A team with a traditionally upbeat feel became even more buoyant after their victory of the Fiji Drua in Melbourne at the weekend, one of the best in their short history.
"It's given us confidence ... it just proves if we work hard and get things right with our game plan we can compete in this competition," Moana Pasifika assistant coach Tom Coventry told 1News of the 39-36 win.
However, competing for Moana means seven home games in six different venues this season due to their effectively not having a home stadium.
Last season they trained and played at Mt Smart Stadium. This year they are training at North Harbour Stadium but aren't allowed to play there due to "grass issues".
"We'd love to be able to play where we train ... the reality is .. well that is the reality," Coventry said.
"But we get on with is, simple as that."
Their magical mystery tour started last weekend in Melbourne.
On Friday night they play host in Hamilton, then host the Blues at Eden Park, a home match of sorts, then to Whangārei, Tonga and two home games at Mt Smart Stadium to close out of the season.
They were scheduled to play at North Harbour on Friday but it was moved to Hamilton as the grass is under repair from a summer concert.
James Parkinson, Auckland Council's director of stadiums, responded to a question by 1News about the state of the field, which appears suitable to play on, by saying: "The field certainly looks a lot better than it did two weeks ago, but there's a real difference between how the field looks and performance."
The bigger issue is the long-term future of the stadium, which is controlled by Auckland Council. The outside oval is also home to New Zealand Football and Harbour rugby.
Asked whether the council don't want teams playing at the stadium because they want to get rid of it, Parkinson said:
"I guess we hear a lot of talk at different times, the clear reality is different to that."
The preferred option for Auckland Unlimited, which runs the stadium, is to dramatically downsize the venue. Public consultation ends in a few weeks.
This nomadic Super Rugby Pacific team does what it has to as Auckland's seemingly never-ending stadium saga drags on.
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