Source: Radio New Zealand
Fijian Drua v Moana Pasifika
Kick-off: 4:35pm Saturday 14 February
Churchill Park, Lautoka
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Are Moana Pasifika getting a raw deal when it comes to home matches? Under their current licensing agreement, they can only host five games in Auckland per season, due to fears it would saturate the viewing market.
It means that despite the massive increase in support at their new home of North Harbour Stadium during last year’s breakout season, Moana have decided to play their first home game at Pukekohe’s Navigation Homes Stadium on 27 February against the Force. Their first game back at North Harbour won’t be until round four against the Crusaders, over a month after the season has started.
Read: Moana Pasifika preview
Coach Tana Umaga said that the shift was “just the reality of the environment we live in.”
“Some of the guidelines that are put around us we have no control of. We’re governed by other people in terms of that aspect.”
Moana Pasifika fans, crowd and supporters, Hurricanes v Moana Pasifika, round 16 of the Super Rugby Pacific competition. Photosport / Elias Rodriguez
Moana’s original licensing agreement as an expansion team was awarded in as conditional in April 2021, but complications over finance, the competition format and getting buy-in from Rugby Australia led to extended delays in it being granted fully. In 2022 it was confirmed that Sport New Zealand provided the $4m underwrite to Moana Pasifika Limited and a $500,000 operating grant for the Moana Pasifika Charitable Trust.
It’s believed that the restriction on Auckland-based games was at the behest of cross-town rivals the Blues. That’s meant that Moana need to find new homes for two of their games, with the Force fixture going to Pukekohe and the round nine clash with the Chiefs being played at Teufaiva Sport Stadium in Tonga.
Umaga could see a positive of playing in Pukekohe, given that he played and coached at Counties-Manukau.
“Some of us have a good connection with Puke and it’s obviously out south, so there are our people out there.”
Still, the former All Black captain said the rules could be looked at so that his side could get a full compliment of home games.
Fans at the North Harbour stadium. Coco Lance
“I would love to have a discussion around that. Those (rules) were put in earlier, but I would love to have a discussion around how the how those could possibly change and be better, and we can get on equal footing as other teams. But at this stage we’re not having those. We just got to keep earning the right to make sure that we can keep our place here.”
Umaga made a stark comparison when asked about the equal footing between not just Moana and the Blues, but other local pro teams Auckland FC and the Warriors.
“Financially? Definitely not. But that’s what it is. The people before us, they got us to this point, that’s what they had to do to get us involved in this competition. And I think if we can keep working hard both on and off the field to (be) a big part of this competition, that hopefully you know, we can have those discussions.”
Moana Pasifika open their season on Saturday afternoon with perhaps the toughest assignment in Super Rugby Pacific, facing the Fijian Drua in the oppressive heat and humidity of Lautoka’s Churchill Park.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
