How Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua will impact Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga
You would be hard pressed to find many that dislike the additions of Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua to Super Rugby Pacific. While the teams may have finished 11th and 12th in their first season, they were entertaining and competitive for the majority of their games. The Drua upset the playoff bound Rebels and beat Pasifika. They also lost 4 of their games by a single score, so a few lucky bounces and they could’ve won 6 games. Meanwhile, Pasifika had the upset of the season over the Brumbies, defeated the Hurricanes, and they lost 2 games by a single score. They stood competitive through several other encounters throughout the season. Overall, both Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua were exciting, never gave up, and always fought admirably.
The most important thing about these two teams is how they will impact the national sides of the three small island nations of Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. Every single player on Pasifika and Drua are getting regular reps in a professional setting against some of the best opposition in the world, and that play will raise the quality of the regional international competition. So far, 27 Pasifika players have been called up by Samoa and Tonga for their upcoming matches in the revived Pacific Nations Cup. Fiji’s roster included 14 players from the Drua, including all three of the team’s scrum halves. In their first Pacific Nations Cup match they named 9 Drua players to face Tonga. In the future, the Flying Fijians could also enlist the only Fijian on Pasifika’s roster, the absolute monster that is Timoci Tavatavanawai.
Tavatavanawai is my breakout star for the pacific teams this season. He has beaten more defenders than anyone else in Super Rugby, an incredible 73 defenders beaten in only eight matches. That is NINE defenders beaten a game. To put that in perspective, the next two behind him are Vinaya Habosi with 56 for the Drua, who has played 11 matches, and Will Jordan with 54 for the Crusaders in 11 matches as well. Tavatavanawai may have only scored 2 tries, but his power has created countless attacking opportunities and go forward for his squad. Aside from the discovery of gems like Tavatavanawai and Habosi, these two teams ensure that the three nations will have an easier time of calling up a strong side of professionals—contrary to the difficulty getting their stars away from club sides in the past.
The biggest weaknesses of the island nations have been their overall fitness, discipline, set piece and cohesion, which have not held up against the big nations. The teams always bring incredible athleticism, ferocity, and skills, but by fielding teams that have more players in lower leagues or in semi-professional outfits, they have faltered against tier one teams with superior fitness. Regular high level play time, especially in that of Super Rugby, for their players will help overcome this issue. You could expect that this would raise the standards for on field discipline as well. While Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga do have talented forwards, they have not always reached the same superstardom outcomes of their backline teammates, particularly in set piece.
The importance of the set piece cannot be overstated. When a team fails to establish themselves, or even hold their own in the set piece, it is difficult to win the match. Through a more unified and established match play in Super Rugby, the forwards should vastly improve their scrummaging and lineout which is now being obtained. For Fiji, you see 7 forwards playing together for the Fijian Drua, while both Tonga and Samoa each have 6 playing for Moana Pasifika. Growth in the forwards abilities will include better platforms with which they can launch attacks, giving away less penalties, and diminishing their opponent’s attacking opportunities.
Granted, Tonga always put out massive and technically sound props that perform well in the scrum, but they could use more help in the lineout when dealing with teams like South Africa or England.
Fiji and Samoa have suffered from ill discipline and card trouble in recent times. During the 2019 World Cup, Fiji received 3 yellows and Samoa had 4 yellows and 1 red. It must be noted that their pacific neighbor, Tonga, managed to maintain a clean slate. Fiji, in particular, suffered at the hands of their own ill discipline the most as the yellows came at game impacting times. In Fiji’s loss to Wales, 17-29, the two cards came at a times that they held the lead, 10-0 in the 17th minute and later at 10-7 in the 29th minute. Against Australia, Levani Botia picked up a yellow at the 61st minute, where Fiji was leading 21-20 but ended up losing 21-39. While it isn’t a given, it can be argued that these cards severely cost Fiji in both games, especially as they had the lead in both games prior to going a man down. Samoa, against Japan, received a yellow in the 25th minute in a close game, only 6-9, but they were down 6-16 by the time they went back to 15 men. They lost the game 19-38. Again, it may have not have determined the outcome, but it would certainly have made a more interesting game if discipline was not a problem.
The most important gain for the Pacific Island sides will be the cohesion that players will carry over from their time in Super Rugby. Most nations generally have more success when they are able to draw a core of players from one or two teams. England were at their best around the 2019 RWC because the spine of their team was from Saracens, New Zealand call on a substantial portion of their squad from the Crusaders, and now the Blues, and Leinster is a conveyor belt of talent for Ireland. Australia is probably the most notable example of this, they were at the height of their powers in the 90s because virtually their whole squad was made up of just two clubs, the Queensland and New South Wales, and later the Brumbies who were made of mostly one local team. Now the Pacific Island nations can benefit from this shared experience and chemistry that will be built from their Super Rugby clubs.
With the first week of PNC in the books, we can see how the additions have brought immediate gains for some teams, while others will need more time to reap the rewards. Fiji dispatched Tonga easily, winning 36-0, while fielding a squad missing some of their best players such as Botia, Radradra, Yato, Nadolo, and Tuisova to name a few. They are already realizing their new found depth and cohesion, while smartly blooding new players ahead of the World Cup next year, and fielding 9 Drua players in their starting lineup. Meanwhile, Samoa defeated a strong Australia A team, 31-26. The Manu Samoa squad featured 13 Moana Pasifika players and a pair of Los Angeles based front rowers, how’s that for cohesion?
Samoa were fielding their first choice side, so they have a little ways to go in order to build the depth that Fiji has.
Now let’s take a look at Tonga. Obviously, they were on the wrong side of the aforementioned 36-0 demolition in Suva. They themselves fielded 10 Pasifika players, as well as a pair of former All Blacks, and a former Wallaby in their backline. Unfortunately for Tonga, none of these seemed to matter on the day, especially when Folau left the game within 20 minutes from sustaining an injury. It seems it will take more time for the players of the Ikale Tahi to gel together, but when they do, they should possess the fire power to compete.
It will be interesting to watch the next few games unfold, Tonga will be looking to bounce back against Samoa, while Fiji will look to test themselves against Australia A. The real test will come in this fall, when Fiji will face Scotland and Ireland, away from home, while Samoa will travel to face Italy. If both teams can perform well and keep the matches close, or even steal a victory, they should be pleased with themselves knowing that they are heading in the right direction ahead of the next World Cup. And who knows, Fiji meet their old World Cup opponent, Wales, in the pool stages, perhaps a quarter-finals berth is on the cards for them for the first time since 2007.
