Moana Pasifika is a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

team made up of players from various Pacific island nations as well as New Zealand or Australian born players of Pasifika heritage, including

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

and the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

. The team was originally created for a one-off match against the

Māori All Blacks The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Maori, New Zealand Maoris and New Zealand Natives, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing i ...

in December 2020, with the future intention of trying to join the

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

competition. On 14 April 2021,

New Zealand Rugby New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

confirmed the side had been granted a conditional licence to join the

competition. On 12 July 2021, the team was granted an unconditional licence, confirming them for the

2022 Super Rugby Pacific season The 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season (known as Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific in Australia and DHL Super Rugby Pacific in New Zealand) is the 27th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams fr ...

. The team played its inaugural Super Rugby match on 4 March 2022.

History

On 24 November 2020, Moana Pasifika coach

Tana Umaga Jonathan Ionatana Falefasa Umaga (; ; born 27 May 1973) is a New Zealand former rugby union footballer and former captain of the national team, the All Blacks. Since 2016 he has been coach of the Blues in the Super Rugby competition. He played ...

named a 26-man squad for the match against the Māori All Blacks on 5 December 2020. The team was made up of New Zealand-based players who were international or sevens capped by a Pacific team or identified with a Pacific region. On 5 December 2020, the team played their first match, against the

Waikato Stadium FMG Stadium Waikato is a major sporting and cultural events venue in Hamilton, New Zealand, with a total capacity of 25,800. Four areas contribute to this capacity: The Brian Perry Stand holding 12,000, the WEL Networks Stand holding 8,000, the ...

. Captained by

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

born Samoan international

Michael Ala'alatoa Michael Savea Ala'alatoa (born 28 August 1991) is a rugby union professional player who currently plays as a prop for Leinster in the united rugby championship and Heineken Champions Cup competitions. Early life Born into a rugby household wh ...

the side lost to the Māori 28–21.

Super Rugby

Following the conclusion of the

2020 Super Rugby season The 2020 Super Rugby season was the 25th season of Super Rugby, an international men's rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR involving teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It is the third tournament in its ...

, the licences for the South African

sides; the , the , the and the , the Argentine and the Japanese all expired. The

2021 Super Rugby season The 2021 Super Rugby season was the 26th season of Super Rugby, an annual men's international rugby union tournament organised by SANZAAR, involving teams from Australia and New Zealand. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament was wholly reg ...

, still affected by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, was played in two regionalised tournaments featuring the five New Zealand Super Rugby sides and the four Australian Super Rugby sides, plus the Western Force who had returned to the tournament having lost their licence at the end of the

2017 Super Rugby season The 2017 Super Rugby season was the 22nd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It was the second season featuring an expand ...

. However, from 2022 onwards a new 12-team tournament had been mooted, and on 13 November 2020, the

New Zealand Rugby Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

announced Moana Pasifika, along with the

Fijian Drua The Fijian Drua (currently known as the Swire, Swire Shipping Fijian Drua for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby union team based in Fiji that competes in the Super Rugby. The team was created by the Fiji Rugby Union and launched in ...

as its preferred partners to join the competition. Further steps were made in March 2021, when the New Zealand Rugby Union agreed to a sharing of broadcast revenue with both Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua, and this was followed later in the same month by

World Rugby World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

announcing financial, high performance and administrative support for both potential new sides, in order to boost the performances of Pacific Islands at international level, while also being able to stay local instead of heading overseas. On 14 April 2021, both sides were granted conditional licenses to join

in 2022 by the

. On 12 July 2021, the team were granted an unconditional licence, confirming them for the 2022 Super Rugby season. On 30 August 2021, the side was confirmed in

for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, beginning with the

. Moana Pasifika will be based in

South Auckland South Auckland is an imprecisely defined urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, with a young population, a relatively large Polynesian and Māori demographic, and lower incomes than other parts of Auckland. The name ''South Auckland'', though not ...

Auckland Region Auckland () is one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland Metropolitan Area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Containing ...

, and will play their fixtures at

Mt Smart Stadium Mount Smart Stadium (formerly known as Ericsson Stadium) is a multipurpose stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the main home ground of the New Zealand Warriors of the National Rugby League, and occasionally hosts rugby union and internatio ...

until 2028. On the following day,

Dynasty Sport A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

was announced as the supplier for the team's on-field kit.

Aaron Mauger Aaron Joseph Douglas Mauger (last name pronounced "Major"; born 29 November 1980) is a New Zealand professional rugby union coach and former player. He played at centre for Leicester Tigers. Playing career Born in Christchurch, Mauger played f ...

was then announced as the first coach of the team on 30 September 2021. On 15 November 2021, the schedule for the

was announced, with Moana Pasifika's inaugural match against the in Auckland. On 2 February 2022,

Sekope Kepu Sekope Kepu (born 5 February 1986) is an Australian professional rugby union player. He is a prop and currently plays for Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby. He has previously played for Australian club New South Wales Waratahs, the French club Borde ...

was named as the inaugural captain of the Moana Pasifika franchise. Moana Pasifika played its inaugural

game on 4 March 2022, a 12–33 loss to the . In that historic game, loose forward

Solomone Funaki Solomone Funaki (born 25 April 1994) is a Tongan rugby union player, who currently plays as a loose forward for in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition and in Super Rugby. Early life and career Funaki was bo ...

scored the franchise's first ever try. 3 weeks later, Moana Pasifika won its first Super Rugby game against the at Mt Smart Stadium, winning 24-19.

Current squad

The squad for the

2023 Super Rugby Pacific season The 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season (known as Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific in Australia, Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific in Fiji and DHL Super Rugby Pacific in New Zealand) is the 28th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition ...

is:

Coaching staff

The following coaching team was appointed for the

Historic squads

References

External links

Moana Pasifika official website
{{Navboxes , title = Rugby union in the Pacific Island Alliance , list1 = {{Rugby union in Fiji {{Rugby union in Samoa {{Rugby union in Tonga {{Rugby union in the Cook Islands {{Rugby union in Niue {{Rugby union in Oceania Super Rugby teams International rugby union teams Multinational rugby union teams Rugby union in Oceania 2020 establishments in Oceania Rugby clubs established in 2020 Moana Pasifika