Super Rugby

Moana Pasifika hooker Luteru Tolai nabbed a try just before the break – one of five in the match from lineout drives - to spark the crowd into life, and the ...

Moana Pasifika spent much of the first spell kicking from their half and picking out the Blues back three. "They rattled the Crusaders in the early rounds; the Chiefs were able to pull away and then with the Hurricanes and now us. There's been plenty of deep breaths and laughing it off to focus forward." The Blues' three first half tries came through pure weight of possession and pressure. When Moana wing Tomasi Alosio scored a brilliant try from Lincoln McClutchie's cross-field kick, Aaron Mauger's men closed to 24-19 in the final quarter. Had Tolai not been denied his brace for a double movement, the result could well have been different.

The defences in New Zealand, for whatever reason, are built to bend with the aim of not breaking. They make a ton of tackles with a high completion rate, ...

Doing so would improve the quality of Super Rugby Pacific and better prepare New Zealand’s players for test rugby against the best defences. This is largely the story of Super Rugby Pacific defence by New Zealand sides – they aren’t able to hold their ground and force an opposition back regularly. They weren’t used to getting clobbered, held up, driven sideways and manhandled after two years of sugar-coated defence at home. The rest of these inside halves pairings are easy targets for an attacking launch, looking to find some early-phase momentum. After flooding the ruck with numbers, Moana Pasifika generated a great turnover through aggressive defence. Their second try to Daniel Lienert-Brown came on the third phase from a midfield scrum. The defences in New Zealand, for whatever reason, are built to bend with the aim of not breaking. It must be stressed that these passive defences are likely by design, coaches asking for a target number for completion rate and dominant hits. The question must be asked if this is making life too easy, though. It wasn’t effective execution from the young Chiefs midfielder. They make a ton of tackles with a high completion rate, trying to absorb pressure and then try to the turn ball over after giving up a lot of ground. You can not do this against an elite test side, however.

On paper, a newly established team shouldn't have the ability or experience to mix with the Blues, Chiefs, Hurricanes, Crusaders or Highlanders, all previous ...