A maiden Super Rugby victory is theirs, thanks to Danny Toala's try in golden-point extra time. Video / Sky Sport
Moana Pasifika were filled with pride and emotion as they celebrated a historic maiden victory on Friday night.
The Super Rugby newbies bounced back from a heavy loss against the Chiefs last week to claim a stunning 24-19 golden-point victory over the Hurricanes, a hard-fought performance that showcasedtheir potential in the competition after a challenging start to the season.
Moana Pasifika's golden-point hero Danny Toala, who pulled off a spectacular kick-and-chase try from inside his own 22, was overwhelmed with emotions he says he's never felt on the rugby field after scoring the decider.
"It's pretty hard to explain," Toala said. "Especially in a rugby game, it's something that I've never felt before. Yeah it's surreal. Playing for my family, it just hits different."
Toala said the try was a product of hard work at the training ground and some sage advice that stuck in the back of his mind.
"I saw a lot of space," he said of the moments before bursting through the Hurricanes defence. "My first initial thoughts was just to have a go but then sort of just stuck to our game plan – big ups for our [coaches] for driving that into us this week, just making sure we play in the right zones. I did think of running it but something just told me to kick it.
"I kicked it and the first bounce didn't bounce up nicely so I just hacked it with my shin and even the bounce that I picked up to score wasn't as nice as well. It just happened real quick ... As soon as I got the ball down I just celebrated."
Moana Pasifika players Danny Toala and Neria Foma'i celebrate the historic win. Photo / Photosport
It was also a full-circle moment for the ex-Hurricane, who admitted it was nice to "get one over" his former team.
"Moana is my new home, but still mad love for my brothers in the Hurricanes team. When I first got it down it was heaps of joy just getting one over my ex-team. But yeah, nothing against them. I still support them – the second-best team," he smiled.
Moana Pasifika's season so far has been anything but smooth after becoming the first team in the competition to be hit by a Covid-19 outbreak, as well as the other challenges of simply being the new team on the block.
It meant this week was the first proper lead-up at their Mount Smart home, something a "proud" Aaron Mauger said proved to be the spark the team needed.
"It's been some journey to date; been a lot of challenges," the Moana Pasifika head coach said. "This week we had our first proper week into HQ [and] settled into our home. We had our own field, lined them up during the week, goalposts up, all those little things. It felt like home.
"Really proud of the boys, the whole team, everybody, for actioning the feedback from the last lesson last week when we lost 59-12. And that was probably a reflection of probably not preparing the level we need to and executing the basics we were after.
"They were really simple messages during the week and the boys delivered. The skip asked for more; we asked for more around preparation and sacrifice and all the little things that allow you to play 80 minutes, and we got it all night right to the death. Really proud."
Moana Pasifika players celebrate beating the Hurricanes in golden-point time. Photo / Photosport
But the side won't have much time to savour the victory, with back-to-back clashes against the Blues coming up, starting with a quick turnaround game on Tuesday due to postponed matches earlier in the season.
"Nothing changes really. It's the same process as last week," Mauger said. "I think it's important that we celebrate and acknowledge the little small wins from today because we want to capture those and keep doing them.
"There's quite a few parts of our game that we can be better with and take the pressure off. We're still absorbing a lot of pressure through penalty counts and we could've been a little bit looser with the ball at times.
"We're still about 29 per cent [in] territory so we're still playing a lot of rugby in our half. But if we get those things right – discipline, hold the ball at the right times – those stats start to change and the pressure eases off a little bit. It's been a constant of our three games so far that our possession and our territory has been low, but we just showed what we can do if we get those things right."
Toala agreed: "You've just got to recover, get our review and our preview in early and obviously we've got a big squad to use as well. So yeah, just doing what we can to be ready for Tuesday."
