Super Rugby Pacific: Five takeaways from Moana Pasifika's loss to Chiefs

RNZ News

25-05-2025

Wallace Sititi of the Chiefs.
Photo:
Jeremy Ward/Photosport
There was one thing both Fa'alogo Tana Umaga and Ardie Savea agreed on about the Chiefs on Saturday night.
Following the 85-7 thrashing at FMG Stadium in Hamilton in front of 17,666 fans, the Moana Pasifika head boys both stated that they, Moana Pasifika, still need to grow.
To grow from what they are to a championship side that the Chiefs showed they are.
Both agreed their host were ruthless, precise and too clinical across the field, and denied Moana Pasifika any real chance to get any momentum going.
In the end, the two conceded their players were hurting and the team will need to figure out what went wrong and return better prepared for their last competition game against the Hurricanes in the new week.
So what went wrong?
Umaga said they just didn't get the chance to fire their own shots against the Chiefs.
Well, they did get a few - one resulted in a try by Savea after the second half started.
Two or three others, slim chances, were lost in the procession of trying to organise themselves, either through turnovers or knock-ons.
Oh, yes there were two yellow cards that went against them - which proved critical because in the process of being down one man at each part of the game when Patrick Pellegrini then Samuel Slade got sent off to cool off for 10 minutes on the sideline, the Chiefs raked up around 20 points.
Many may ask, did the hard fought win over the Blues the weekend before took its toll on the players?
Were the players mentally tuned on for the Chiefs game?
That is something Umaga and his coaching and leadership team will need to review, moving forward.
And in the process, also take note of the five learning from the weekend.
In rugby, having the possession, the ball, in hand is a prerequisite of having the chance to chance to make play and something happen.
The Chiefs knew that and their focus, as their head coach Clayton McMillan said, was to deny Moana Pasifika any chance of getting into a roll.
Moana Pasifika had about 20 percent of possession, the Chiefs enjoyed around 80 percent, the result in the end telling the story.
Knowing that Moana Pasifika had a mobile pack that could do damage if they started rolling and had the momentum they needed, Chiefs captain Luke Jacobson rallied his own pack to win the collisions, secure the set-pieces and defended like demon possessed.
Jacobson said that was the message they were given.
Umaga conceded the Chiefs were just ruthless and clinical across the field.
It proved to be the difference in the end.
Savea conceded his side just could not respond to the pressure they were under.
He said they tried everything they could think off but the Chiefs were just too good.
It is an area Savea pointed to as a key issue they would need to work on in the new week as they prepare for their must win game against the Hurricanes, if they are to secure a top six finish.
If there is something Moana Pasifika will focus on this coming week, it is turning the lessons they have learned into positives.
Savea said the players were down in spirit but he urged them to stay focused on the next job and turn those negatives into positives.
It will be a tough challenge, especially coming off a big loss and heading to Sky Stadium to meet the Hurricanes.
But Umaga believes his men can do that and lift their performance one more time.
The Chiefs, according to Umaga, have shown that they are on a different level at the moment, heading into the play-offs.
They have raised the par one more time and showed, not only Moana Pasifika, that they are a serious challenger for the top title.
Moana Pasifika will need to lift themselves to that standard.
A new week of preparation.
One more game to go.
Making sure the lessons are learned and put into practise will be a key to improve performance in last and final round of the regular competition games.