Latest news with #Ardie
Otago Daily Times
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Mapusua loving ‘being on the grass'
Seilala Mapusua is enjoying life as an assistant coach with Moana Pasifika. PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES Hey Seilala. How are you finding life with Moana Pasifika? It's been really good. It's been refreshing to really get back on the grass. And that's what I love about coaching — being on the grass. It's been really rewarding to get back to that part of coaching, and I'm really enjoying this coaching group. It's something that's close to my heart and, yeah, I'm really enjoying it at the moment. It was always going to be hard for both Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua to just start from scratch. Four years in, what do you think of where the whole Moana Pasifika concept is tracking? For me, being kind of on the outside for the first three years, I knew it was a lot of growing pains establishing Moana Pasifika as a club, especially playing in an already established competition like Super Rugby. So I think there's been immense progress in terms of what the club's doing on the field, but also off the field and the organisation as a whole. I think it's come a long way and it's still tracking kind of on an upward trajectory. So there's still a lot of room for growth, but in terms of how far along we've come to where we are today, I think it's been massive. And now that I'm on the inside, every day I can really see where the struggles have been in the past, and that's where a lot of the attention has been put. It appears as if Ardie Savea has had a huge impact. From the inside, can you talk about what Ardie has meant to the team this year? He's a world-class player. So your team is always going to be a better team when you've got someone of Ardie's calibre playing. It's also him as a world-class human and a world-class Pasific Islander. He's been really great for us coaches in terms of not just keeping his performance and his standards at a high level, but also uplifting those around him and empowering the other guys around him to not just be better, but want to be better and continue to grow. I think that's the influence. We can only see the tail end of that influence, if that makes sense, in terms of what to put out on the field. You can see a lot of the players really standing up now and really fulfilling their potential. It's what he also brings during the rest of the week. We're pretty lucky — we've got a good group of leaders that not just complement Ardie and his leadership, but they share that responsibility. They're pretty clear on the direction they want to take the team and take the club. I think there's a huge alignment between the senior players and the Mapusua scores a try for the Highlanders during a Super 12 game against the Sharks in Durban in 2005. One of the other nice stories has been Semisi Tupou-Ta'eiloa. There's a bit of a feeling down here that maybe he's one that got away from the Highlanders. Have you been impressed with him? coaching staff and the organisation as a whole. It's a big picture. I think part of that is the influence that Ardie can bring. Absolutely. I remember seeing Semisi in year 10, year 11 at Otago Boys' playing in the First XV. I hadn't seen him for a few years because I'd been out of the country but I watched him play in a season for Southland last year. I think he's always been just a naturally tough player and never takes a backward step. He's a guy that was brought in and now he's one of the first names on the pitch here every week. Seeing his growth and what he can do at this level, I think that's been the most impressive thing. It's not just what he does, but the consistency that he does it with. It's been awesome to see his performances go from strength to strength. I know the Highlanders had a few good No8s. It's all circumstantial. It's just a case of having his luck coming at the right time. I'm really happy for him. You're a proud Otago man, a proud Highlander. Is it a little bit special to be coming back this weekend? Always. 100%. I never thought I'd be cheering against the Highlanders. It's special. As a proud Highlander, it makes it all the more special. They got one over us earlier in the season. I'm really looking forward to getting under the roof and on the dry track. It's always special when the Highlanders or Otago are involved. You've still got family down here? My sister and her family are still down in Dunedin. I also have a lot of extended family. My wife was Dunedin-born and bred, and all my kids were born down there. We'll always have strong ties to Dunedin. We still have a house down there. I hope the Dunedin family will be wearing Highlanders jerseys, not Moana Pasifika jerseys, on Sunday. I've told them I've got no tickets for them unless they turn up in Moana gear, ha ha.
RNZ News
24-04-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Savea brothers reunite under Moana Pasifika banner
Julian and Ardie Savea after their win over Argentina in 2016. Photo: Pablo Gasparini Live blog updates on RNZ It's a daunting problem for any opposition to solve - Savea squared. Brothers Ardie and Julian will run out together for the first time in a Moana jersey this Saturday. The 45th set of siblings to play for the All Blacks, the Savea's have each at one time been regarded as the most feared player on the planet. After forging a legacy together at the Hurricanes, the brothers are set to write a new chapter in their storied family history. The pair first played alongside one another back in 2004, with Ardie still very much in his bigger brother's shadow. "I think I was nine, he was 13 playing for Ories (Oriental-Rongotai), so it's the first time we played together, but it's amazing how everything works out. "I'm 31, he's 34, and we're still playing together, it's a huge blessing. But for me and Jules, we just want to go out there, play well and try and get the win." It was through trying to keep pace with Julian that Ardie developed his incomparable on-field ferocity. "At 13, he was the size he is now. I was a half back back then. So I was small. It taught me to play against guys bigger than me, which is what I'm doing now. Obviously being a small loose forward but teaches you to have a big heart." Though he will wear the captain's armband, Ardie said Julian's aura sees players naturally follow him. Julian Savea (R with brother Ardie during a Hurricanes media and training session at Rugby Park Monday, 03 August 2020. Photo: Photosport "I think people underestimate the leadership and the experience that he brings when he comes onto the field, which as a leader, is something you need around the park. So him coming off the bench will be important for us and all the other bench guys too." Fittingly, the Savea brothers' first game together at Moana comes against fellow Pasifika side the Fijian Drua. While both sides have been brilliant in patches throughout 2025, a lack of consistency has kept them anchored to the bottom of the Super Rugby Pacific points table. "Obviously we have both teams that represent the Pacific and both teams play for our people. I understand how important it is for our communities to come together and celebrate the game of footy and how we play it together. "But then on the flip side, my mindset is it's another game to nail our stuff, my stuff and try and be ruthless in certain areas on the game day." Ardie said it will be a very proud moment for their family, and their legacy. "Me and Jules have done it enough times. We've played Canes, All Blacks, now is just another huge milestone for us so that we can look back when we're old, drinking Kava, watching the kids run around and just reminisce on these memories. The Savea brothers Photo: Photosport "So hopefully it's a good memory this week." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Even optimist concedes Landers up against it
Five games to go — and the Highlanders might need to win four of them if they are to make the playoffs. Hayden Meikle looks at their run home and tries to find reasons to be optimistic. Six, six and eight. Those represent the number of wins the sixth-placed Super Rugby Pacific team has ended with in the past three seasons. The Waratahs were sixth with eight wins (38 points) in 2022, and held the same spot with just six wins (31 points) a year later. Last year, the final season with an eight-team playoff system before being trimmed to six, the Highlanders owned sixth spot with six wins and 28 points. Not a scientific formula, then, but a fair guess is a team needs to have about seven wins and about 33 points to be reasonably sure of a place in the top six. The Highlanders, at present ninth after getting a right old hiding by the Chiefs on Saturday night, have three wins and 17 points. Well spotted — they have quite a lot of work to do if they are to be playing in June, and they have a rather tough draw. Let's have a look at their remaining games and try some vague guesswork. v CRUSADERS Dunedin, Saturday night Optimist: It is the South Island derby, and the Highlanders usually get right up for that. Sean Withy will be back, and hopefully Caleb Tangitau as well. The Crusaders might be second in the table but they are still a work in progress. And surely there enough awful things in the world without having to watch a bunch of Cantabrians win a rugby game. Be kind, rugby gods. Pessimist: Look at the disparity in talent between the two teams. Sadly, the Crusaders could rest five of their All Blacks and still be warm favourites. And the Highlanders are really misfiring. The tip: Crusaders win but Highlanders nab a bonus point. v MOANA PASIFIKA Dunedin, May 4 Optimist: The Highlanders are at home and are a (marginally) better team. While Ardie Savea inspired Moana to a furious comeback in this fixture at North Harbour Stadium, the Highlanders were otherwise untroubled in building a big lead. And Ardie cannot do it all. Pessimist: Ardie can do it all. Moana need another win or two this season to really feel they are building momentum, and they will be targeting this game. The tip: May the 4th be with the Highlanders. They turn on a show and win with a bonus point. v HURRICANES Wellington, May 16 Optimist: The Canes just aren't that good. They were lucky to get out of Dunedin with a narrow win in round four. The Highlanders match up well with the men from the capital in several positions. It will be nearing 10 years since the Landers won their title in Wellington, too, so expect a rousing pre-game talk from Ben Smith and Nasi Manu. Pessimist: The Hurricanes might be dropping too many points but they have class over the park, and will be desperate to win this to stay in the hunt. Ruben Love might act like a clown but he has talent to burn, and no doubt Can Roigard and Peter Lakai will have season-best performances. The tip: Hurricanes to win by six points. v CRUSADERS Christchurch, May 23 Optimist: Remember that beautiful 2024 season when the Crusaders finished ninth? Good times. Pessimist: This could be the game that seals first or second place for the Evil Empire. Not good times. The tip: Evil triumphs over good by 15 points. v CHIEFS Dunedin, May 30 Optimist: The Chiefs could be clear in top spot, so we might see them rest some players or at least get a little complacent. The Highlanders will be wildly motivated to finish a mediocre season on a high note. Yes, the Chiefs are a vastly superior team, but they do not always shine at Forsyth Barr Stadium. Take out their 52-28 win here in 2023 and there have been four Highlanders wins, a draw, and two narrow Chiefs wins (three points and nine points) in this fixture since 2014. Pessimist: The Chiefs are a vastly superior team. The tip: Call me a fool, but I sense this could be a good night for the Highlanders. Echoing the 2008 season, when they ended the round-robin with a huge upset over the eventual champion Crusaders, the Landers will shock the Chiefs, who will go on to win the title. My rough calculations have the Highlanders finishing eighth or ninth, perhaps tied with the Hurricanes on 28 points. The Chiefs to finish top on 48 points, followed by the Crusaders (47), Brumbies (45), Reds (39), Waratahs (32), Force (31) and Blues (31), with the Fijian Drua (25) and Moana Pasifika (20) at the bottom.
