'We're a very different team': Moana Pasifika issue warning ahead of Chiefs rematch
It’s been a long time coming, but Moana Pasifika will finally return to the footy field when they host the Chiefs at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland on Saturday.
The rescheduled match, which was supposed to be played in round two, acts as Moana Pasifika’s second game of the season, two weeks after they played their inaugural Super Rugby Pacific game against the Crusaders in Dunedin.
The expansion franchise exceeded the expectations of most in that clash as they impressed with their competitiveness while falling to a 33-12 defeat at the hands of the competition juggernauts at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
In that fixture, Moana Pasifika held an unlikely 5-0 lead up until the 23rd minute, and trailed by only nine points heading into the final 10 minutes.
Covid, however, has heavily interfered with their campaign, with their first two matches of the year – against the Blues and Chiefs – postponed due to an outbreak within the Moana Pasifika camp.
A separate outbreak within the Hurricanes squad then prevented Moana Pasifika from building on their promising start to the season last weekend, before a cluster of cases at the Highlanders resulted in another postponed fixture.
Moana Pasifika will get back on track against the Chiefs this weekend, though, and it’s a prospect the entire squad is relishing after having been based in Queenstown for the better part of a month in a bid to negate the threat posed by the pandemic.
“When we got offered the opportunity to come back on Wednesday night or Thursday, the hands went up pretty quick for the Wednesday night flight home, so probably a bit of an indication of the journey we’ve been on over the last six weeks,” head coach Aaron Mauger told media on Friday.
“It’s a nice feeling being home and back connected as a full squad.”
Now back at their home base in Auckland, Moana Pasifika have the opportunity to continue their development as a Super Rugby Pacific outfit in what will be their first official home game at Mt Smart Stadium.
It was at the Penrose-based venue where Moana Pasifika were thumped 61-7 by the Chiefs in their sole pre-season match last month, but Mauger is adamant his side have improved by a “huge amount” compared to where they were six weeks ago.
“We’re a very different team from the pre-season game” he said.
“Had a lot of time to settle on combinations and find some cohesion in our training weeks. The intensity’s certainly gone up. I think, as a team, we’re a lot more mature for the experience we’ve just been through.
“A lot of our individuals have really started to grow and understand what it takes to prepare and perform at this level, so just excited to have another crack tomorrow to give it another test.”
In saying that, the former All Blacks five-eighth is acutely aware of how good the Chiefs can be, as reflected by their last-gasp 24-22 upset win over the Crusaders in Christchurch last Saturday.
Even with 17 players unavailable for selection, Chiefs boss Clayton McMillan has still named a strong lineup featuring six All Blacks, and Mauger said his side will have to match their physicality come Saturday.
“I think two words – they’re tight,” Mauger said when asked for his observations of the Chiefs this season.
“They’re tight as a team. You can see that in the resolve they had in the backend of last week and their ability to get the job done over the Crusaders in Christchurch. It says a lot about the character of their team.
“The other one is they’re tough. They’re a tough team, really physical at the breakdown, so we’re under no illusions that it’s going to be physical. We’re looking forward to that challenge.”
One way in which Mauger plans to combat the threat of the Chiefs is by fielding a new halves combination in the form of ex-Wallabies pivot Christian Leali’ifano and Manu Samoa halfback Jonathan Taumateine.
Both players came off the bench against the Crusaders a fortnight ago, and Mauger said he was impressed by their contributions, which has led to their promotion into the starting side at the expense of Ereatara Enari and Lincoln McClutchie.
“I thought Ere and Lincoln were really sharp against the Crusaders in that first game, and JT and Christian both made impacts, especially with ball in hand later on in the game,” he said.
“You’ll remember JT making a big break through the middle of the field, and just with Christian’s voice and what he sees out on the field gives us the ability to really play to where the space is, so they’ve both been outstanding and deserve their start.
“It was always the plan to get them started in the first couple of rounds, and now we’ve got footy settled, we don’t actually know [what their first-choice halves combination is] at the moment because only one combination’s had a crack at a start.
“It’s a healthy competition, and I think that’ll sort itself out later on through the year around who starts more often than not.”
Mauger has also handed debuts to ‘Ikale Tahi loose forward Sione Tu’ipulotu, who will start at blindside flanker, and reserve back rower Josh Kaifa, who has joined the squad as injury cover after having trained with the Crusaders during pre-season.
“Josh has obviously come in as an injury replacement and gives us really good cover in all three [loose forward positions] – No 6, No 7, No 8,” Mauger said.
“He really improved that last year through the NPC with Hawke’s Bay, so that’s an element we like off the bench, gives us another good lineout option as well right across the lineout, so that was a big factor for us, and he performed really well at training, so he deserves his spot off the bench.
“With regards to Sione, obviously a little bit of mahi through a challenge down in Queenstown and the impact that some of the challenges had on us, but he’s performed really well at training.
“He’s a big guy, powerful athlete, so he’s got the potential to cause a lot of damage out on the edge there, so really excited about seeing him go, making his debut.”
Comments on RugbyPass
anybody who bends at the waist when they tackle
3 Go to commentsThe evidence is not strong that this is necessary. Mounga choked on clutch kicks in the WRC final and lost the match by not performing his core goal kicking role to the level required. He also choked in the Semi final against England and was targeted as the weak point in the defence allowing them to score. Not a test great frankly. Why bend the rules for a player that is competent but not brilliant at test level?
11 Go to commentsDear Robbie, Please return to the Crusaders next season. Sincerely, Scott
1 Go to commentsDid the big E call the Irish the ‘White Can’ts’? That would’ve been good
30 Go to commentsDalton Papalii will be lucky to be selected on the Matchday 23. Ardie Savea, Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson, and Peter Lauki are all as good or better openside flankers
9 Go to commentsScott Barrett is a lock and they have a much longer shelf life than a loose forward. Far more likely that Barrett will still demand a starting position based on performance at age 33 at RWC 2027 than Savea, whose explosive athleticism will have declined and he will in all likelihood have been surpassed by Hoskins Sotutu, Wallace Siti, Peter Lauki and Brayden Iose.
9 Go to commentsExtremely frustrating to get yet more speculation over whether or not Eben actually counted 12 players or not, but honestly big respect to McCloskey for keeping it classy and not pointing out Etzebeth’s hypocrisy. The Irish are a popular team outside of Ireland because they do their talking on the pitch, and its honestly a PR masterclass that they’re keeping it that way following Etzebeth’s provocation.
30 Go to commentsGood option for the lineout lost there.
1 Go to commentsIt’s not like Saffas have a long history of spouting absolute shite at any & every occasion. Oh wait… The dangers of an inferior third world education strike again.
30 Go to commentsI’m so glad we’re revisiting this. Really needs to be dissected further. I’m also so glad that a guy in the stands who wasn’t anywhere near the field when any of it would have been said (and even confirms this) has taken the lead and commented as Ireland. Definitely cleared it all up. This article would be hilarious if it wasn’t so misleading.
30 Go to commentsits such a shame he hasn’t achieved more success at club level. He’s really not been a potent finisher for a while now, but he’s still excellent in the kick chase. That’s the kind of skillset that generally only gets appreciated when you’re playing in premiership and european finals. I’m not sure whether the challenge cup counts given the quality of the competition seems lower than in previous years, but his duel with Mapimpi should be enthralling.
1 Go to commentsThe point is the irish players were arrogant,call it like you want sugar coat it aswell but they were you could see it in their way they handeled themselfs on the field when they got something right so dont tell me it was not arrogance it was,you can fool other people but not me,and to say to one of our players see you in the final put a nail in the coffin for this bullsh@t,just be grown men and accept it that you were arrogant,you could if seen it from a mile away, and then you lost to the allblacks what a cocky move that didnt work out for you ,Eben was right when he said u were arrogant,the point is you will deny it because you lost it all just grow some balls and move on we had won you lost accept it.
30 Go to comments“summer tour of North and South America” so its a summer tour of america?
1 Go to commentsEverybody is giving the Irish players the benefit of the doubt in ‘what they meant’, but none of these pundits or commentators offer the same courtesy to Eben. I don’t think Eben went, 1, 2, 3… etc. What might have happened is he didn’t count and when the 3rd or 5th guy said he went, hang on why are so many of them saying this… and then started to concentrate on it more and more as players continue to say it. So no, he didn’t count it, he realised many Irish players said it and made an assumption based on that… The Irish team was VERY confident at the time and I do believe they believed they were going to win the World Cup, which borders a bit on the arrogant side…
30 Go to commentsI can see how some of the Irish players would have said”see you in the final” as a gentle comment after a victory. It’s open to interpretation but it’s clumsy language. I don’t know the fella but I assure you Eben doesn’t have an axe to grind with Ireland. He has never been the media seeking pro. Oh and BTW it is I’ll be our winter in July so won’t be wet.
30 Go to comments*McCloskey*: _I saw this clip. Like, I wasn’t playing that game; I was in the stands…so you don't know sh!t in other words, infact you know just as much as Goode on this matter. I will believe the guy who was on the pitch when things were said as appose to two people speculating over what was said._
30 Go to comments@ turlough dream on buddy. Your boys are in for one tough time down in sa this summer…
30 Go to commentsI think Goode is looking to establish a platform for himself. Eben said “Probably” so that suggests he wasn’t counting. It’s an estimate Goode. I think even with your short and uneventful experience with the Sharks you probably realise winding up Saffas will get you some airtime. It’s a none event. Move on
30 Go to commentsRugby has never been as structured and synthetically pleasing as it is at this moment. The game is simply beautiful and messing with it too much will ruin it for everyone. I can't help but feel that over the past decade or so many rules have been changed to accommodate a certain hemisphere and counter another. Perhaps I am wrong but I somehow don’t think so.
2 Go to commentsNoted some excellent defensive steals from the Rebs last week against the Reds, largely J Canham, I think. It’s not a Rolls Royce but they are a real threat with their defensive line out at the beginning matches. What do you make of Canham Nick, WBs squad material?
86 Go to comments