New TV programme to celebrate Pacific sports

A new television programme celebrating the best of Pacific athletes and the sports they play will launch across the region on the Australia Network today.

Hosted by New Zealand-born actor and singer Jay Laga’aia, Pacific Sports 360 showcases the stars of all sporting codes from around the Pacific, including the Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.

The show will screen Thursdays on the Australia Network, at 8pm and 12.30am in the Cook Islands.

Once a week, Laga’aia will be joined by Pacific sporting legends, netballer and rugby union player, Mo’onia Gerrard and former rugby league player, Nigel Vagana to talk sport, tradition and culture. Over the next eight weeks the Pacific Sports 360 panel will speak with some of the biggest names in professional sport including AFL’s David Rodan, rugby league superstars Joe Gulavao, Lote Tuqiri, James Segeyaro and Jarryd Hayne and netball legend Selina Gilesnan. Will Genia and Israel Folau will also drop by for a chat.

From player profiles and interviews to training tips and family life, Laga’aia and his team of panelists look at the issues and challenges facing Pacific sportspeople in the region and Australia.

As well as being sports mad, Jay Laga’aia is an in-demand actor in the Australian film and television industry. His film credits include Star Wars Episodes II and III, Nim’s Island, Daybreakers, Navigator and Never Say Die as well as successful Australian TV shows MacLeod’s Daughters and Water Rats. Jay has also been the host of the ABC TV’s longest-running children’s programme, Play School. Laga’aia has also written and recorded children’s albums and performed live with the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra in Perth. He is currently rehearsing for the role of Mufasa in The Lion King.

Pacific Sports 360 is a co-production between Australia Network and Beyond International’s Sports and Entertainment Division, Beyond Action.

Viewers will also be able to watch each episode on the Australia Network’s Catch up service at www.australianetwork.com/watchnow/ .

Australia Network is Australia’s international television and online service, broadcasting 24/7 across 46 countries in Asia, the Pacific and the Indian sub-continent.