Super Rugby 2025
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@SouthernMann said in Super Rugby 2025:
@Steven-Harris said in Super Rugby 2025:
@SouthernMann Moana Pacifika now a development team for NZ rugby
This absolutely sucks in my opinion
First they lose Amua and Tavatavanawai ,now Taumoefolau and you can bet bottom dollar the wolves are circling Patrick Pelligrini because hes litterly in the top 3 10s in the country
defeats the whole purpose of having Pacific team in the comp if their best talent gets picked off every yearPelligrini should be a different case as a locked in Tongan player?
The likes of Kyren Taumoefolau is a weird one. Should have been safe as a Tongan player. Now changing his mind, making the best pathway forward being through an NZR affiliated franchise.
Kyren is a different case. He's a New Zealander who has elected to stand down from representative duty.
If Miracle Fa'ilagi gets poached then there should rightfully be an uproar.
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I mean you can't really blame the super teams, it is totally up to the player where he goes. No one is going to say no to a world class player wanting to play for them, regardless of who approached who first.
If he is happy at MP you would think he would stay there. -
@Steven-Harris said in Super Rugby 2025:
@SouthernMann Moana Pacifika now a development team for NZ rugby
This absolutely sucks in my opinion
First they lose Amua and Tavatavanawai ,now Taumoefolau and you can bet bottom dollar the wolves are circling Patrick Pelligrini because hes litterly in the top 3 10s in the country
defeats the whole purpose of having Pacific team in the comp if their best talent gets picked off every yearHow the hell does Pelligrini even get in your mind as a AB, he's not eligible for ABs . He's a Tongan intrernational FFS. You got to make better arguments.
Levi Aumua originally was never going to play for MP as he stated clearly he wanted to be AB (he wished). Tavatavanawai was really outside MP's remit anyway, they were started to build depth for Tonga, Samoa, Cook Islands according to Michael Jones . Tavatavanama is not eligible for any of those teams , he's Fijian.I like everything about the MP concept, and I can bet some will be lost to French clubs etc for the big money etc.
This is what Jones said on whether they expected more ABs;
Jones says Moana Pasifika's priority should be to stay true to its DNA; that’s to assist with the growth and building Samoan and Tongan rugby, in particular, along with the likes of Cook Islands.Out of interest Miracle couldn't even be poached as he has played for Samoa.
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@Dan54 said in Super Rugby 2025:
How the hell does Pelligrini even get in your mind as a AB, he's not eligible for ABs . He's a Tongan intrernational FFS. You got to make better arguments.
Out of interest Miracle couldn't even be poached as he has played for Samoa.
Kyren has played for Tonga…that’s the point? But he has birthright transfer which I don’t think Patrick or Miracle do, so they would have to stand down five years rather than 3.
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@Dan54 No one even said pellegrini was a potential AB, just that he was a standout player at 10 within NZ - super rugby clubs are hungry for break out players. The highlanders and crusaders have fielded international 10s in recent years & plenty of pacific nation reps have played super, so to say that pellegrini might get some offers is hardly egregious and not without precedent? Pretty sure i saw somewhere he had been signed for North Harbour for NPC.
Dont forget these guys are trying to build a career, not all are in the fortunate position of Ardie to do things for a passion project. If its not 'fair' then how should the funding of Moana be managed, just give them the same funding as any other NZ team? -
@zedsdeadbaby said in Super Rugby 2025:
@Dan54 said in Super Rugby 2025:
How the hell does Pelligrini even get in your mind as a AB, he's not eligible for ABs . He's a Tongan intrernational FFS. You got to make better arguments.
Out of interest Miracle couldn't even be poached as he has played for Samoa.
Kyren has played for Tonga…that’s the point? But he has birthright transfer which I don’t think Patrick or Miracle do, so they would have to stand down five years rather than 3.
Yep he's played for Tonga, so there is an argument for him. But hardly makes MP a development team for NZR, christ didn't he play for Ta$man before Tonga? I be honest I would be happy if they said no we don't want him or otherwise, but talk of him wanting to play for Chiefs is hardly startling, I would inmagine he would make a lot more if his agent just sold him overseas,
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@Dan54 he played for Tonga before he played for Ta$man (first played 7s for Tonga in 2022, when he was 19, 15s after that)
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@antipodean said in Super Rugby 2025:
@SouthernMann said in Super Rugby 2025:
@Steven-Harris said in Super Rugby 2025:
@SouthernMann Moana Pacifika now a development team for NZ rugby
This absolutely sucks in my opinion
First they lose Amua and Tavatavanawai ,now Taumoefolau and you can bet bottom dollar the wolves are circling Patrick Pelligrini because hes litterly in the top 3 10s in the country
defeats the whole purpose of having Pacific team in the comp if their best talent gets picked off every yearPelligrini should be a different case as a locked in Tongan player?
The likes of Kyren Taumoefolau is a weird one. Should have been safe as a Tongan player. Now changing his mind, making the best pathway forward being through an NZR affiliated franchise.
Kyren is a different case. He's a New Zealander who has elected to stand down from representative duty.
If Miracle Fa'ilagi gets poached then there should rightfully be an uproar.
I wish Miracle would have been poached when he was young instead of that useless piece of shit Frizell.
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@taniwharugby said in Super Rugby 2025:
@Dan54 he played for Tonga before he played for Ta$man (first played 7s for Tonga in 2022, when he was 19, 15s after that)
Fair enough mate, so he was developed in Tonga? I genuinely thought he was born and raised in NZ. If I was wrong even more prefer he stayed at MP, I always thought he was a kiwi, and I thought I heard him say he was one. My bad mate..
Really the point I was making that NZR weren't using MP as a development team, from what I have seen. -
He is a Kiwi (.and he’s also Tonga). Born and schooled in Marlborough to a well known family there - Tonga got him on their radar in 2022/23 when he was still a teenager through his heritage when he’d barely left high school and was offered a chance to play at a World Cup as they had a number of injuries and the like.
There’s more egregious examples of poaching/nation switching than this - agree there are issues with using this team as a pathway but this seems like a case of a young Kiwi guy who probably didn’t know the true nature of his talents and probably wouldn’t have represented Tonga if he thought he was an All Blacks contender.
If his departure to the Chiefs is confirmed it probably allows another Pacific Island player to take his spot, who is committed to representing one of those sides. -
I've missed the outrage about an established All Black taking the development opportunities away from a promising young Islander.
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@antipodean said in Super Rugby 2025:
I've missed the outrage about an established All Black taking the development opportunities away from a promising young Islander.
Interesting there's no mention of Tonga poaching kiwi school kids that live in NZ.
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@zedsdeadbaby said in Super Rugby 2025:
@Dan54 said in Super Rugby 2025:
How the hell does Pelligrini even get in your mind as a AB, he's not eligible for ABs . He's a Tongan intrernational FFS. You got to make better arguments.
Out of interest Miracle couldn't even be poached as he has played for Samoa.
Kyren has played for Tonga…that’s the point? But he has birthright transfer which I don’t think Patrick or Miracle do, so they would have to stand down five years rather than 3.
The stand-down period for all players is
fivethree years, and it's only open to those who were born in another country or have parents/grandparents born in another country. You can't transfer countries through naturalisation. -
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