{"id":510392,"date":"2026-02-28T20:35:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T20:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/510392\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T20:35:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T20:35:10","slug":"family-drives-moananus-super-rugby-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/510392\/","title":{"rendered":"Family drives Moananu\u2019s Super Rugby journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Auckland hooker Ioane Moananu marked his NSW Waratahs debut with two tries, but says family, faith and community drive his Super Rugby journey<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old De La Salle College old boy impressed when he came off the bench in Round Two of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season on 20 February, scoring twice against the Fijian Drua.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Pacific Huddle, Moananu says the move overseas has been a major step in his career, but representing his S\u0101moan roots at the elite level remains central to his motivation.<\/p>\n

The move to the Waratahs came after time in the Crusaders system and relocating from Christchurch to Sydney.<\/p>\n

NSW Waratahs head coach Dan McKellar and his coaching staff were impressed by Moananu\u2019s development since his 2023 Super Rugby debut with the Crusaders, particularly his breakthrough performances last season. The versatile hooker played 12 games for the Crusaders, scoring five tries.<\/p>\n

Despite previous Super Rugby experience, Moananu says running out in a Waratahs jersey felt like starting again.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Moananu made his Waratahs debut after time in the Crusaders system. Photo\/Waratahs<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so nervous as well, to be honest\u2026 honestly, it felt like my first game again,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Moananu says his jersey presentation was especially emotional, with his girlfriend present and a recorded message from his mother played during the ceremony, a contrast to his earlier Crusaders debut where family were unable to attend.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mum means the world to me\u2026 I broke down straight away when I\u2019d seen it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He acknowledges the doubt sometimes placed on players coming through South Auckland pathways.<\/p>\n

Listen to the full interview with Ioane Moananu on Facebook.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people say that you can\u2019t make it from there,\u201d he says. \u201cTo be one of the stories from people that come out there, I\u2019m very grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cProud, man\u2026 I\u2019m honestly blessed and very grateful to be representing not only my school, but my people as well, my family as well,\u201d Moananu says.<\/p>\n

Moananu says the transition on the field has been smooth, crediting the Waratahs environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the boys at the Waratahs have been real good\u2026 they made me feel like a part of the family straight away,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Moananu says the transition on the field has been smooth, crediting the Waratahs environment. Photo\/Waratahs.<\/p>\n

Off the field, adjusting to Sydney\u2019s size and pace has been the biggest shift.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was probably the biggest thing I had to get used to, the traffic and how big the city and how fast the city goes,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He also highlights the impact of Pacific support in Sydney\u2019s large diaspora community.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust seeing our people there to support, man, it fills me with joy. It gives me so much happiness,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Warathah’s coaching staff were impressed by Moananu\u2019s development since his 2023 Super Rugby debut with the Crusaders. Photo\/Waratahs.<\/p>\n

Within the Waratahs environment, Moananu says coaches have encouraged him to stay true to his strengths.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey picked me for a reason\u2026 they\u2019ve told me not to change my game and just keep being myself,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, he says his focus remains on growth, consistency and staying grounded while representing the family, culture and community that shaped him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"South Auckland hooker Ioane Moananu marked his NSW Waratahs debut with two tries, but says family, faith and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":510393,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-510392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=510392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/510393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=510392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=510392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=510392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}