In just the club's second season of Super Rugby Pacific competition, an important question is being asked — what does Moana Pasifika want to be?
The all-comers team has found itself in the midst of an identity crisis in the wake of their best player, Levi Aumua's, departure to the Crusaders.
Some have questioned the team's purpose if all it does is serve as a feeder to other, bigger teams in New Zealand and Australia.
Watch the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season on the home of rugby, Stan Sport. All matches streaming ad free, live and on demand
The team, for all intents and purposes, has no home. Although it is based at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium, it's unlike any other team in that it has no defined location, per se.
The Blues represent Auckland, the Chiefs represent Hamilton and the broader Waikato region, the Hurricanes belong to Wellington, Christchurch has the Crusaders, and the Highlanders represent Dunedin and the greater Southland and Otago region.
Moana Pasifika, meanwhile, is something of a halfway home with no designated region. Instead, it caters to all players with Pacific Island heritage from Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands, and Fiji. The lion's share of its players hail from Samoa and Tonga.
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Aumua's departure has former Wallabies international Morgan Turinui wondering what Moana Pasifika will be in years to come and whether it was a missed opportunity.
"The Levi Aumua situation is the exact one to study to go 'OK, this guy individually, what a great decision for him to come up out of Moana Pasifika'," Turinui explained.
"He got an opportunity in Super Rugby and then goes onto the Crusaders and they'll make him a better player. He'll win trophies, he'll achieve. What would have been great was if he was captured or capped for one of the island nations.
"I think both teams (Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua) was feel-good, stage one. The Drua have gone from feel-good into high-performance program, dominant at home, and a straight line to the flying Fijians international team.
"Moana Pasifika still need to work out what their pathway identity is. Is it to the islands? Is it to make guys better for opportunities to be All Blacks? Is it guys professionally overseas? They're still working that out."
While Moana Pasifika has lacked direction, the Fijian Drua has a clear view towards promoting its players to Test level rugby.
That, said Justin Harrison, is what will continue to separate the sides until a clear pathway emerges.
"They've got a challenge, haven't they? The way this squad is assembled is very different to the way the Fijian Drua come together," Harrison said of Moana Pasifika.
"They've got a bit of a blueprint, a bit of an identity already. There's a bit of a national style of rugby coming through their Super team and into their national side.
NEW PODCAST! Sean Maloney, Morgan Turinui and Stephen Hoiles unpack the drama of the Super Rugby Pacific finals race and some thrilling fixtures in the northern hemisphere
https://omny.fm/shows/between-two-posts-1/finals-run-drama-aussie-try-of-the-year/embed"The fact that Moana are a bit of a 'Barbarians' side, they don't have a regular base camp, their challenge is to be Super Rugby fit next year.
"I think they've taken a little bit longer to get their S and C (strength and conditioning) program right. They've got a pretty strong set piece but they need to get the fundamentals of the game right – defence, attack, consistency, identity is very important to them."
Tim Horan said the team should try and buck instances like Aumua's becoming a trend, otherwise the competition risks its integrity.
Moana Pasifika remain winless in 2023 with one round of the regular season remaining.
The team will face the NSW Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
In just the club's second season of Super Rugby Pacific competition, an important question is being asked — what does Moana Pasifika want to be?
The all-comers team has found itself in the midst of an identity crisis in the wake of their best player, Levi Aumua's, departure to the Crusaders.
Some have questioned the team's purpose if all it does is serve as a feeder to other, bigger teams in New Zealand and Australia.
Watch the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season on the home of rugby, Stan Sport. All matches streaming ad free, live and on demand
The team, for all intents and purposes, has no home. Although it is based at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium, it's unlike any other team in that it has no defined location, per se.
The Blues represent Auckland, the Chiefs represent Hamilton and the broader Waikato region, the Hurricanes belong to Wellington, Christchurch has the Crusaders, and the Highlanders represent Dunedin and the greater Southland and Otago region.
Moana Pasifika, meanwhile, is something of a halfway home with no designated region. Instead, it caters to all players with Pacific Island heritage from Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands, and Fiji. The lion's share of its players hail from Samoa and Tonga.
READ MORE: Player charged for act that put Blues star in hospital
READ MORE: Ricciardo's $414k act after ugly McLaren split
READ MORE: The Blues suggestion Gus can't cop
Aumua's departure has former Wallabies international Morgan Turinui wondering what Moana Pasifika will be in years to come and whether it was a missed opportunity.
"The Levi Aumua situation is the exact one to study to go 'OK, this guy individually, what a great decision for him to come up out of Moana Pasifika'," Turinui explained.
"He got an opportunity in Super Rugby and then goes onto the Crusaders and they'll make him a better player. He'll win trophies, he'll achieve. What would have been great was if he was captured or capped for one of the island nations.
"I think both teams (Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua) was feel-good, stage one. The Drua have gone from feel-good into high-performance program, dominant at home, and a straight line to the flying Fijians international team.
"Moana Pasifika still need to work out what their pathway identity is. Is it to the islands? Is it to make guys better for opportunities to be All Blacks? Is it guys professionally overseas? They're still working that out."
While Moana Pasifika has lacked direction, the Fijian Drua has a clear view towards promoting its players to Test level rugby.
That, said Justin Harrison, is what will continue to separate the sides until a clear pathway emerges.
"They've got a challenge, haven't they? The way this squad is assembled is very different to the way the Fijian Drua come together," Harrison said of Moana Pasifika.
"They've got a bit of a blueprint, a bit of an identity already. There's a bit of a national style of rugby coming through their Super team and into their national side.
NEW PODCAST! Sean Maloney, Morgan Turinui and Stephen Hoiles unpack the drama of the Super Rugby Pacific finals race and some thrilling fixtures in the northern hemisphere
https://omny.fm/shows/between-two-posts-1/finals-run-drama-aussie-try-of-the-year/embed"The fact that Moana are a bit of a 'Barbarians' side, they don't have a regular base camp, their challenge is to be Super Rugby fit next year.
"I think they've taken a little bit longer to get their S and C (strength and conditioning) program right. They've got a pretty strong set piece but they need to get the fundamentals of the game right – defence, attack, consistency, identity is very important to them."
Tim Horan said the team should try and buck instances like Aumua's becoming a trend, otherwise the competition risks its integrity.
Moana Pasifika remain winless in 2023 with one round of the regular season remaining.
The team will face the NSW Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
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