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RNZ News
an hour ago
- Business
- RNZ News
End of the road for Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua
Jonathan Taumateine of Moana Pasifika, Hurricanes v Moana Pasifika. Photo: Photosport / Elias Rodriguez Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua ended their campaigns in the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific competition with big losses on Saturday night. Fighting to consolidate their sixth spot in the competition standing against the Hurricanes at the Sky Stadium in Wellington, Moana Pasifika were well and truly beaten by the hosts 64-12. It was their second consecutive loss in two weekends, having also fallen to the Chiefs in Hamilton a weekend earlier. A few minutes later, the Fijian Drua also suffered the same fate, this time beaten 52-7 by Queensland Reds in Brisbane. The results meant Moana Pasifika finished their 2025 season at seventh on the points standing, their best finish since they made their debut in 2022. The Drua, who had made two quarterfinal appearances in the last two years, ended their campaign at 10th position, one place above wooden spoon holders, the Highlanders. With over 20,000 fans on the stands, the game kicked off with alot of excitement and expectations in the air. Moana Pasifika struck first, through number eight Semisi Tupou Ta'eiloa, who finished off over the line. But that was all they could register on the board in the first 40 minutes, as the Hurricanes turned the pressure up and led 28-7 at the halftime break. Despite captain Ardie Savea winning a number of turnover balls, the North Harbour based side could not find their way through the tight Hurricanes defensive line. Savea scored one try in the second spell but it was not enough to make any real difference on the scoreboard. He told Stan Sports after the game he was proud of what the team was able to achieve this year, especially with over 20,000 fans turning up to watch the game. He also pointed to divine help as the team's strength. "Obviously the score looks like it's blown out but I just want to take this time out to give glory to the man above," he said. "My brothers here, you know, everyone doubted us, God believed in us. "These boys came together and we all came together. I've come home and it's a special place for me with the Hurricanes fans and the Moana fans, that means to much to me and it's close to my heart. "For these boys to come here and do something for New Zealand Rugby and the Super Rugby competition, it's a blessing in itself." Savea received his 2025 Super Rugby Pacific award after the game as well. Some critical moments of the game, that went against Moana in the game included an intercepted backline passing movement which Hurricanes halfback Cam Roigard intercepted to dash home for a try and a kick for touch by playmaker Patrick Pellegrini that sailed over the dead ball line from a penalty. That swung the momentum back to the hosts, just as the visitors were looking like making some positive shift. Assistant coach Stephen Jones said he and the team management were proud of the team, despite the loss. He pointed to their achievements, which had included beating New Zealand clubs the Highlanders, Hurricanes, Crusaders and Blues this year, plus their first back-to-back wins against the Highlanders and the Waratahs over two consecutive weekends. In his first match this year, Moana Pasifika's Lotu Inisi came off the bench in the 51st minute and quickly made an impact with his powerful carries. The loss concludes a historic season for Moana Pasifika who finished with six wins, the most they've ever won in a single season. "Incredibly proud, simple as that," he told journalists at the post-match conference. "The efforts the players had put in throughout the season, the improvements they've made," he said. "They've challenged themselves to grow their game and the emotion we have is one of pride. "Obviously we wanted the last two games to finish stronger in the campaign, that's a given but we are very very proud of this group." Moana Pasifika fans, crowd and supporters, Hurricanes v Moana Pasifika, round 16 of the Super Rugby Pacific competition. Photo: Photosport / Elias Rodriguez Jones said they had prepared well during the week, understanding what they needed to do to consolidate their top six position and the challenge that the Hurricanes posed. They needed a bonus win to secure their sixth position, after the Blues recorded a bonus point 46-6 win over the Waratahs earlier in the day. "It didn't change anything from our preparation," he said. "We knew what we wanted to do, to come down and implement our game plan." Jones said the side would only grow and get better, stating there were alot of young players who tasted Super Rugby for the first time this season, who had given their all. That, he said, would augur well for the club. "We couldn't have asked more of the boys, they have given us everything," the former Welsh international said. "I think when you look at our group and the amount of guys who were having their first taste of Super Rugby, it certainly is a challenging season. "Obviously we had a high with that Blues victory. We've asked the buys to work week in, week out and challenged them to improve their game." The Hurricanes, led by DuPlesis Kirifi, variated their game throughout, and the combination of halfback Roigard with Reuben Love proved to be a key in the team's performance. The home side were clinical across the park, running in 10 tries at the 'Caketin'. Head coach Clark Laidlaw told journalists after the game he was satisfied with the win and his team's performance, which now sends them to play the Brumbies in Canberra next weekend in one of the three elimination matches. He said they understood the threat Moana Pasifika posed for them, having lost to their visitors in Albany in an earlier round. "Yeah, delighted with the performance," he stated. "We had a really solid week. We knew the threat of Moana. "I think they have added to the competition, and the way they played have really inspired different group to be involved in the game. We had a huge amount of respect so we prepared accordingly." Laidlaw said Ardie and older brother Julian, who played together against the Hurricanes last night, were legends, having played around 300 matches combined for the capital city franchise. He said Ardie leaving the Hurricanes gave other players the opportunity to shine, which he believes is a win-win for everyone. Meanwhile, the Fijian Drua fell to the Reds at Suncorp Stadium, in their last game for the season. Captain Tevita Ikanivere and lock Isoa Nasilasila were playing their 50th Super Rugby games each, both having strong performances on the night. But the team could not find consistency in their game, as the Reds went to work early. Drua were playing for redemption more than anything else, having lost any hope of claiming a top six finish midway through the competition. The Drua opened the game at Suncorp Stadium strongly, going to work early on attack. However, they could not finish their moves and when the Reds turned the table on them, the visitors were found wanting. Centre Iosefo Masi was shown a yellow card for a tip tackle in the 10th minute and that gave the Reds the opportunity to get to work and register points. That they did straight away, as winger Lachie Anderson claiming the first of his four tries of the night. Anderson's performance means he has become the first Reds player to score four tries in a game since the professional era kicked off in 1996 and joins Joe Roff (1996) and Drew Mitchell (2010) as the only other Aussies to do so. Reds record show that not since the Reds' former Fijian winger Isei Nasiganiyavi scored five tries against Western Samoa in 1989 has a Queensland player crossed as often in a game. Anderson scored a hat-trick in the first half as the Reds led 33-0 at the break. Drua showed some hope at the resumption of the second half when prop Haeriti Hetet powered over for a try, converted by Isaiah Ravula. Flanker Etonia Waqa was sent to the sin bin and the Reds stormed home with tries to for Josh Flook, Filipo Daugunu, Harry Wilson, Joe Brial and Ryan Smith. The win means the Reds, who finished fifth, will now meet the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday in their play-off game. Drua captain Tevita Ikanivere said they had a plan but just could not get their rythm right. "We started well but then lost our way," he said after the game. "The Reds took control and we lost the game in the end." Reds Head Coach Les Kiss knew the team was locked in for a trip to Christchurch before tonight's kick-off so he derived satisfaction from his players staying on task. "It was us continuing to develop the game we are good at. It was pretty complete," Kiss said. Skipper Tate McDermott applauded Anderson. "I've seen Lachie's journey from our days playing sevens together and how far he's come. He's shown he's a true, class winger," McDermott said. "He's a rock defensively and he's quick." The full results from the final round of regular Super Rugby Pacific matches: Chiefs 41 Highlanders 24, Crusaders 33 Brumbies 31, Blues 46 Waratahs 6, Hurricanes 64 Moana Pasifika 12, Reds 52 Fijian Drua 7. Draws for the quarterfinal: Friday - June 6: 7.05pm Crusaders (2) vs Reds (5) in Christchurch); Saturday - June 7: 7.05pm Chiefs (1) vs Blues (6) in Hamilton, 9.35pm Brumbies (3) vs Hurricanes (4) in Canberra.
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Hurricanes shatter Moana dreams and send Blues into Super Rugby playoffs
Ereatara Enari of the Hurricanes, 2025. Photo: Elias Rodriguez / The 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 champion Blues into next week's quarter-finals instead. The Hurricanes cemented fourth place in the final standings and will travel to Canberra next Saturday to play the ACT Brumbies, while the Blues, who earlier beat the New South Wales Waratahs 46-6, will visit the table-topping Chiefs. In the other playoff, the 12-times champion Crusaders will host Queensland Reds, who concluded the regular season on Saturday night with a 52-7 win over 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. Number eight Semisi Tupou Ta'eiloa gave Moana the perfect start at Wellington Stadium with a try after six minutes but 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," said Hurricanes co-captain Du'Plessis Kirifi. "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." Blues fullback Corey Evans scores a try, 2025. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ The Blues earlier ended the slender post-season 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." On Friday, 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. -Reuters
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Social media spat: Blues and Moana beef online after play-off spots are set
Rieko Ioane and the Blues social media team were busy post match. Photo: Blake Armstrong /ActionPress Analysis - It's fair to say that the while the final regular season round was primed to throw a cat amongst the pigeons, it ended up being more a showcase of ruthlessness. Friday night saw the Chiefs have no mercy, the Blues gave their most complete performance of the year to set up their play-off chance, which was confirmed by a now scarily impressive Hurricanes side. All of this came at the expense of the Highlanders' pride, the Waratahs' hopes and both of those plus some social media credibility for Moana Pasifika. Referee James Doleman. Photo: Mark Evans/ActionPress It's worth pointing out up front the Crusaders were fortunate in their they certainly put in enough tough defence to deserve their 33-31 win over the Brumbies . But plenty of scrutiny has come in following the officiating crew missing a pretty clear knock on from Sevu Reece in the lead up to George Bell's match winning try. It says a lot about rugby's issues that since the ref got it wrong, the TMO was right in the end for not referring back to it after Bell's try since the ball had been in touch since. It also isn't a great look that the entire refereeing crew were New Zealanders, despite the game taking place in Canberra. The Blues' social media posts elicited a strong response from Ardie Savea. Photo: Instagram While the Blues' performance in their 46-6 win over the Waratahs was about as close as they've come to last year's campaign, the reward they get is a trip down the road to face the Chiefs. It's pretty easy to think the Blues have simply put off their holidays for a week, given that no team outside the regular season-ending top four has ever won any iteration of Super Rugby. But it's also worth remembering the last time they played in Hamilton, because that was the closest by far anyone's come to beating the Chiefs at home this season. However, the fact that Rieko Ioane scored a hat trick meant that we didn't have to wait long for him to jump on Instagram , where he shared a post noting that he's now equal first on the Blues all time try scoring list. On it was the not so subtle message that he's 'Heard the noise…Whatcha sayin?'. Just to make it even more spicy, the Blues closed out their online beef with Moana Pasifika (for now) by getting a last and no doubt very satisfying laugh. However, that didn't stop Moana captain Ardie Savea throwing a bit of passive-aggressive shade back at them, which drew a number of responses from Blues players and All Black teammates. Moana Pasifika. Photo: Andy Radka/ActionPress Moana's win over the Blues a fortnight ago was hailed as the performance of the season, given its historic nature and Ardie Savea's superhuman effort on the field from start to finish. But the virtual tickertape parade was jumping the gun a bit - in the two games since, they've conceded 149 points, were bounced from the play-offs by a Hurricanes team hell bent on revenge and suffered the aforementioned social media butthurt. Did Moana dine out a bit much on their success and suffer a bit? It certainly appears so, while neither team wanted to admit it up front, there was some serious feeling in the Blues fixture on and off the field. Perhaps Moana felt like the point they needed to prove this year was achieved that night. If so, then that's a pretty harsh lesson they've just learned because the losses to the Chiefs and Hurricanes rank among the worst in a short history that includes plenty of hidings. Raymond Tuputupu of the Hurricanes celebrates his try. Photo: Elias Rodriguez / Their inclement form in the first half of the season has meant that the Canes have flown under the radar a bit, but now nothing can hide the fact that they've won their last five games in a row. That's more than anyone else and while they have to travel to face the Brumbies in Canberra next weekend, they won there four weeks ago. Don't say it too loud but it's all starting to feel quite similar to 2016, when an unheralded group under a second year coach managed to overcome a rough start to the year to go on and win the whole thing.
CNA
9 hours ago
- Business
- CNA
Hurricanes shatter Moana dreams and send Blues into Super Rugby playoffs
SYDNEY :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 champion Auckland Blues into next week's quarter-finals instead. The Hurricanes cemented fourth place in the final standings and will travel to Canberra next Saturday to play the ACT Brumbies, while the Blues, who earlier beat the New South Wales Waratahs 46-6, will visit the table-topping Waikato Chiefs. In the other playoff, the 12-times champion Canterbury Crusaders will host Queensland Reds, who concluded the regular season on Saturday night with a 52-7 win over 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. Number eight Semisi Tupou Ta'eiloa gave Moana the perfect start at Wellington Stadium with a try after six minutes but 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," said Hurricanes co-captain Du'Plessis Kirifi. "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 post-season 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." On Friday, the Chiefs locked up top spot in the standings and home advantage throughout the playoffs with a 41-21 victory over the Otago Highlanders and the Crusaders beat the Brumbies 33-31 to win the shootout for second.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
'Good for rugby': rivals hail Moana Pasifika influence
The rugby world is saluting the strides of Moana Pasifika after the competition's relative newcomers enjoyed their best-ever Super Rugby Pacific campaign. Moana bowed out, somewhat unceremoniously, with a 64-12 loss to the high-flying and powerhouse Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday night. After joining the competition in 2022, Moana needed to record an unlikely bonus-point win over the Hurricanes to make the finals for the first time. But a seventh-placed showing, after two wooden spoons in 2022 and 2023 before last year's 11th-spot, is rightfully being lauded. Presenting your inaugural Super Rugby Pacific Player of the Year... Ardie Savea 👏HUGE shift from the @MoanaPasifika_ captain in 2025 💪#SuperRugbyPacific — Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) May 31, 2025 "I do want to acknowledge Moana Pasifika and the season that they've had, and the inspiration and the excitement that they brought to our competition," said Hurricanes captain Xavier Numia. "You can see now the amount of fans and people that are behind them and what that brings to rugby in New Zealand. "So whether people were here tonight to support us or Moana, it doesn't matter. "It's good for New Zealand rugby and the brand of rugby that they play and the values that they represent, things that we all have in common. "So real credit to Moana and the things that they're doing on and off the field. They've been a joy to watch this season. There is no doubt about that." But inspirational skipper Ardie Savea, the newly crowned Super Rugby Pacific player of the year, maintains the Pasifika are aiming higher. "The way where you can take the momentum today, what you've done, even just in tonight's game, these moments, what this season has done, where you go from here, we're not satisfied," Savea said. "Our goal was to win the thing and make top six, but that wasn't meant to be."
