'We're a very different team': Moana Pasifika issue warning ahead of Chiefs rematch

It's been a long time coming, but Moana Pasifika will finally return to the footy field when they host the Chiefs at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland on Saturday.

The rescheduled match, which was supposed to be played in round two, acts as Moana Pasifika's second game of the season, two weeks after they played their inaugural Super Rugby Pacific game against the Crusaders in Dunedin.

The expansion franchise exceeded the expectations of most in that clash as they impressed with their competitiveness while falling to a 33-12 defeat at the hands of the competition juggernauts at Forsyth Barr Stadium.

In that fixture, Moana Pasifika held an unlikely 5-0 lead up until the 23rd minute, and trailed by only nine points heading into the final 10 minutes.

Covid, however, has heavily interfered with their campaign, with their first two matches of the year - against the Blues and Chiefs - postponed due to an outbreak within the Moana Pasifika camp.

A separate outbreak within the Hurricanes squad then prevented Moana Pasifika from building on their promising start to the season last weekend, before a cluster of cases at the Highlanders resulted in another postponed fixture.

Moana Pasifika will get back on track against the Chiefs this weekend, though, and it's a prospect the entire squad is relishing after having been based in Queenstown for the better part of a month in a bid to negate the threat posed by the pandemic.

“When we got offered the opportunity to come back on Wednesday night or Thursday, the hands went up pretty quick for the Wednesday night flight home, so probably a bit of an indication of the journey we’ve been on over the last six weeks," head coach Aaron Mauger told media on Friday.

"It’s a nice feeling being home and back connected as a full squad.”

Now back at their home base in Auckland, Moana Pasifika have the opportunity to continue their development as a Super Rugby Pacific outfit in what will be their first official home game at Mt Smart Stadium.

It was at the Penrose-based venue where Moana Pasifika were thumped 61-7 by the Chiefs in their sole pre-season match last month, but Mauger is adamant his side have improved by a "huge amount" compared to where they were six weeks ago.

"We’re a very different team from the pre-season game" he said.

"Had a lot of time to settle on combinations and find some cohesion in our training weeks. The intensity’s certainly gone up. I think, as a team, we’re a lot more mature for the experience we’ve just been through.

"A lot of our individuals have really started to grow and understand what it takes to prepare and perform at this level, so just excited to have another crack tomorrow to give it another test.”

In saying that, the former All Blacks five-eighth is acutely aware of how good the Chiefs can be, as reflected by their last-gasp 24-22 upset win over the Crusaders in Christchurch last Saturday.

Even with 17 players unavailable for selection, Chiefs boss Clayton McMillan has still named a strong lineup featuring six All Blacks, and Mauger said his side will have to match their physicality come Saturday.

“I think two words – they’re tight," Mauger said when asked for his observations of the Chiefs this season.

"They’re tight as a team. You can see that in the resolve they had in the backend of last week and their ability to get the job done over the Crusaders in Christchurch. It says a lot about the character of their team.

"The other one is they’re tough. They’re a tough team, really physical at the breakdown, so we’re under no illusions that it’s going to be physical. We’re looking forward to that challenge.”

One way in which Mauger plans to combat the threat of the Chiefs is by fielding a new halves combination in the form of ex-Wallabies pivot Christian Leali'ifano and Manu Samoa halfback Jonathan Taumateine.

Both players came off the bench against the Crusaders a fortnight ago, and Mauger said he was impressed by their contributions, which has led to their promotion into the starting side at the expense of Ereatara Enari and Lincoln McClutchie.

"I thought Ere and Lincoln were really sharp against the Crusaders in that first game, and JT and Christian both made impacts, especially with ball in hand later on in the game," he said.

"You’ll remember JT making a big break through the middle of the field, and just with Christian’s voice and what he sees out on the field gives us the ability to really play to where the space is, so they’ve both been outstanding and deserve their start.

"It was always the plan to get them started in the first couple of rounds, and now we’ve got footy settled, we don’t actually know [what their first-choice halves combination is] at the moment because only one combination’s had a crack at a start.

"It’s a healthy competition, and I think that’ll sort itself out later on through the year around who starts more often than not.”

Mauger has also handed debuts to 'Ikale Tahi loose forward Sione Tu'ipulotu, who will start at blindside flanker, and reserve back rower Josh Kaifa, who has joined the squad as injury cover after having trained with the Crusaders during pre-season.

“Josh has obviously come in as an injury replacement and gives us really good cover in all three [loose forward positions] – No 6, No 7, No 8," Mauger said.

"He really improved that last year through the NPC with Hawke’s Bay, so that’s an element we like off the bench, gives us another good lineout option as well right across the lineout, so that was a big factor for us, and he performed really well at training, so he deserves his spot off the bench.

"With regards to Sione, obviously a little bit of mahi through a challenge down in Queenstown and the impact that some of the challenges had on us, but he’s performed really well at training.

"He’s a big guy, powerful athlete, so he’s got the potential to cause a lot of damage out on the edge there, so really excited about seeing him go, making his debut.”