Miracle Faillagi celebrates scoring a try with Pepesana Patafilo during the Crusaders v Moana Pasifika, Super Rugby Pacific match, Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch. Photo: Joseph Johnson/ActionPress
In a season full of drama already, Moana Pasifika have pulled off the biggest upset so far by beating the Crusaders 45-29 in Christchurch.
It was, without a doubt, Moana's most complete performance of their history with the most difficult part naming a man of the match.
Every single player on the Moana side played out of their skins against a Crusaders side that had convincingly won three matches in the lead up and were heavy favourites.
The visitors started with a try to Ardie Savea and dined out on a favourable penalty count as the Crusaders were constantly offside, however the Crusaders hit back straight away with a lineout drive try to Ioane Moananu.
But, that's as good as it got in the first half for the Crusaders.
In form first five Patrick Pellegrini set the tone with a booming 50/22 that set up Savea for a second, before Danny Toala sliced through to extend the lead.
Pellegrini got in on the act himself when he finished off a sweeping move that he started on halfway, sending Tevita Ofa into a big gap and following up to take the offload.
An 18 point lead at the break was definitely not enough to get comfortable and the inevitable Crusaders fightback came with tries to Macca Springer and Codie Taylor.
But while defence has been Moana's biggest issue since their inception, the screws tightened after that and Pellegrini was given plenty of excellent ball to control the play with.
The defining moment came in the 66th minute, when flanker Miracle Faiilagi spun out of a tackle to stretch out and score, pushing the lead back to three scores with the finish line in sight. Just to put a bit of insurance on the result, Pepesana Patafilo dotted down under the posts not long after.
This is a real gut punch for the Crusaders, who were exposed badly throughout and offered little of the attacking nous that saw them rack up almost 150 points in their last three games. They were missing captain David Havili, who pulled out late with injury, but still had the luxury of bringing All Blacks Taylor and Tamaiti Williams off the bench.
They now have to travel up to Fiji to face the Drua, while Moana will be brimming with confidence when they meet the Waratahs in Albany next Saturday.
Read how the game unfolded with RNZ's live blog:
Team lists
Crusaders: 1. George Bower, 2. Ioane Moananu, 3. Fletcher Newell, 4. Scott Barrett, 5. Jamie Hannah, 6. Cullen Grace, 7. Ethan Blackadder, 8. Fletcher Anderson, 9. Noah Hotham, 10. James O'Connor, 11. Macca Springer, 12. David Havili (c), 13. Dallas McLeod, 14. Chay Fihaki, 15. Will Jordan
Bench: 16. Codie Taylor, 17. Tamaiti Williams, 18. Seb Calder, 19. Quinten Strange, 20. Xavier Saifoloi, 21. Mitch Drummond, 22. Rivez Reihana, 23. Levi Aumua
Moana Pasifika: 1. Tito Tuipulotu, 2. Millennium Sanerivi, 3. Feleti Sae-Ta'ufo'ou, 4. Samuel Slade, 5. Allan Craig, 6. Miracle Faiilagi, 7. Semisi Paea, 8. Ardie Savea (c), 9. Jonathan Taumateine, 10. Patrick Pellegrini, 11. Solomon Alaimalo, 12. Lalomilo Lalomilo, 13. Pepesana Patafilo, 14. Tevita Ofa, 15. William Havili
Bench: 16. Sama Malolo, 17. Abraham Pole, 18. Chris Apoua, 19. Tom Savage, 20. Alamanda Motuga, 21. Melani Matavao, 22. Jackson Garden-Bachop, 23. Tuna Tuitama
