known as Manu Samoa) represents Samoa in men's international rugby union and it is governed by the Samoa Rugby Union. They are also known as Manu Samoa, which is thought to derive from the name of a Samo ...

and assistant coach to

John Boe John Boe (born 23 November 1955) is a New Zealand former rugby union footballer and a current coach. He played as a centre, before moving to fly-half. He played for Waikato Colts, but never had a competitive game for the All Blacks, despite bein ...

with the 2004 Islanders, it was dream come true: 'We’ve always believed that once you did bring the best of the Samoans, the Fijians and the Tongans together, potentially it has the ability to be something very, very special.' Although the 2004 Islanders lost each of the three Test matches they played (29-14 v Wallabies, 41-26 v

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 198 ...

and 24-38 v

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

in Gosford, Australia), they scored 10 tries in three matches. By comparison that same southern hemisphere season, England and Scotland scored only three tries between them in their five Tests against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 198 ...

and Wallabies. In fact, the 2004 Islanders scored more tries in one Test against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 198 ...

(four) than the three tries the 2005

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

would manage in three Tests the following year. 'What a case they have made for their place at the game's top table,’ said one report, after the final match of the 2004 edition. 'If this was the death throes of Pacific islands rugby it was a pretty spectacular way to go.' Charters was one of several closely connected with Pacific island rugby, like

Bryan Williams (rugby) Sir Bryan George Williams (born 3 October 1950) is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer and former coach of the Samoan national rugby team. Playing career Williams was born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1950. His father was Samoan, an ...

,

Rod MacQueen Roderick Ian Macqueen, AM is an Australian former rugby union coach. He coached Australia at the Rugby World Cup, and the Waratahs, Brumbies and Rebels in the Super Rugby competition. Career One of Macqueen's first major coaching positions wa ...

and

Pio Bosco Tikoisuva Pio Bosco Tikoisuva (born 1947 in Taveuni), is a Fijian former rugby union footballer and diplomat. Rugby career Tikoisuva played 19 tests for Fiji between 1968 and 1979. Tikoisiva won his first Test cap in 1968 against Tonga. As he was aged 2 ...

, to urge the IRB and

SANZAR SANZAAR (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby; previously known as SANZAR) is the body which oversees Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship competitions in rugby union. SANZAAR meets annually and is composed of the CEOs from ...

to do more to create a level playing field, particularly by selecting a Pacific team for either Super Rugby or the Tri-Nations which was mooted to expand in the 2006 season. He even challenged rugby bosses in New Zealand or Australia to hold a referendum among fans to see if they wanted a Pacific team in an expanded

SANZAR SANZAAR (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby; previously known as SANZAR) is the body which oversees Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship competitions in rugby union. SANZAAR meets annually and is composed of the CEOs from ...

structure or an additional side carved up from within the existing structure. The issue of a better deal for Pacific island rugby cut into international politics when, immediately after the obvious success of the 2004 tour, Australian prime minister

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...

and his New Zealand counterpart

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

said they would lobby their respective national unions about inclusion to

SANZAR SANZAAR (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby; previously known as SANZAR) is the body which oversees Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship competitions in rugby union. SANZAAR meets annually and is composed of the CEOs from ...

. In December 2004,

SANZAR SANZAAR (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby; previously known as SANZAR) is the body which oversees Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship competitions in rugby union. SANZAAR meets annually and is composed of the CEOs from ...

announced two additional teams would be created for the 2006 season under a new US$323 million, five-year television deal with

News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...

but neither would be from the Pacific. The Super 14 would feature a new Australian team based in Perth, the

Western Force The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competition in 2017. F ...

, and a new South African team, the

Cheetahs The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

. Additionally a third round of fixtures was added to the Tri-Nations.

Writing

Charters' first script garnered media attention (but no deal) because it drew on his considerable experience of the seamy side of professional sport from his time working for the Swiss sports marketing company ISL, which collapsed in 2001 with debts of more than $300 million despite holding exclusive rights to major global sports governing bodies and their events. Charters said he finished the script for ''Bolt Action'' listening to the commentary of the Pacific Islanders playing Italy on 22 November 2008. 'When the whistle blew for full time, the first Islanders Test win 7 points to 25 I was within 10 minutes of finishing my script. And I knew then that ''Bolt Action'' would be blessed with good luck.' Charters' agent is Charlie Viney of The Viney Agency. On 8 February 2011, Charters became the first British debut author to be nominated for the Best Thriller category of Deadly Pleasures' Magazine's

Barry Award (for crime novels) The Barry Award is a crime literary prize awarded annually since 1997 by the editors of ''Deadly Pleasures'', an American quarterly publication for crime fiction readers. From 2007 to 2009 the award was jointly presented with the publication ''M ...

."2011 Barry Award Nominations"
Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine, 8 February 2011

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charters, Charlie 1968 births Hong Kong people of English descent People from Nadi English thriller writers People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge People from Malton, North Yorkshire Living people Fijian people of English descent British emigrants to Fiji Fijian writers 21st-century English writers 21st-century Fijian writers

Early life

Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance

Writing

Notes and references