Moana Pasifika: Māori All Blacks match just the beginning

For the Moana Pasifika side playing the Māori All Blacks, the match represents the start of what they hope is a new era of growth in Pacific Island rugby.

The one-off match is billed as a celebration of the cultures and connections between Māori, Fijian, Samoan and Tongan communities in Aotearoa.

For the Māori team, it's their only game of 2020, but for the Pasifika team, it represents new hope and hopefully a new kamata.

In 2004 the Pacific Islander team was created and played the All Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies, quickly capturing hearts and fans, before the team was disbanded in 2009.

They're back in the form of Moana Pasifika for Saturday night's clash with Māori All Blacks in Kirikiriroa.

Their manager and former Tonga international, Hale T-Pole, said this week had been a special experience.

"Everyone who has spoken about their purpose here, everyone refers back to their parents. The struggle, the sacrifices to come to New Zealand, but players to learn their culture, players that are born and raised in New Zealand and right from day one their learning and picking up bits and bits, that's quite rewarding seeing those guys doing that."

Reaping the rewards of a standout season for Auckland is Moana wing Salesi Rayasi, who has a Samoan mother and Fijian father, the latter playing 13 tests for Fiji.

He said there had been some pressure from family back in the islands to make sure he knew his villages.

"Aunties, uncles, messages saying you know, make sure that you know your village and stuff like that. Put it down [on a] piece of paper right... took me a hundred times to memorise it."

Rayasi said he did not realise quite how much his selection meant to his aiga and vuvale, until he got a call from his Samoan grandmother.

"I didn't really comprehend at first until I guess my nana started ringing and then I saw family members I don't really get phone calls from sort of thing. I probably see them at koga'i or family lunches and they were giving me messages of congratulations and stuff like that."

As per usual, Rayasi's nana was quick to dish out encouragement.

"Her punch line is always 110 percent so I was like, 'oh yeah thanks nan', then she goes 'oh you know this time it's 120 okay' I was just laughing the whole time."

Rayasi's time with the team has given him a new found energy to learn his ancestors language and he's looking forward to lining up against his cousin Shaun Stevenson, an outside back for the Māori All Blacks.

Both sides want to win, but Māori assistant coach Tony Brown said the week was also about personal growth and discovery.

"I would say 60 to 70 percent of our time is learning about the environment, the culture, where we come from as people and who we represent. So, these boys here that are in for the first time will cherish these memories for the rest of their lives."

Brown played eight games for the Māori All Blacks in the 1990s and he left the team with an unforgettable experience and an unforgettable moniker.

"When I was first in the team in 1996, I got given the nickname inanga. Obviously inanga means whitebait, haha, I was pretty fresh when I first came in."

Moana Pasifika are also embracing their nautical past and the history of Pacific Islanders migrations to Aotearoa.

Though T-Pole had some concerns over their Waka Ama experience.

"So I'm looking forward to it just as long as... you know Islanders, I hope they all can swim. We had to pass on the message 'oi start watching YouTube how to swim because if you fall over'... ha ha."

T-Pole believed a long term Super Rugby presence was needed to stop Pacific Island rugby from falling over. While two sides are set to be included from 2022, he said there was plenty more work to be done for rugby in Tonga, Fiji and Samoa to thrive.