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Moana Pasifika stumped just shy of 36-point comeback vs Chiefs
By Ned Lester
A first-half bloodbath made way for an enthralling finish in Pukekohe on Friday night, as Moana Pasifika chipped away at a 36-point halftime deficit to come just shy of snatching a historic win over the Chiefs.
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The contest was first vs last and the opening 40 minutes made it look as if the table-topping Chiefs would score a point per minute in an almighty blowout. But, a composed halftime pep talk from Tana Umaga set Moana Pasifika up for a resilient fightback, concluding in a 35-50 defeat.
Moana spilled the kickoff and were quickly found offside, handing the Chiefs a 3-0 lead within the opening minutes.
Both sides were guilty of errors in the following minutes, but the Chiefs’ upper hand in the set piece kept them in better field position. A hurried Moana exit resulted in a prime counter-attacking opportunity, with Damian McKenzie finding Shaun Stevenson who glided through a gap in the defensive line, leading to a try to Bradley Slater.
Stevenson was on the board five minutes later, stepping inside on first phase attack from the lineout and again gliding through the line, this time to score, himself.
Moana made metres with the ball in hand, but couldn’t secure the breakdown and surrendered territory and momentum.
Another penalty conceded at scrum time allowed the Chiefs to get back into Moana’s 22 and while the hosts defused the driving maul, hard carries from the likes of Gideon Wrampling couldn’t be contained and Xavier Roe was the next on the scorers’ sheet.
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Moana Pasifika were under pressure at the lineout as the Chiefs attacked their line once more, and after consecutive penalties, captain Tom Savage was sent to the bin. Leroy Carter scored moments later.
The Chiefs got overly ambitious with their next possession, spilling an offload and gifting Moana Pasifika possession in the Chiefs’ half. The hosts made quick work of the metres between them and the try line, and while they were held up once, a superb play off the restart saw them break the line after just one phase and William Havili was able to provide the extra effort to score.
There were just five minutes remaining until halftime but the Chiefs were hungry for more and managed to touch down twice in that period, scoring firstly through Manaaki Selby-Rickit before McKenzie was rewarded for his strong playmaking.
After a half of getting piggybacked up the field through Moana penalties, the Chiefs led 43-7 at halftime.
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A dream start to the second period saw Moana Pasifika score within two minutes. It was a strong carry from close range that got Abraham Pole over the line.
20 minutes into the second half and it had been Moana Pasifika getting piggybacked up the field, but the finishing touch was proving difficult against a resolute Chiefs defence.
That was until Sama Mololo got his hands on the ball with the line in his sights, the powerful Manu Samoa hooker crashing over the line to get his side up to 21 points in the game.
In another immensely impressive outing for Patrick Pellegrini, Super Rugby Pacific’s own Lionel Messi got himself another try assist via cross-field kick when he found debutant Tuna Tuitama over the try line.
Just as the Chiefs looked to be restoring order, William Havili claimed an intercept and ran 75 metres to score. Of course, Pellegrini was up to adding the extras.
After trailing by 36 points, Moana Pasifika had reduced the deficit to just eight points with five minutes remaining.
Hopes of a fairytale comeback were dashed, however, with a late Samisoni Taukei’aho try from the driving maul. Final score: 35-50.
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