Moana Pasifika players training ahead of their 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season games. Photo: Moana Pasifika
The new coaching team led by head coach Fa'alogo Tana Umaga are doing a great job in their pre-season Super Rugby Pacific preparations, experienced Moana Pasifika halfback Ereatara Enari says.
Enari and his fellow players were on site at their North Harbour Stadium base in Albany last Tuesday to meet with the media.
He said the coaching group have helped the players gel together.
"Really good. So many different things in our environment and our coaching staff is really an important one," he said.
"We've really enjoyed how they have managed our team, our training schedule and the content they are bringing in so far and hopefully it will last the whole season."
Enari has been with Moana Pasifika from day one in 2022, now one of the pioneers of the team.
Umaga, who was assistant to Aaron Mauger in the 2022-2023 season, was appointed head coach towards the end of 2023.
The former All Blacks had also worked with Enari for Manu Samoa during the 2023 Pacific Nations Cup and Rugby World Cup campaigns.
Helping out with coaching are Toaigaotumua Tom Coventry, who also worked with Umaga on the Manu Samoa campaign and former Welsh star Stephen Jones
'Good mix'
Enari said the Moana Pasifika squad preparing for the 2024 season is a good mix of new and experienced players.
All the players are either from Tonga or Samoa, most having played for the two national teams in the past two years.
"Really exciting team, good mixture of young players coming through, a lot with their first Super Rugby season and also some coming over as well from other teams and it's really gonna be a good mix," the nippy halfback said.
"Seeing how we gel together is going to be the main thing."
Moana Pasifika's Ereatara Enari is seen during the Super Rugby Pacific match between Crusaders and Moana Pasifika at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch on April 7, 2023. Photo: SANKA VIDANAGAMA
Tonga connection
Enari and Moana Pasifika will get to play their second home game in the islands this year, the team scheduled to travel to Nuku'alofa and play the Highlanders there on 4 May.
He said the experience of playing in Samoa last year was unforgettable and they were looking forward to getting to play in Tonga.
"It's going to be an awesome experience.
"We played in Samoa last year for the first time and was one of the best experience a lot of us have had in our whole career.
So, to take a Super Rugby game to is going to be huge for the country, huge for the locals who are there, and also for the Tongan international team."
He said providing Super Rugby games in the islands was a huge step for local players who will be inspired to try for places in Moana Pasifika as the stepping stone into their respective national rugby teams.
"It will show them that the pathway is to come through us (Moana Pasifika) into Samoa and Tonga and it's going to be exciting to re-connect with Tonga," he added.
Moana Pasifika training ahead of their 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season games. Photo: Moana Pasifika
Fine excited
Meanwhile, new kid on the block Viliame Fine says he is looking forward to the opportunity he has been given as part of Moana Pasifika.
Fine, one of the new players in the franchise squad, plays his rugby in Petone under the Wellington Rugby Union banner.
He also played for the Tonga national sevens team in the last two seasons.
While new to Super Rugby, he is excited to be in a squad that includes some of the famous names in world rugby like former All Blacks Julian Savea, former Wallabies duo Sekope Kepu and Christian Leali'ifano plus Tongan 'Ikale Tahi reps Solomone Finau and Sione Havili Talitui.
Fine is looking forward to learning from Savea and competing against him for spots on the Moana Pasifika lineups.
"That is something I am looking forward to especially him (Savea) with the experience he has and wanting to learn from him and obviously competing with him too," he said.
"There's obviously a lot of learnings, as the training is a step up from what I am used to."
Fine said getting in Moana Pasifika will also help him re-connect with his Tongan culture and improving his knowledge of the Tongan language, especially when most of the players from Tonga speak their mother tongue.
"Most of the Tongan boys here speak Tongan so some of our conversations are in Tongan so I can learn that and then go home and speak Tongan to my old man," he said.
"I can speak Tongan casually, but I want to learn a little bit more of formal Tongan."
Moana Pasifika are now based in North Harbour and will play their first 2024 season game against the Highlanders in Dunedin on 24 February.
They will host the Rebels at their new home base on 8 March.