Coach Tana Umaga fears that a vast pool of Pacific talent would be lost to rugby union if Moana Pasifika are dumped from Super Rugby and the competition shrinks to 10 teams.
Umaga spoke about the wider importance of his team following their 29-14 loss to the New South Wales Waratahs in Sydney on Friday, an eighth successive defeat for his team, who are last in the standings.
Moana’s ownership on Wednesday announced that it would not continue funding the side beyond this season due to a lack of commercial support and small crowds.
Photo: AFP
New Zealand Rugby is hoping another entity will purchase the license for Moana, with the club set up as a pathway for Tongan, Samoan and Cook Island players.
The team have been based in Auckland for their five seasons of existence rather than playing regular games in the Pacific islands, as planned.
Former All Blacks captain Umaga said that disbanding Moana would remove a professional platform for Pasifika players.
“The gap between where we [Samoan and Tongan unions] are currently, internationally, to where we need to get to, is very big,” Umaga told reporters. “Without Moana to bridge that gap, it’s going to be tough.”
“If we keep going the way we’re going, the possibility is that they might not make the next cycle of the World Cup,” he said. “There’s still a glimmer of hope for us, and that’s what we’ve got to look forward to and we’ve just got to keep pushing forward.”
Umaga, who is to take up a post as All Blacks assistant coach this year, praised his team’s on-field efforts following a difficult week.
They led 14-12 at halftime thanks to two tries to scrumhalf Melani Matavao, both from quick taps.
The Waratahs dominated the second half, boosted by fullback Sid Harvey’s two tries to notch a fourth win from eight games and climb to seventh.
Coach Dan McKellar praised the Waratahs’ composure, particularly late in the game after the players were taken from the field in the 70th minute because of a risk of lightning strikes.
The match was delayed for 40 minutes.
“We had a really clear plan around what we needed to do in that last 10 minutes,” McKellar said. “That’s probably the most pleasing part is that we were all pretty calm and understood what was required.”
In the weekend’s other games, the Auckland Blues (third ahead of the final match of the weekend) beat the Otago Highlanders (ninth) 47-40 on Friday, while yesterday the Waikato Chiefs claimed top spot from the Wellington Hurricanes (second) by beating them 22-17 and the Fijian Drua (eighth) downed the ACT Brumbies (fourth) 33-28 at GIO Stadium in Canberra.
The Drua’s victory was their first ever in Canberra after joining the competition in 2022.
The Western Force (10th) and the Canterbury Crusaders (sixth) are to play today, while the Queensland Reds (fifth) have a bye.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
Taiwanese shortstop Cheng Tsung-che on Friday made history for the Boston Red Sox’s Triple A affiliate, hitting the Worcester Red Sox’s first cycle, while netting two runs, as they beat fellow Taiwan teammate Stuart Fairchild’s Columbus Clippers. The 24-year-old former Pittsburgh Pirates prospect went 4-4, completing a full cycle, starting with a triple in the second inning off Ryan Webb in the WooSox’s 9-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians’ Triple A affiliate. He scored in the same inning after teammate Vinny Capra, a fellow former Pirate, grounded out. The Pingtung County native followed that up with a walk in the third, an
RSS