A fired-up Tana Umaga has issued a pointed challenge to his Moana Pasifika side before Sunday’s Super Rugby Pacific derby against the Blues, declaring that the cross-town competitors “don’t want us here”.
Umaga didn’t mince words about the relationship between the two franchises, calling the Blues their “biggest rivals” andclaiming they have hindered Moana Pasifika’s ability to establish themselves since joining Super Rugby Pacific in 2022.
The 52-year-old has previously been a head and assistant coach at the Blues and is in his third season with Moana Pasifika, whose base is in Albany on Auckland’s North Shore.
While Umaga’s comments could have been tactical to distract speculation linking him to an All Blacks assistant coach role, he is adamant Moana Pasifika are continually fighting with their backs against the wall.
“I don’t know if they realise there are two professional rugby teams in this city,” Umaga said. “We do know that they don’t want us here.
“We’ve got nothing against the playing group, nothing against the staff that work in there. But the people that make decisions have made it very hard for us to survive over here.
“That’s why they are our greatest rivals because they want to see us not do well, not thrive. I struggle with that when rugby’s in a place where we’re at.”
Umaga’s biggest gripe is the licensing agreement that limits Moana to hosting five games in Auckland a season.
Their home game against the Western Force last month was staged in Pukekohe, which is geographically in the wider Auckland region, but in rugby terms falls under Chiefs territory.
“When our game against Tonga didn’t go through straight away, we had the Northland Union come to us and say, ‘we’d love to have you’, which they’ve done numerous times and the Blues said, ‘no, that’s in our region, you can’t go there’,” Umaga said.
“Then this year, because we play our other games at Pukekohe and obviously that’s in the Chiefs region, the Blues tried to state to us, ‘well, actually that’s within the Auckland super city’.
“That’s what we’re up against but that’s fine. We just have to look back in our past as Pacific Islanders around how tough it is for us here.”
Karl Budge is in his first season as chief executive of the Blues. Photo / Supplied
Blues chief executive Karl Budge was quick to pour cold water on Umaga’s comments, saying he’s “trying to create a bit of extra spice” before this weekend’s match.
“Tana was one of my idols growing up and I have a huge amount of respect for him as a player and a coach, and he is entitled to his opinions,” Budge said.
“I think this is Tana trying to create a bit of extra spice against their cross-town rivals ahead of our game on Sunday. We have really enjoyed the rivalry we’ve created on the field and this weekend will be no different.
“It has been great to see our two proud clubs work closely together to promote the game and ensure rugby fans, be they in Blues or Moana Pasifika jerseys, get out and support their team.
“We look forward to what will be another tough game against them at Eden Park on Sunday.”
