{"id":325382,"date":"2026-03-12T05:14:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T05:14:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/325382\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T05:14:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T05:14:13","slug":"they-dont-want-us-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/325382\/","title":{"rendered":"‘They don’t want us here’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Moana Pasifika head coach Tana Umaga has distanced himself from a story linking him with a job in Dave Rennie\u2019s new All Blacks regime and in the next breath has accused cross-town rivals the Blues of intentionally making it difficult for Moana Pasifika to survive and \u201cthrive\u201d.<\/p>\n

Umaga\u2019s comments today will add another layer of interest to the Auckland derby which kicks off at Eden Park on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n

And while the Umaga, a former All Blacks captain, may take attention away from his association with the national team and new head coach Rennie with his comments, there was nothing contrived about his depth of feeling about the Blues who, he said, \u201cdon\u2019t want us here\u201d.<\/p>\n

In response, the Blues said Umaga was entitled to his opinions and suggested the Moana Pasifika coach may be “trying to create a bit of extra spice” to this weekend’s match.<\/p>\n

Making Umaga\u2019s comments even more significant is that he is a former head coach of the Blues, who are, of course, under the jurisdiction of New Zealand Rugby, potentially his next employer.<\/p>\n

After he was asked to address the “elephant in the room” of being linked to Rennie, written yesterday by 1News reporter and presenter Scotty Stevenson<\/a> \u2013 which Umaga brushed off as “speculation” \u2013 the 52-year-old was lobbed a question about the Blues.<\/p>\n

Asked whether they were Moana Pasifika\u2019s “greatest rivals”, Umaga responded in a manner that suggested his thoughts and feelings on the matter had been building for a while. <\/p>\n

“I don\u2019t know if they realise there\u2019s two professional rugby teams in this city but we do know they don\u2019t want us here,” Umaga said. “We\u2019ve got nothing against the playing group and nothing against the other staff because I\u2019ve worked there.<\/p>\n

“But the people who make the decisions have made it very hard for us to survive over here. Yes, they probably are our greatest rivals because they want to see us not do well, not thrive. <\/p>\n

“I struggle with that. When rugby is at a place \u2026 I struggle with the narrative they came out with last year when they said they believe they represent the Pacific. <\/p>\n

“Well, the Pacific team is here. You’re not willing to assist us or embrace us for the betterment of rugby… I struggle with that and that\u2019s why this game means a lot to us.”<\/p>\n

\"Ardie<\/p>\n

Ardie Savea celebrates Moana Pasifika’s victory over the Blues at North Harbour Stadium last year. (Source: Photosport)<\/p>\n

Part of Umaga\u2019s frustration will come from Moana Pasifika’s struggles to find a home.<\/p>\n

They were effectively forced out of Mount Smart Stadium after their establishment in 2020 and have since found a home venue and training base at North Harbour Stadium. They won four of their five games there last year, including a thrilling victory over the Blues<\/a> that prompted wild celebrations among players and fans alike.<\/p>\n

However, they are limited to five games per season at the venue and a recent attempt to play a home game in Tonga fell through due to a lack of sponsorship. Rotorua will instead host the round nine match against the Chiefs.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019re only allowed five games here,” Umaga said at his team\u2019s base today. “When our game against Tonga didn\u2019t go through, straight away we had the Northland union say ‘hey we\u2019d love to have you up here’ \u2013 which they have numerous times and the Blues said ‘no, that\u2019s in our region. No, you can\u2019t go up there’.<\/p>\n

“This year, because we play our other games at Pukekohe \u2013 which is obviously in the Chiefs region \u2013 the Blues have tried to say to us ‘actually, that\u2019s in our super city so you\u2019re still in our boundary’. <\/p>\n

“That\u2019s what we\u2019re up against, but that\u2019s fine. We just have to look back at our past as Pacific Islanders around how tough it is for us here; how tough for our families and parents. How they\u2019ve fought to provide for us here in this great country. So, it\u2019s nothing new for us, as a small entity, to try to grow and build for the betterment of our people.”<\/p>\n

The press conference, held on the sideline of Moana\u2019s training pitch, was then quietly brought to a close by a franchise representative. <\/p>\n

Offered an opportunity by 1News to reply, Blues chief executive Karl Budge said: “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.<\/p>\n

“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\u2019ve created on the field and this weekend will be no different. <\/p>\n

“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. <\/p>\n

“We look forward to what will be another tough game against them at Eden Park on Sunday afternoon.”<\/p>\n

Speculation on a role with the All Blacks<\/p>\n

Earlier, Umaga, who was coached by Rennie at Wellington, was reluctant to engage with what he described as rumours and speculation about the All Blacks’ job, adding: “I\u2019m really honoured to be mentioned in the conversation that Sumo [Stevenson] has put me in, from what I\u2019ve heard.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie faces the media alongside NZ Rugby chairman David Kirk. (Source: Getty)<\/p>\n

“I suppose it\u2019s my turn this week. I see there were a lot of names that Rens was looking [at]. <\/p>\n

“It\u2019s not something I\u2019m really thinking about\u2026 it\u2019s a bit untimely, my family is letting me know what\u2019s happening and I\u2019m getting a lot of texts. I had to turn my phone off\u2026 as I said, I\u2019m honoured to be part of that conversation.”<\/p>\n

Asked whether joining Rennie<\/a> was within the \u201creams of possibility\u201d, he said: \u201cI don\u2019t know, what are the realms of possibility? That something you need to ask.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a coach, I do what I do and whatever happens from there \u2013 I\u2019ve been fortunate to do what I do.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething I talk to our players about is that you can only control what you can control and it\u2019s a waste of time thinking about anything else.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil it\u2019s a done deal and everything is down on paper, it\u2019s exactly what we\u2019ve been talking about, it\u2019s speculation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I know of Dave. He doesn\u2019t let too much fluster him. He\u2019s very precise and specific about what he wants and what he believes in. As you stated, that looks like a calmness and steadiness to what he does. <\/p>\n

\u201cHis addition to the All Blacks is positive and, as an All Blacks fan, I\u2019m happy that we\u2019ve got someone there and, knowing Dave, I\u2019m happy that he\u2019s got the job. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve played for that team and it means a lot to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Umaga said watching the All Blacks struggle over the past couple of years was not easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever that has taken a dent or is tarnished, you do feel it, or I do as a fan. You just want to see it get back to where it once was but I\u2019m sure that\u2019s an exciting challenge for Dave and the group that\u2019s coming in. You\u2019re chasing teams now, whereas usually you\u2019re the one being chased \u2013 that\u2019s a different perspective to what the All Blacks have had before.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Moana Pasifika head coach Tana Umaga has distanced himself from a story linking him with a job in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":325383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[789,33339,42,151877,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-325382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-all-blacks","tag-blues","tag-headlines","tag-moana-pasifika","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}