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'Really tough': How Moana Pasifika plan to tackle three games in eight days

By Alex McLeod
(Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

Moana Pasifika remain optimistic about their chances over the coming weeks in spite of a disrupted campaign that has left them with a challenging schedule which features three matches over eight days.

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Following the postponement of their two season-openers against the Blues and Chiefs, New Zealand Rugby confirmed last week that Moana Pasifika will play those games as mid-week fixtures within the next month.

As such, the Super Rugby Pacific expansion franchise will play the Blues on March 29, which falls on a Tuesday, at Mt Smart Stadium, and then the Chiefs on April 12, which also falls on a Tuesday, in Hamilton.

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Both those fixtures mean Moana Pasifika will play twice in round seven and round nine, as they face the Blues at Eden Park on April 2, four days after their first encounter, and then the Chiefs at home on April 16, four days after their mid-week clash.

Moana Pasifika’s double clash against the Blues will be particularly challenging given their Tuesday match will come just four days after they face the Hurricanes next Friday.

It means they will play the Hurricanes once and the Blues twice all within the space of eight days, before taking a bye week in round eight and then facing the Chiefs in back-to-back matches four days apart from each other in round nine.

Such fixture congestion – which could worsen after last weekend’s match against the Hurricanes in Wellington was postponed due to Covid, and this Friday’s match against the Highlanders is in doubt for the same reason – will force Moana Pasifika to dig deep into their playing stocks.

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That’s a tough prospect for any team, but even more so for Moana Pasifika, whose roster is half-filled by players who, until this season, had never played as full-time professionals.

The squad’s vast inexperience was reflected when they named 11 Super Rugby debutants in their season-opener against the Crusaders a fortnight ago, which has been their only regular season match to date.

That doesn’t worry veteran playmaker Christian Leali’ifano, though, as and the ex-Wallabies five-eighth told media on Monday that, after missing three of their first four matches of the year, Moana Pasifika are brimming with excitement to return to action.

“It’s going to be definitely challenging and a little bit difficult at times, but exciting opportunity for us, as well, to share the load with our whole squad,” Leali’ifano said of his side’s upcoming mid-week fixtures.

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“We’ve got some really talented players that haven’t had much game time. We’ve only had 23 guys play. To be able to share the load there and get exposure at Super Rugby level is going to be important for our whole squad.

“Really excited for the opportunities there to be able to back up. It’s going to be really tough, as you say, but hopefully the coaches and everyone’s got a plan for trying to share the load there and get us ready to play each game.”

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According to defence coach Dale McLeod, there is a plan in place to negate the rigours that come with the rapid sequence of fixtures that Moana Pasifika are set to come across.

That plan is to take things one game at a time, as McLeod outlined that, of all the things his side have learned during their Covid-disrupted season, everything could change at any given time.

“All teams, if they suffer injuries, that can really affect you, but we had a bit of a discussion the other day, the way the world is, let’s just deal with what’s in front of us,” he said.

“Set our horizon – our horizon is our next game – play that, we’ll get up, we’ll get through that, and then we’ll deal with the next game.

“We’ll just deal with the first game, and then, depending on what happens in that through injuries, if you do too much planning – that used to be the number one, plan, plan, plan – but now if you do too much planning, as soon as you get to that, it all changes.

“So, as a lot of us have learned through Covid, just deal with your next horizon, get that sorted, and then we’ll deal with the Saturday game five days later.”

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That next horizon, Covid permitting, is a bout with the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Friday, a match in which both teams will be searching for their first win of their respective campaigns.

Following four successive defeat to open their season, the Highlanders will be desperate to register their first win of the year, but McLeod was confident in Moana Pasifika’s abilities after having had ample time to prepare in training.

“We’re trying to build a system where it doesn’t matter if we’re playing the Highlanders, the Crusaders, the Chiefs,” he said.

“We understand we’re in a real tough conference in New Zealand, and so our system is about being connected, working for each other, and we’ve had a lot of time with each other.

“I think the boys were just that keen to go and smack someone else instead of smacking each other. We’ve spent a lot of time having pretty physical defensive systems and challenges.

“We had a really good [training] today, so I think the boys were just really keen to go out and express themselves.

“As you mentioned, we’ve got athletes that can do that all day long, and now we’ve got a system around them, they’ve got good confidence, they’ve worked hard, and we’re just going to go out there and continue what we did two weeks before.”

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J
Jon 1 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

34 Go to comments
j
john 4 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

15 Go to comments
A
Adrian 6 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

15 Go to comments
T
Trevor 9 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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