WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The Auckland-based Blues joined a logjam near the top of the Super Rugby table when they beat Moana Pasifika in a fifth round match Sunday at the end of a week in which fault lines were exposed between the two teams headquartered in New Zealand’s largest city.
The Blues and Moana Pasifika both have Auckland bases and are competing for elements of the same audience in the city with the world’s largest Polynesian population.
In an interview during the week, Moana Pasifika head coach Tana Umaga told reporters the Blues “don’t want us here.” The former All Blacks captain highlighted an incident this season when Moana Pasifika had trouble finding an alternative venue after a planned match in Tonga fell through for funding reasons.
Moana Pasifika has worked hard to carve out a place for itself in Super Rugby since it was founded in 2020 and hasn’t been able to replicate the success of the Fiji-based Drua. Umaga hinted the Blues would be happy if his team did not survive.
“I don’t know if they realize there’s two professional rugby teams in this city,” Umaga said. “But we do know they don’t want us here.
“We’ve got nothing against the playing group, nothing against the staff because I’ve worked in there. But the people that make decisions have made it very hard for us to survive over here.
“That’s why they probably are our greatest rivals because they want to see us not do well and not thrive. I struggle with that.”
The Blues had the last say on the field Sunday, beating Moana Pasifika 43-7 to go 3-1 and to join the Wellington-based Hurricanes (3-1) and ACT Brumbies (3-2) on 15 points at the top of the table.
Moana Pasifika, drawing on players of Samoan and Tonga heritage, are now 1-4 after five rounds, in last place on the 11-team table.
Injury Impact
After five rounds, injuries are beginning to impact the competition.
There were 66 injuries among the 11 teams prior to this weekend’s matches. The Crusaders are the most hard-hit with 14 players out of action. Even then, they managed to beat the Highlanders 28-19 Saturday in a New Zealand South Island derby.
Among injuries so far, there are at least 10 knee injuries, seven hamstring strains, six concussions, five ankle injuries, four shoulder injuries and the same number of calf injuries. There are a variety of others including quads, ribs, back and neck injuries, one elbow injury and one case of appendicitis.
Overall, injuries this season tend to be more torsion than collision injuries which may be a sign of the faster and more open nature of the game.
Kicking is playing a larger part in games this season than last. More than for territory, kicks are being used to counter flat backline defense. There have been more than 80 kicks in play in several matches pointing to the use of the ball on the boot as a tactical option. So far it has been rare for the ball to be recovered by the kicking team.
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