Hey Seilala. How are you finding life with Moana Pasifika?
It’s been really good. It’s been refreshing to really get back on the grass. And that’s what I love about coaching — being on the grass. It’s been really rewarding to get back to that part of coaching, and I’m really enjoying this coaching group. It’s something that’s close to my heart and, yeah, I’m really enjoying it at the moment.
It was always going to be hard for both Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua to just start from scratch. Four years in, what do you think of where the whole Moana Pasifika concept is tracking?
For me, being kind of on the outside for the first three years, I knew it was a lot of growing pains establishing Moana Pasifika as a club, especially playing in an already established competition like Super Rugby. So I think there’s been immense progress in terms of what the club’s doing on the field, but also off the field and the organisation as a whole. I think it’s come a long way and it’s still tracking kind of on an upward trajectory. So there’s still a lot of room for growth, but in terms of how far along we’ve come to where we are today, I think it’s been massive. And now that I’m on the inside, every day I can really see where the struggles have been in the past, and that’s where a lot of the attention has been put.
It appears as if Ardie Savea has had a huge impact. From the inside, can you talk about what Ardie has meant to the team this year?
He’s a world-class player. So your team is always going to be a better team when you’ve got someone of Ardie’s calibre playing. It’s also him as a world-class human and a world-class Pasific Islander. He’s been really great for us coaches in terms of not just keeping his performance and his standards at a high level, but also uplifting those around him and empowering the other guys around him to not just be better, but want to be better and continue to grow. I think that’s the influence. We can only see the tail end of that influence, if that makes sense, in terms of what to put out on the field. You can see a lot of the players really standing up now and really fulfilling their potential. It’s what he also brings during the rest of the week. We’re pretty lucky — we’ve got a good group of leaders that not just complement Ardie and his leadership, but they share that responsibility. They’re pretty clear on the direction they want to take the team and take the club. I think there’s a huge alignment between the senior players and the
One of the other nice stories has been Semisi Tupou-Ta’eiloa. There’s a bit of a feeling down here that maybe he’s one that got away from the Highlanders. Have you been impressed with him?
Absolutely. I remember seeing Semisi in year 10, year 11 at Otago Boys’ playing in the First XV. I hadn’t seen him for a few years because I’d been out of the country but I watched him play in a season for Southland last year. I think he’s always been just a naturally tough player and never takes a backward step. He’s a guy that was brought in and now he’s one of the first names on the pitch here every week. Seeing his growth and what he can do at this level, I think that’s been the most impressive thing. It’s not just what he does, but the consistency that he does it with. It’s been awesome to see his performances go from strength to strength. I know the Highlanders had a few good No8s. It’s all circumstantial. It’s just a case of having his luck coming at the right time. I’m really happy for him.
You’re a proud Otago man, a proud Highlander. Is it a little bit special to be coming back this weekend?
Always. 100%. I never thought I’d be cheering against the Highlanders. It’s special. As a proud Highlander, it makes it all the more special. They got one over us earlier in the season. I’m really looking forward to getting under the roof and on the dry track. It’s always special when the Highlanders or Otago are involved.
You’ve still got family down here?
My sister and her family are still down in Dunedin. I also have a lot of extended family. My wife was Dunedin-born and bred, and all my kids were born down there. We’ll always have strong ties to Dunedin. We still have a house down there.
I hope the Dunedin family will be wearing Highlanders jerseys, not Moana Pasifika jerseys, on Sunday.
I’ve told them I’ve got no tickets for them unless they turn up in Moana gear, ha ha.
