“It’s very cool what they’re doing,” the Blues skipper and All Blacks lock said. “They’re certainly playing well and are exciting to watch. My little brother is playing for them, so I keep a close eye on them.
“Their form makes the competition between us stronger and more heated now, with both of us being in Auckland, which makes for a good spectacle.
“He doesn’t give me much feedback, but their team is deeply rooted in the Pacific Island culture. You see that with how they go about their work. They start their day with a prayer and their hymns. You see them out in the community as well. They have a good crowd, especially for their home games, so all the good things rugby needs.”
Flying the Pacific flag has more impact when success follows. In that regard, Ardie Savea’s influence in inspiring Moana this season – the All Blacks loose forward is odds-on to be named Super Rugby MVP – cannot be understated.
With notable wins over the Crusaders, Hurricanes, Highlanders and Waratahs this season, and three victories from four at North Harbour Stadium, Moana will carry belief into challenging the big brother Blues.
“You look at their leaders, like Ardie, inspiring them around their ball carry and confrontation,” Tuipulotu said. “The way they played the Crusaders, they stuck to their guns off nine and carrying up front.
“Ardie has uplifted them, and then you see guys like Miracle [Faiʻilagi] are playing good footy off him. With good systems in place, they’ve improved a lot. They know how they want to play.”
The Blues comfortably dispatched Moana 36-17 in early April but, after wins against the Drua and Highlanders in their last two outings, and with Moana returning to their adopted North Shore home, Tuipulotu expects to confront a different beast.
“We know they’re a different team to when we last played them.”
As for the Blues, Tuipulotu delivers a frank assessment of their underwhelming campaign to date. He attributes it partly to complacency and the hefty contingent of All Blacks being underdone at the start of the season, with Super Rugby starting one week early.
“It’s been pretty tough, a bad start, and a tough run of losses. A few of them were close, so they could have gone either way, but a very disappointing season. We’re coming into some form now, so if we finish these last couple of games strong, we should be in good stead.
“Everyone was working hard, but probably working hard in different areas and not focused enough. Judging by our performances in the first few rounds, we weren’t up to par, so it comes down to were we prepared enough? Were our All Blacks prepared enough?
“I put my hand up. I probably wasn’t ready for round one. There’s a bit that goes into that, but no excuses.”
Since their dire performance in the loss to the Reds in Brisbane three weeks ago, the Blues have responded with commanding wins over the Force and Drua.
Yet they have everything to prove as they push for the chance to defend last year’s breakthrough title.
“Vern [Cotter] has been good at telling us straight how we’re playing. After the Reds game, there was a good look in the mirror for a lot of us. The easiest thing is to try everything and do more. For us, the best thing was to keep it simple, focus on a few things we’re good at. That’s our set piece and making sure that goes smoothly so we can actually play.
“That worked for us last year. Every team is doing it now, so we’ve got to find other ways, but our set piece is getting us going and the backs are scoring off us.
“The vibe around the team is positive at the moment. We’ve had a couple of wins now, which should help us heading into these last few games.
“If we make it to the finals, we’ll be travelling quite a bit. It won’t bother us, that’s the nature of the competition, and what we deserve in terms of where we sit [fifth] on the table. We’ve got to make it to the finals first, so Moana and the Waratahs are first up to do that.”
With the Blues pack rediscovering their direct, confrontational mojo, Beauden Barrett calmly righting the shaky ship, Caleb Clarke returning from injury and Mark Tele’a on the verge of doing likewise after his three-week suspension, Cotter’s men could be clicking at the right time.
No one is convinced yet, though.
With Moana intent on exposing the Blues’ vulnerabilities, much more will be gleaned about their credentials this weekend.
Moana Pasifika: 1. Tito Tuipulotu 2. Millennium Sanerivi 3. Feleti Sae-Ta‘ufo‘ou 4. Tom Savage 5. Samuel Slade 6. Miracle Fai‘ilagi 7. Ardie Savea (c) 8. Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa 9. Jonathan Taumateine 10. Patrick Pellegrini 11. Kyren Taumoefolau 12. Danny Toala 13. Lalomilo Lalomilo 14. Tevita Ofa 15. William Havili.
Bench: 16. Samiuela Moli 17. Abraham Pole 18. Chris Apoua 19. Allan Craig 20. Sione Havili Talitui 21. Melani Matavao 22. Jackson Garden-Bachop 23. Julian Savea.
Blues: 1. Joshua Fusitu’a 2. Ricky Riccitelli 3. Angus Ta’avao 4. Patrick Tuipulotu (c) 5. Josh Beehre 6. Adrian Choat 7. Dalton Papali’i 8. Hoskins Sotutu 9. Taufa Funaki 10. Beauden Barrett 11. Caleb Clarke 12. Xavi Taele 13. Rieko Ioane 14. AJ Lam 15. Corey Evans.
Bench: 16. Kurt Eklund 17. Mason Tupaea 18. Marcel Renata 19. Laghlan McWhannell 20. Cam Christie 21. Finlay Christie 22. Harry Plummer 23. Cole Forbes.
Liam Napier is a Senior Sports Journalist and Rugby Correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of the Rugby Direct podcast.
