On the wall of Moana Pasifika’s changing room at their North Harbour Stadium base there is a message written in white letters on a blue background: “Au te tū pei se mauaga”, Samoan for “I stand like a giant”.
That message has been seen a bit recently.
Moana Pasifika’s unique brand is being well captured by their social media team and what is becoming an eagerly awaited staple for their growing number of fans is a glimpse into the inner sanctum after their victories.
The latest came last night after their extraordinary 27-21 home win over the Blues – another historic success – and so there were the players spraying water and banging their now notorious Moana Pasifika-branded rubbish bin, to the point where the lid snapped in a riot of chanting, cheering and dancing.
It hardly needs to be said, but they were unfazed by the setback. The bin was simply raised higher and struck harder.
This was joy unbridled and without the self-consciousness usually associated with rugby players in New Zealand.
If anything is going to get cut-through with the younger generation, it is this.
The Blues were on the wrong side of history as the resurgent number 8 presses his case for best rugby player in the world. (Source: 1News)
The team’s latest success – built once again on their incomparable captain Ardie Savea, a human highlight reel who is becoming more and more influential to his team on a weekly basis – has allowed them to overtake the Blues into sixth position on the table.
Their first ever win over their cross-town rivals means Moana Pasifika are in the playoffs mix with two (difficult) matches against the Chiefs and Hurricanes remaining.
It also means they have beaten all but one of their New Zealand-based rivals this season.
Their next assignment is perhaps the most difficult: playing the Chiefs, losing finalists for the last two seasons, in Hamilton. They have never beaten the Chiefs.
But, after what they have achieved so far in 2025 – winning the hearts and minds of new fans around the world with their unique spark and incredible individual talent – one should be wary about putting a ceiling on their success.
Moana Pasifika wing Kyren Taumoefolau, only 22, scored a hat-trick of tries as the home side, playing in front of 12,000 noisy fans, went out to a 27-14 lead and withstood a late Blues’ onslaught, but none stood taller, indeed giant-like, than captain Savea.
It is becoming difficult to find superlatives worthy of describing Savea’s exploits. Suffice it to say, he is becoming a great of the game, if he isn’t already one, and must be considered the best player in the world right now: a comparison made easier due to Frenchman Antoine Dupont’s injury rehabilitation.
All of which is good news for All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson, a man who will appreciate the outstanding form of one of his key loose forwards and who is on the hunt for an outside back to replace the departing Mark Tele’a.
At 1.91m tall, Taumoefolau is good under the high ball and a deadly finisher who can create opportunities out of virtually nothing.
But, like it or not, over the next two months as the three-Test French series approaches, it will become increasingly difficult for Robertson to defend his choice of Scott Barrett as his captain ahead of Savea.
They are very different men and players but Savea appears far more comfortable with the burden of leadership than his Crusaders counterpart.
Both players lead through their on-field actions but Savea does that and more. He inspires, and that could be the ingredient which could turn things for the All Blacks this year.
Robertson, who oversaw four defeats in his first year in charge, will obviously have his reasons for choosing Barrett, currently sidelined with a finger injury, over Savea.
Chief among them will be the relationship the two men built during their wildly successful time at the Crusaders.
But Barrett’s decision-making last year – including during the All Blacks’ close loss to France in Paris - was not without question, and there are big advantages in having a team’s best player as its captain.
They have an extra aura which can be - subconsciously or not – recognised by match officials. The great Richie McCaw traded on this for years.
Savea is in the ascendant. It is undeniable. Robertson, facing up to two highly anticipated Tests against the world champion Springboks in Auckland and Wellington this year, will come under increasing pressure to exploit that for the good of the team.
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