Blues blitz Waratahs to keep Super Rugby Pacific playoff hopes alive
Blues 46
Waratahs 6
Don't write off the Blues yet.
Sure, it's been a frustrating, at times bewildering, descent from last year's breakthrough title.
Sure, the Blues need the Hurricanes to defeat Moana Pasifika in Wellington (or deny the visitors a bonus-point win) tonight to scrape into the Super
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1News
8 hours ago
- 1News
In-form Billy Proctor wary of 'desperate' Moana Pasifika
In-form Hurricanes midfielder Billy Proctor, a man who will have attracted the attention of All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson this season, has displayed an appropriate lightness of touch when considering the visit of Moana Pasifika and former home-town hero Ardie Savea this weekend. Savea and his men arrive in Wellington for a final-round match on Saturday which will probably decide their season. Should the Blues beat the Waratahs at Eden Park in the afternoon, Moana Pasifika must beat the fourth-placed Hurricanes that evening to qualify for the playoffs for the first time. Proctor, the 26-year-old who made his Test debut last year and is the form Kiwi centre in Super Rugby, was today asked about former Hurricanes' captain Savea's return to the Cake Tin for the first time since joining Moana Pasifika. 'It will be awesome for him to come back to Wellington,' was Proctor's reply. 'It's his home town and I'm sure the fans will be excited to see him too. 'If you give them the momentum and let their big boys get a roll on, they're going to be hard to stop. We understand they're going to be pretty desperate and have an edge about them after last week. We know they're going to be physical and come down here and be willing to play and throw everything at us.' ADVERTISEMENT Moana Pasifika's collapse against the Chiefs in Hamilton at the weekend likely makes their final regular season match a must-win but, for all of Moana's breakout performances in 2025, the form book will heavily favour the home side. Their come-from-behind victory over the Chiefs in Wellington recently gave an indication of their grit and game-breaking ability and there were similar scenes in Brisbane at the weekend when they fought back to beat the Reds in an entertaining 31-27 victory. 'We've secured our spot in the playoffs and that's all you can ask for at this stage of the season,' Proctor said. 'It was our goal at the start of the year to be in the playoffs. 'I think, within this group, we always believed we had the ability to be one of the better teams in the competition.' Proctor's quiet confidence appears to be well placed. It's all on the line this weekend for Ardie Savea, the Moana Pasifika skipper and former Hurricane. (Source: Photosport) In halfback Cam Roigard and No.10 Ruben Love the Hurricanes have one of the form inside back combinations of the competition, with Peter Umaga-Jensen part of an extremely competent midfield operating outside a pack which includes Du'plessis Kirifi, a loose forward at the top of his game. ADVERTISEMENT After missing the first half of the season with an Achilles injury, Proctor has returned with a vengeance and will be putting pressure on Rieko Ioane for the black No.13 jersey in July. 'I'm pretty happy with where I'm at,' he said. 'It's been, what, four or five games? So I'm finding my feet and feeling pretty good. 'I'm just here to do my best for this team. That's all I can control and all I can worry about. 'Getting a taste of [the All Blacks] last year, it's definitely where I want to be – being in that environment and playing for the best team in New Zealand. I want to be playing international footy, but my focus is on here at the moment.' The Hurricanes, in fourth place on the table behind the Chiefs, Crusaders and Brumbies, cannot finish any higher but they can finish fifth if they lose and the Reds beat the Drua this weekend. Such is the Hurricanes' danger factor, the Crusaders will be hoping to beat the Brumbies in Canberra this weekend to avoid Proctor and his men in the quarter-final. A win for the Crusaders would put them into a quarter-final against the Reds – a far more benign opponent whom they've already beaten this season. ADVERTISEMENT That would pit the Hurricanes into a playoff against the Brumbies in Canberra – a place where they have already won this year.
RNZ News
9 hours ago
- RNZ News
Five lessons from Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua matches at the weekend
Moana Pasifika v Fijian Drua Photo: supplied It wasn't the ending Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua would have wanted. On Saturday night, the two Pasifika teams lost their final Super Rugby Pacific matches for the season. Moana were thrashed 64-12 by the Hurricanes in front of just over 20,000 fans at the Sky Stadium. It was a match they needed to win to claim a sixth-place finish in the competition. But they were not able to withstand the Hurricanes' pressure, and lost out of getting into the quarterfinals. However, they finished seventh for the first time in the competition since 2022, the year they made their debut. In Brisbane, the Fijian Drua went down 52-7 to the Queensland Reds. So what went wrong? What could the teams learn from their respective encounters? Are there lessons they can take forward to 2026? Here are five lessons from the team's performances. There were some who said Moana Pasifika might have peaked early, with their best effort coming against the Blues a month ago. That argument comes in light of the team's big losses to the Chiefs and the Hurricanes in the last two weekends. Ardie Savea of Moana Pasifika against the Chiefs at FMG Stadium on Saturday 24 May 2025. Photo: Jeremy Ward Did they peak early? Assistant coach Stephen Jones believes they had prepared well for both matches and just could not click on the day. He said both the Chiefs and the Hurricanes were just too superior and suffocated Moana Pasifika. Did the two teams suffer from the lack of mental toughness? It was a question both head coaches, Drua's Glen Jackson and Moana's Fa'alogo Tana Umaga, were asked now and then. How are their players handling the pressure? Would they come back from losses they had suffered and be ready for their next matches? Both teams showed a lot of promise early in the season and while the Drua struggled from the midway mark, Moana Pasifika showed they had a lot in their tank and won six matches. But the North Harbour-based side struggled against the Chiefs and the Hurricanes. To many, it looked as if the side had not been able to handle the high of winning against the Blues. The Drua had a 'on and off' season, winning one and then losing three on the road. One thing both sides had in common was the fact that a lot of their players were still new to Super Rugby. It showed. Moana Pasifika v Fijian Drua Photo: supplied One of the standouts is the fact that most of the players in both teams still need a lot of game time. They need to be playing throughout the season, in competition that will make them seasoned campaigners. Drua's Jackson said they will also look at those local players in Fiji playing in the Skipper Cup competition. He lamented earlier that the majority of his players are not able to play in the New Zealand National Provincial Championship (NPC). Moana Pasifika, on the other hand, have a number of young players in the NPC. They all need to be getting games consistently. One of the biggest problems for both teams has been the injuries suffered by some of their key players. It proved to be critical in their campaign for the top six. What will it mean moving forward? How can the two teams ensure their players are injury-free for the season they are needed for? It is an ongoing issue that they both will have to work on moving into the new season. Moana Pasifika fans, crowd and supporters, Hurricanes v Moana Pasifika, round 16 of the Super Rugby Pacific competition. Photo: Photosport / Elias Rodriguez With some players confirmed to leave both clubs, it would be critical that new recruits are secured. Not just new recruits but those who can be identified as key players who can help both clubs improve. There have been talks of some star players joining Moana Pasifika, following the inspirational Ardie Savea. Whether the club will have the resources to do that is another story. With almost seven months to go before the pre-season begins again, it is therefore important that both teams get their talent identification going early. One thing is certain though: both the Drua and Moana Pasifika are here to stay and have key roles to play in keeping Super Rugby Pacific going.
Otago Daily Times
16 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Hurricanes shatter Moana playoff dreams
The Wellington Hurricanes shattered Moana Pasifika's dreams of a maiden Super Rugby Pacific playoff campaign with a crushing 64-12 victory on Saturday that sent the defending champions the Blues into this week's quarterfinals instead. The Hurricanes cemented fourth place in the final standings and will travel to Canberra this Saturday to play the Brumbies, while the Blues, who earlier beat the Waratahs 46-6, will visit the table-topping Chiefs. In the other playoff, the 12-times champion the Crusaders will host the Reds, who concluded the regular season on Saturday night with a 52-7 win over the Fijian Drua on the back of four first-half tries from winger Lachie Anderson. Moana had hoped to be there too on the back of a breakout season, but even redoubtable skipper Ardie Savea was unable to inspire them to the bonus-point victory they needed to edge out the Blues and claim the sixth and last playoff spot. No 8 Semisi Tupou Ta'eiloa gave Moana the perfect start in Wellington with a try after six minutes, but the Hurricanes were 14-7 up before a quarter of an hour had expired. Hooker Jacob Devery went over on the back of a rolling maul before flanker Devan Flanders showed his footballing skills with a chip and chase for the second try. Savea grabbed a couple of turnovers, but it only delayed the inevitable as Hurricanes scrumhalf Cam Roigard went over from an intercept and centre Peter Umaga-Jensen rampaged through the Moana defence to give the home side a 28-7 halftime lead. Umaga-Jensen barged over for his second try 10 minutes after the break before Raymond Tuputupu, Pouri Rakete-Stones, Billy Proctor, Ereatara Enari and Tjay Clarke completed the 10-try rout. "Really pleasing, not only that we got the result, but that we played the way we did going into the finals," Hurricanes co-captain Du'Plessis Kirifi said. "From next week on, you've got to just start again. Start again and go hard." Savea, who scored a consolation try against his old team in the 65th minute off a catch-and-drive, expressed his pride in what Moana had achieved this year. "We're not satisfied," he said. "Our goal was to win the thing and make top six, but that wasn't meant to be." The Blues earlier ended the slender postseason hopes of the Waratahs by running in seven tries in a bonus-point victory at Eden Park to extend their winning streak over the Sydney-based club to 11 matches. Centre Rieko Ioane scored a hat-trick and winger Mark Tele'a two tries on the back of an attack skilfully marshalled by their fellow All Black Beauden Barrett as the Blues gave the Waratahs a lesson in clinical finishing. "We just wanted to play shackle-free and have some fun and I think we did that tonight," said Ioane, who joined Doug Howlett as the Blues' all time leading try-scorer with 55. "We knew how crucial the bonus point was, and to hold them to no tries was awesome." Last week, the Chiefs locked up top spot in the standings and home advantage throughout the playoffs with a 41-21 victory over the Highlanders and the Crusaders beat the Brumbies 33-31 to win the shootout for second. The three winners from this week's qualifying finals will be joined in the semifinals by the highest-seeded losing team, coined the "lucky loser". The lucky loser will progress but drop one seeding for the semifinals, to ensure a qualifying final match-up is not repeated in week two of the finals series. The final ladder positions have determined the initial finals series seedings — from the top, Chiefs (1), Crusaders (2), Brumbies (3), Hurricanes (4), Reds (5), and Blues (6). The qualifying finals are 1v6, 2v5 and 3v4, with the higher-seeded teams hosting. The semifinals will be 1v4 and 2v3, with the higher-seeded teams to host. The two winners of the semifinals will progress to the grand final, which will be hosted by the higher-seeded team. Super Rugby Qualifying finals Crusaders v Reds 7.05pm Friday, Christchurch Chiefs v Blues 7.05pm Saturday, Hamilton Brumbies v Hurricanes 9.35pm Saturday, Canberra — Reuters/APL
