Rugby: Sighting the elusive Moa

Taniela Moa's languid style has always been deceptive. Photo / Kenny Rodger

It is a wonder Blues halfback Taniela Moa has been able to play any decent footy in the past few weeks. Somehow he has managed to play three Super 14 matches around an itinerary of flying to Perth, then home to see the birth of his first son, before flying to South Africa and back.

He just shakes his ponytailed head as he thinks back through the whirl of travel, rugby and fatherhood.

"I have felt jaded, so jetlagged, man," Moa said. "I had some sleeping pills on the plane but still, everything seemed all over the place for the first part of the competition. I have never felt so stuffed.

"I am starting to feel better now. Training this week was the first time, but I've always got my son waking every few hours too."

An improved fitness regime may have helped Moa through this difficult patch as he responded to trainers' requests to get in better shape for the 2009 campaign.

At one stage he pushed the scales over three figures, adding to the notion that he was an unlikely first-class halfback. Moa looked more like a social footballer whose swag of skills, rather than any beep-test achievements, allowed him to prosper in the rugby season.

He was pigeon-toed, even a little knock-kneed, and seemed to shuffle his sturdy frame around the park. That appearance was deceptive though. Moa had been selected for the national secondary schools side and played for the NZ under-21 teams.

The All Black panel had also seen qualities they admired in Moa and he had travelled as Tri-Nations halfback protection last year for Jimmy Cowan and Piri Weepu when Andy Ellis damaged his ribs.

"That was great but I was shocked when I got the call-up," Moa said. "It was never a short-term goal to make the All Blacks, it was always a long-term thing, but it was a great signal from the selectors. All I was thinking about was performing for the Blues so that trip gave me a taste of things at the next level."

It handed Moa further confirmation about the improvements he needed to make in his fitness. At school, his natural health and talents got him through. Like many schoolboys, his sporting routines delivered enough conditioning to cope with any rugby.

"I just wanted to play - that was all we really did, we played a lot and got by on that," Moa recalled.

It was clear the boy had the talent because he had not started playing any organised rugby until he moved, aged 12, from his homeland Tonga to Auckland.

He had watched rugby on television though, and had heroes like Michael Jones, Inga Tuigamala and Springbok halfback Joost van der Westhuizen from the 1995 World Cup.

Initially, a leaner Moa started to learn the game on the wing but was soon shunted in behind the scrum as he grew into his frame and the game. His potential shone for various selectors.

"Taniela came through our Academy," Blues coach Pat Lam said. "He played NZ Schools. He was a bit rough round the edges, timekeeping and all that, and his fitness was not as good as it should be.

"Senior players got round him and he enjoyed the environment that we have at Auckland and he really blossomed. He just got better and better. He is just a real talent and strong obviously in running with the ball."

Moa was called into the Blues as replacement cover in 2007, made the original squad last year and then overtook Danny Lee towards the end of the season as the starting halfback. He got a sniff of the All Blacks, the lure of test rugby. It was up to him to work on his game to make the next step.

"Fitness is not something I like doing but I have been doing extra this time," he said.

"The selectors want me to put in the miles, do a lot more running. Gym is easy but now, even on a day off, I will go for a run," Moa said. "It is not something I would have done before. If I had a day off I would have slept all day but now I will go down the club and do extras."

Moa plays out of the Te Papapa club and is an example to others that they do not need to switch to the more celebrated clubs to graduate to provincial and Super 14 colours. He has stayed true to his local area.

The 24-year-old claims the only time he felt a little nervous came when he was chosen as back-up for the All Blacks last season.

"But I also knew a few of the boys, so that passed quickly," he said.

Passing quickly is a feature of his game and he accepts he needs to up other parts of his game to match his delivery.

"I need to concentrate on my catching and kicking, I have been doing a lot more work on that," he said.

Sometimes it is hard to believe when you watch Moa play. His style is almost languid, his gait and pace are deceptive; he makes the game look easy.

His results are like those of the cricketer who seems to ease the ball past flailing fieldsmen. There is a bit of David Gower about his play where his casual demeanour can be mistaken for nonchalance or lack of care.

It is just Moa's style. That timing has him busting defences in close with his power, holding the pass a vital half-second more to flummox defences or scorching tacklers who are fooled by his pace. Those who do not take Moa seriously will be burned.