Moana skipper Ardie Savea and Blues winger Mark Tele'a. Photo: Photosport
Blues v Moana Pasifika
Kickoff: 4.35pm Saturday, 12 April
Eden Park, Auckland
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
This showdown has all the ingredients to be one of the great Kiwi sporting rivalries.
The Blues and Moana Pasifika will battle for city supremacy this Saturday - two sides with contrasting fortunes this season.
While the defending champion Blues have fallen well short of expectations, Moana have blown theirs out of the water with historic wins over the Crusaders and Waratahs in the past fortnight.
Blues prop Angus Taʻavao said Tana Umaga and his men were building something special on the North Shore.
"The last of couple games have been massive wins for them and I talk about belief with us, you can definitely feel the belief in that team," he said. "I feel like the confidence is just growing massively."
Moana has never beaten the Blues, most recently crushed 47-8 in 2024, but they will be a different beast this week and the 22-test All Black embraced the notion of a cross-city derby.
"There's been some chat about the battle of the 'Super City' and I love it," he said. "I appreciate that.
"We've had obviously the Crusaders, we've had State Highway One down with the Chiefs and now, when there's two big boppers rolling around in the same city, there's always a little bit of rivalry, so I think it's exciting and something for people to enjoy."
Across the Harbour Bridge, Umaga said they were building a fiercely loyal fan base.
"We're trying to create something here, where it becomes a bit of a fortress. The noise, the music... that's part of our culture too and we love it."
Moana Pasifika fans show their support at North Harbour Stadium. Photo: Photosport
Skipper Ardie Savea believed they would have plenty of backing at Eden Park, despite being the Blues home.
"The beautiful thing about us is that we unite all people," he said. "Our Poly flavour is infectious, not only to our Pacific people, but we are uniting everyone else.
"That's the thing about being a team that's a bit of an outcast - we can do things our own way."
The franchise has attracted a wide range of supporters, with South African fans even allocated their own space to set up a braai (barbecue).
"We do things with our flavour," Savea said. "No other franchise does it.
"We acknowledge our people. That's why we're very inclusive - we want to create fun for everybody, not just ourselves."
