Moana Pasifika Ardie Savea soring a disallowed try. Photo: Brett Phibbs / www.photosport.nz
Fijian Drua captain Mesulame Dolokoto conceded defeat and congratulated Moana Pasifika as the dust settled on North Harbour Stadium in Albany on Saturday.
The former Queen Victoria School scholar rued the missed opportunities that went begging in the 'battle of the Pacific', which the hosts convincingly won 34-15.
It was the biggest margin, by far, between the winner and loser in the annual battle, which was a hard pill to swallow for the Fijians, who had won four of the Drua's five matches against Moana leading up to the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific round 11 match.
Dolokoto commended Moana Pasifika for getting the job done in the end, adding that the Drua will have to wait for 12 months now before they get the chance to do battle again.
"Both new teams and whenever we have the chance to go against each other, yes you say that's the bragging rights for the whole year," he said.
"They have the upper hands on us now. It's kind of special, we only meet them once this year. We have to wait for another year."
Here are RNZ Pacific's five takeaways from the clash:
1. Turning opportunities to points
Fijian Drua enjoyed a lot of possession early, but as head coach Glen Jackson and captain Dolokoto said, they were just not able to make those count on the scoreboard.
Jackson attributed that as their main downfall.
"There's no doubt our boys gave it all their best," he said at the post-match press conference.
"They probably dominated position, territory, linebreaks, but that's not the game of rugby.
"Unfortunately, we didn't capitalise on possession that we had. But Moana took their chances."
He said they had enough quality balls but what they did with it was not enough.
Moana Pasifika, on the other hand, used what opportunities they had and scored six tries as a result.
Captain Ardie Savea said that was the big lesson they had learned from the earlier loss to the Brumbies.
It was a key area they worked on - getting points every time they were in the opposition's 22 metre zone.
Moana Pasifika halfback Jonathan Taumateine during the Super Rugby Pacific Moana Pasifika v Fijian Drua at North Harbour Stadium, Auckland. Photo: Brett Phibbs / www.photosport.nz
2. Staying in it
Moana Pasifika stayed in the game and kept chirping away throughout the 80 minutes.
It showed as they stood up to the Drua's last ditch efforts to get some points in the last minutes of the game, with winger Tevita Ofa reading a passing movement which he intercepted to run in untouched over 50 minutes to score.
Head coach Fa'alogo Tana Umaga said it was an area they had been working on.
He said they had to work hard to get the win.
"Pretty happy with the victory but we had to work hard for it," he said.
"We knew we would and that first half it went into a bit of arm wrestle. It took us a while to really wear them down a bit."
His captain Ardie Savea commended his players for sticking in the game, absorbing what the Drua team threw at them and responding with their own plays.
"I am very proud of the lads for sticking in it. The Fiji Drua team put us under pressure a lot of times," he said.
"For us to get out of that and then slowly start accumulating points is a positive for us."
3. Defence wins it
Many have said that strong defence contributes to winning games.
That was one of the hallmarks of Moana Pasifika's performance.
Both Umaga and Savea pointed to that as a critical area they have been working on weekly.
On Saturday it stood out.
Drua were unable to break through in the first half, although they did manage to get two tries of their own in the second 40.
That compared to the six tries they let in against them.
"Our defence really held up against them and it's something that we have been growing in the past few weeks," Umaga said of his team's defensive display.
Savea added to that.
"Again our defence kind of saved us a few times," he stated.
Unfortunately, Drua were find lacking in that area 'when push came to shove'.
4. Options and variation
On the day, the Fijian Drua ran out of options and variation.
Their backline could not break through the Moana Pasifika defence.
Upfront, their forwards had some moments of brilliance, but those came in bits and pieces, instead of consistently.
Moana Pasifika, on the other hand, changed their attacks when it suited them, with halfback Jonathan Taumateine having some moments of his own with flick inside passes, dummies and box kicks.
Upfront captain Savea led the drives, gaining metres with the ball in hand, able supported by double try-scorer Miracle Failangi and tough number eight Semisi Tupou-Ta'eiloa.
5. Consistent lineups
A talking point for Drua has been the ever-changing lineups that they have fielded in all their matches so far.
Jackson is guilty of picking and chopping of players on a weekly basis.
Many feel that is the biggest sin he has committed as head coach, in changing lineups for the sake of player rotation, instead of fielding his best players to win matches.
It is also an area that some Drua players are unhappy about as they have seen the side effect that has had on the team's performance so far.
The Drua started off the 2025 competition with close losses.
But since round five they have struggled to keep up with their opponents.
One of the biggest weakness is when there are constant changes to lineups, which means players not being able to read each others games and understand each other on the field.
Moana Pasifika have retained the core of their lineups in almost all matches, and introducing changes to the bench when needed. This has kept them ticking so far, with the chance of moving further up on the points standing.
Umaga said they have had to understand that as a team, that some players will miss out on game time, with the team's goal taking priority over personal gains.
Both the Drua will be in action again this weekend: the Fijians hosting the Reds in Suva, while Moana Pasifika will fly south to meet the Highlanders in Dunedin on Sunday.
