Moana Pasifika loose forward and captain Ardie Savea during the Super Rugby Pacific - Moana Pasifika v Waratahs at North Harbour Stadium. Photo: Photosport
Analysis - Moana Pasifika is turning out to be the team to beat, as the championship end of the Super Rugby Pacific competition closes in.
Mid-way through the 2025 season, the team now sits in the top eight, exactly where it wants to be.
On Saturday, they created history by recording their first back-to-back win in the series, since their first participation in 2022.
Back then, they were walloped almost every weekend by teams.
In 2024, things started to change, with wins on their record, including tipping over their Pacific brothers, the Fijian Drua, for the first time.
Twelve months later, they have now recorded three wins - one an away victory over former champs the Crusaders in Christchurch.
What can we learn from their performance against the Waratahs on Saturday, and that of the Drua against the Crusaders in Suva?
1. Coach's approach and influence
A former Fiji national soccer coach, the late Billy Singh, always said that the Fijians and Pacific Island athletes need one of their own to be coaching them.
He reckoned back then that islanders are wired differently, and they need one of their own to be leading them, simply because of the language, the culture, the mindset, and respect needed to keep them in focus.
The late Singh said while it was great to have expat coaches go into the islands and help with technicalities of the games, whatever sport it maybe, the need to have someone they can relate to all the time is critical.
That could be the difference, he said, between teams winning matches and doing well, and those that just turn up for the competition at hand.
Moana Pasifika have an impressive line-up of their own Pasifika people as part of their coaching panel - led by former All Blacks captain Fa'alogo Tana Umaga.
He is ably supported by fellow Samoans and Tongans, who have been there and done that, in the likes of Vaovasamanaia Seilala Mapusua, a name synonymous with Manu Samoa, and former New Zealand sevens rep Alando Soakai.
Off course, they have the expert technical assistance of former Welsh star Stephen Jones and forwards coach Tom Coventry.
The coaches standings in their own Pasifika communities demands players' respect - in everything.
Fa'alogo Tana Umaga Photo: Photosport
Fijian Drua have former Chiefs player Glen Jackson at the helm.
His coaching panel is made up of expats that have coached or played in competitions around the world.
Hardly any influential Fijian coaching figure there is there to see.
The approaches the coaches take week in, week out, has shown on the field.
Moana Pasifika have won three out of their seven matches so far. Drua, on the other hand, have seen victory once, out of their seven.
Umaga is seen pinpointing what his team needs to do weekly and works on that with precision, the results showing straight away the weekend after.
Ponipate Loganimasi of Fijian Drua runs with the ball. Photo: Getty Images
Case in point last Saturday against the Waratahs.
A weekend earlier Umaga stated their win against the Crusaders was great, but he pointed to the fact that the team must put up consistent performances and demanded that against the Waratahs at home.
The players responded and the win was secured.
Jackson seems to have a loose approach, where he states he thinks his team needs to work on this and that, but it hardly shows in their performance on the field.
The Drua mentor said he thought the trip to Perth, where the team was humbled by the Force three weekends ago, was more of a holiday than anything else by the players.
Last week, he said they had worked on what he and his coaching panel thought were areas they needed fixing.
On Saturday, the same words were spoken as the reason for their loss, which has now happened six times in the competition this year.
2. Team spirit
There is no denying the fact now that Moana Pasifika have tasted victory and want to be part of the bigger piece of the pie.
Team spirit is holding the team together.
It shows when the chips are down. To regroup, have one focus and come back hard to win is testimony to that.
Captain Ardie Savea called for the players to focus on the need to do things, tackle the moments, unite in their mind and spirit, and get the job done.
That they did so well. And if that continues then the rest of the teams in their way will have to start thinking hard about what they will need to do to stop the rise of the Moana tide.
Drua started with that in the earlier games.
But a lot has happened since and Saturday's display against the Crusaders, on the back of that disastrous result in Perth, shows there is something wrong.
This weekend they fly to Dunedin to face the Highlanders, who have also been struggling in their own way.
It will be a test of strength for the Fijians, especially on whether they are able to bind together and work as a unit to get the result they urgently need to keep their hopes of a top six finish alive.
3. Super bench
While the Drua managed to get two tries off the bench replacements against the Crusaders in the second half in Suva, the consistency and flow were missing.
Player depth was something Jackson had pointed out a few times over the past weekends, as one of their strengths now.
Yet, that was not evident against the Crusaders, who threw everything back into the game to finish winners.
Moana Pasifika, on the other hand, worked wonders with their bench.
Their own performance lifted when the fresh off the bench players took the field in the second 40.
That had a direct effect on the game result, with Umaga and Savea both paying tribute to their replacements.
4. Savea tops
When Savea signed with Moana Pasifika some of the media in New Zealand claimed his performance would drop.
They under-rated the club and said the All Blacks player would struggle to find his form.
However, the results have shown otherwise.
The former Rongotai College headboy and captain has been impressive in all his games so far, lifting his Moana Pasifika players performances with him.
His game has gone from good to better.
5. Nailing the moments
Two contrasting performances by the two sides.
Drua struggled to nail their moments and use their opportunities.
Moana Pasifika turned the moments into opportunities and got the points they needed to win in the end.
Drua meets the Highlanders this weekend, while Moana face the Blues.
Both tough challenges.
The results will have major bearings on how they finish after round 16.
Nailing those moments and making use of the opportunities will have a telling effect on the scoreboards for both teams.
