Moana Pasifika 2024
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@Bones said in Moana Pasifika 2024:
@Duluth sounds a tad entitled eh, be interesting to know if he actually sought clarification or just sat back and expected a contract in the mail.
I don't see why he should be pissed, he's a perfect fit for MP and vice versa.
It’s not a great look to complain when he’s not even a definite NPC starter now. Maybe there was some miscommunication.. verbally promised a contract that never came?
I doubt the Canes would deliberately fuck him around though. They will want to keep his brother happy
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James Lay to captain Moana Pasifika
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They were worried about an empty embankment when they ended up looking at empty seats with 5 spectators on that side. If they were a permanent tenant Counties would find the money to have it up to standard.
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With 12 players currently in the injury ward MP have signed Michael Curry from Ta$man to cover Lock/Loosie.
Unavailable due to injury: Alamanda Motuga, Anzelo Tuitavuki, Henry Taefu, James Lay, Jonathan Taumateine, Julian Savea, Lalomilo Lalomilo, Neria Fomai, Ofa Tauatevalu, Samuel Slade, Solomone Funaki, Tom Savage.
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@Daffy-Jaffy Most of those guys are starters too
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@Bovidae think Craig was on a full contract at the start of the season wasnt he?
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@Bovidae sorry, I meant he was called in full time prior to the season being kicked off (was called up FT back in Jan)
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@taniwharugby said in Moana Pasifika 2024:
@Bovidae sorry, I meant he was called in full time prior to the season being kicked off (was called up FT back in Jan)
You could be right, but he would still have replaced someone injured from the original squad above. Maybe Ofa Tauatevalu?
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Genuine question here and by no means any hate towards Moana. How long do you see Moana lasting in this competition? I’ve had multiple conversations to friends etc and we all struggle to see how Moana can improve. Everything takes time but it’s hard to know what their plan is moving forward.
Just curious to know what you all think
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@Landers92 said in Crusaders v Moana Pasifika:
Genuine question here and by no means any hate towards Moana. How long do you see Moana lasting in this competition? I’ve had multiple conversations to friends etc and we all struggle to see how Moana can improve. Everything takes time but it’s hard to know what their plan is moving forward.
Just curious to know what you all think
Not sure if they’ll last that long tbh. They don’t have a home base and they just don’t look like they’ll improve anytime soon. We might be at Super 10 before you know it.
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@Landers92 I can't be bothered arguing it with people on here because they dont get it and dont care about Pacific Island rugby, but the improvement of Samoa on the international stage last season suggests that Moana is working on the field. They're there to improve Samoan and Tongan rugby on the field where they can have players playing at a high level week in week out which is what it's doing, instead of picking guys for their national teams who don't play at a very high level. They would love to play at home more often (look at the reception they received for their game in Tonga this year), but the cost of it is about $300,000 to run a game out of the Islands, hence why they play the majority of their games in NZ, and at this stage can only really afford to take one game to the Islands a year. Whangarei seemed to turn out for their game against the Reds this year, maybe that's an option going forward instead of playing out of Mt Smart? As for the funding side, World Rugby fund things as part of their help towards having pacific sides playing professional rugby, with NZ Rugby holding the license, basically so the money doesn't go missing with the corrupt officials in the Islands where the rugby side dont see it, so funding isn't really a problem. Is Moana a worthwhile exercise? Of course it fucken is! It's nice for Samoa and Tonga to finally be able to dive into professional rugby to pick players instead of making the side out of Auckland club rugby players. Have they made strides this year? Well they won 4 games this year, as opposed to 3 in their first 2 years, so yes, they have. Anyway, make what you will out if that, but that's basically how it is, and it's nice having a pacific side playing in SR as opposed to some pointless side like the Sunwolves used to be.
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@African-Monkey said in Moana Pasifika 2024:
the cost of it is about $300,000 to run a game out of the Islands
Is it because they are one off events? Would having 3-4 games in a row in the islands solve the cost problem?
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@Duluth It's explained better in this article here, and it was $280,000, not $300,000 to host ther Reds in Samoa last season.
John Campbell: Winless in 13, but we need Moana Pasifika to thrive
Campbell visited the team at their final home training session of the season to discover what makes them tick, and what's holding them back.
$280,000.
The most expensive home game in Super Rugby.
What’s cruel about this is that Apia is where Moana Pasifika attracted their biggest crowd of 2023. What’s cruel about this is that rugby lovers in Samoa (and Tonga) are desperate to have teams visit. What’s cruel about this is that a team designed to grow the strength of rugby in Samoa and Tonga can’t afford to play there. (And that the teams who can afford to play there, don’t.)
(A shoutout to the Queensland Reds, here. Who agreed to play in Apia, made it such a great occasion, and brought a planeload of big spending supporters with them. Moana Pasifika, and Samoa, are grateful.)
Sakalia has a solution. If Samoa’s major problem as a venue is that every cable, every camera, every microphone, every technician involved in broadcasting a game from Apia has to be flown in, at such great cost, now is the time to build broadcast capabilities in Samoa and Tonga.
He leans forward. Way forward.
“Our intention is, we want to present a case, a proposal, to both MFAT (New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade) and DFAT (the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) in Australia, to say ‘here’s the economic opportunity for the Pacific’. We’re going to explain that a key impediment that’s preventing these games from happening is the cost of broadcasting. How can we increase the broadcasting capacity and capability in the Pacific? How can we make it fit for purpose for professional sporting events?”
This is serious. This proposal is going in. And Moana Pasifika’s belief is that if the TV issue is resolved, then they’ll be better able to compete. “Home” games will not be an impediment, they will not carry a huge and unsupportable cost, they will be a strength.
The Fijian Drua demonstrate the possibilities here. Thanks to a way more established broadcasting infrastructure in Fiji, in part the result of a direct and highly successful investment in being able to host sporting events, the Drua’s home games have provided the best atmosphere in Super Rugby, by far. A treat so sparkling they’ve made most other crowds look afternoon nap time at The Autumn Leaves Retirement Home.
And if we compare the Fijian Drua with Moana Pasifika, we see a striking difference. Moana Pasifika have won no games this season. The Fijian Drua have won five – four of them in Fiji. (The other in Auckland, against, sigh, Moana Pasifika.)
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@African-Monkey said in Moana Pasifika 2024:
@Landers92 I can't be bothered arguing it with people on here because they dont get it and dont care about Pacific Island rugby, but the improvement of Samoa on the international stage last season suggests that Moana is working on the field. They're there to improve Samoan and Tongan rugby on the field where they can have players playing at a high level week in week out which is what it's doing, instead of picking guys for their national teams who don't play at a very high level. They would love to play at home more often (look at the reception they received for their game in Tonga this year), but the cost of it is about $300,000 to run a game out of the Islands, hence why they play the majority of their games in NZ, and at this stage can only really afford to take one game to the Islands a year. Whangarei seemed to turn out for their game against the Reds this year, maybe that's an option going forward instead of playing out of Mt Smart? As for the funding side, World Rugby fund things as part of their help towards having pacific sides playing professional rugby, with NZ Rugby holding the license, basically so the money doesn't go missing with the corrupt officials in the Islands where the rugby side dont see it, so funding isn't really a problem. Is Moana a worthwhile exercise? Of course it fucken is! It's nice for Samoa and Tonga to finally be able to dive into professional rugby to pick players instead of making the side out of Auckland club rugby players. Have they made strides this year? Well they won 4 games this year, as opposed to 3 in their first 2 years, so yes, they have. Anyway, make what you will out if that, but that's basically how it is, and it's nice having a pacific side playing in SR as opposed to some pointless side like the Sunwolves used to be.
Was just a genuine question mate, absolutely nothing distasteful towards Moana like I said in the post so I hope it wasn’t taken that way…
That’s a good way of looking at the bigger picture for the pacific nations having stronger national sides. What we thought is where do we see them in 3-5 years is all, just wanted to see what everyone else thought. Again like I said everything takes time so slowly improving each season is a good thing.
Appreciate the response, good to get others perspectives on it 👌🏽
... he should have been happy he got the last few years past his use-by-date.
