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The 'two big learnings' Moana Pasifika will take from their debut outing
While the scoreline may not reflect a close match, Aaron Mauger has suggested that Moana Pasifika will be considerably better for their first pre-season hit-out against the Chiefs.
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The Moana Pasifika head coach watched on as his side fought valiantly throughout the 90-minute affair to keep within touching distance of their opposition for half the match before the flood gates opened late in the game.
The 61-7 result doesn’t look great on paper but Mauger emphasised after the match that the many inexperienced players in the squad have now had a small taste of what Super Rugby is all about, and that will put them in good stead ahead of their final pre-season game against the Highlanders next weekend, and their opening game of the Super Rugby Pacific competition against the Blues on February 17.
“41 guys got some footy. Most guys got 30 minutes, which was a plan for us,” he said on Friday night. “[It was a] bit of a test and [an opportunity to] measure ourselves. Hard to really know where you’re at until you play against another opposition and played a quality team tonight.
“Probably the two real big learnings for us were around the breakdown and just winning our own set-piece ball so we couldn’t really build a lot of pressure. If we tidy those two things up, you build some more pressure, you see at the end there with the young guys we’ve got some talent out there. Just a matter of doing all those little things well around that set-piece and breakdown and we can do a bit more.”
“I thought we showed some real substance on D early on which is a real positive for us. I thought we were hitting well. Again, I thought we could have put a bit more pressure on the ball. The Chiefs did that to good effect, I think we probably missed a few opportunities. That’s just an intensity thing for a lot of our young guys. Now that they know what the intensity’s like, I think we’ll be better for it next week.”
Just a handful of players within the squad boast any significant Super Rugby experience, with many of the team entering their first season of full-time professional rugby.
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As such, while there’s no expectation they’ll suddenly transform into a world-beating side overnight, the hit-out against the Chiefs was their first opportunity to see what’s required to win matches at this level of the game.
“Quite a few of our guys hadn’t even played NPC rugby as well,” Mauger said. “And [we’ve] probably got seven or eight games who have a handful of NPC games and the gap between NPC and Super Rugby is a big gulf now. So the intensity was the big lesson for them but a great experience for a lot of those boys.
The added factor of most members of the team not having actually played together in the past was evident at times during the match, with miscommunications often leading to breakdowns in play. The scrum and lineout was also put under immense pressure by a seasoned Chiefs outfit.
“It’s just experience, just tasting that intensity and then getting to that level ourselves through training and then taking it into next weekend’s game,” said Mauger.
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“I think we’re gonna have to build our game early season just around our defence. We saw plenty of heart. I thought we were pretty well connected and the intensity in the collision was really good. I think when you stay a little bit higher on the inside to get more two-man shots and pressure the ball, [that] was probably an area of growth for us but on the whole, pretty good.
“The points really come through set-piece pressure so that’s certainly an area we need to look at next week.”
The problems at the set-piece weren’t helped by the absence of former Crusader Isi Tuungafasi, who was a late scratching on game day.
“We had two guys, one guy came in yesterday and another guy just turned up today. Obviously Isi Tuungafasi pulled out. One of our boys literally got here about an hour before kick-off. He’s one of [scrum coach] Pauliasi [Manu]’s contacts so he called him in. We were lucky to have him in. He actually didn’t get on but it was awesome that he answered the call.
“But we’ll be better for that. Our young boys, first time at this level.”
Importantly, Moana Pasifika now have a squad of players with at least some exposure to Super Rugby on their books, even if it’s only a pre-season skirmish under their belts.
With next week’s match likely to resemble a more traditionally structured 80-minute affair, it will be the last opportunity for Mauger and his squad to get their ducks in a row before kicking off the season against the Blues. That means the top side will run out against the Highlanders, with many of the men who featured on Friday night getting the opportunity to quickly showcase what they’ve learned from their first hit-out.
“Cohesion’s going to be really important for us so building some combinations next week,” Mauger said. “We’ll be pretty much close to a full-strength starting XV – or best available XV – to start against the Highlanders and make sure those guys get bigger minutes as well. So the guys that got 30 tonight or 45 are going to have to go a little bit longer, closer to 60 and full games. That was always part of the plan as well.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
76 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
9 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
9 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
9 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
9 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
9 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
2 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to comments