Big Island weekend of sport!

Fetu Samoa vs Fiji Bulikula 16 – 12

Fetu Samoa fought back to win a thrilling encounter at the Womens Pacific Bowl Final against Fiji Bulikula. The Fijians who looked the better of the two teams where ahead on the scoreboard for 67 minutes, before Fetu Samoa Captain Annetta-Claudia Nu'uausala crashed over for her second try to seal the win and a place for her Samoan team at the next Womens Rugby League World cup 2025 in England.

The Fijians go home heartbroken but can claim the Audience Choice Award for the tournament and should be in the running for the best tries scored. 

Fetu Samoa hopes are now that their fetu will shine brightly in the Rugby World Cup next year.

Mate Ma’a Tonga vs Kiwis 25 - 24

The showdown for a place in the final of the Pacific cup between  New Zealand and Tonga almost proved to be a fizzer if you were a kiwi supporter.…more

Local sports legends and community leaders are coming together on November 2nd at Otara Pool and Leisure Centre to support the NEET Youth Mentoring Programme. With funding cuts looming, Counties Manukau is determined to keep this essential support available for its youth.

The NEET service—short for Not in Employment, Education, or Training—focuses on helping young people stay on track when mainstream paths aren’t working for them. Whether it’s finishing school, exploring further education, or stepping into employment, the programme guides youth towards establishing their next steps. However, with funding set to be cut, the urgency to raise money has never been greater.

“We have the honour and privilege of serving Counties Manukau communities every day and experiencing first-hand the unmatched pride and passion that exists in our people for all things sport,” says CEO Greg Buckley.…more

The Zespri AIMS Games, which began on lastweek in Tauranga, has already proven to be a memorable experience for the St Anne’s Primary School netball team from Suva, Fiji.

Competing for the first time in this prestigious tournament, the team, dubbed the “Suva Ferns,” was warmly welcomed with an emotional pōwhiri that moved many of the players to tears.

The powerful kapa haka performance from Tauranga Intermediate School set the tone for what has been described as a life-changing event for the girls.

The team, which consists of 12 young athletes, worked tirelessly to fundraise for the trip, selling traditional Fijian meals and kava barrels to cover the costs.

For many of the girls, this is their first time leaving Fiji, adding even more significance to their journey.

Milli Caginavanua, head of St Anne’s, expressed in an interview with AIMS, “Some of the girls have travelled to New Zealand before, but a lot have not.…more

The Paris 2024 Paralympics kick off 29th August 6:00am NZST (28th Aug 1pm CT, USA) and for the first time ever there will be 13 Pacific athletes competing.

The record breaking Pacific registration was celebrated by the Oceania Paralympic Committee who remarked that ‘this moment represented years of preparation, sacrifice and determination.”

The Pacific cohort boasts representation from 6 pacific nations - Fiji, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Kiribati.

The 13 strong Pacific athlete squad consists of 7 women and 6 men competing across the para-taekwando and the para-athletics.…more

“A strong culture means a strong team”

The very first Pasifika Rugby League team in Aotearoa was the legendary ‘Samoana’ team from Dunedin in the early 1960s, now a new exhibition at the Hocken Library in Dunedin shines a light on the ragtag team and their extraordinary success on the field. 

‘Samoana’ made up of scholarship students and Samoan locals, was formed in the wake of local NZ rugby teams not seeing the value of Pasifika players, and the low Pasifika playing representation across rugby and league codes. 

Proving them spectacularly wrong, the newly formed team smashed a series of South Island league championships to remain undefeated in a 3 year run. In their first season, 1964, Samoana triumphed over the local competition, with 18 wins of19 games played, their success saw them dominate the sport for the next 3 years, winning local and South Island titles.…more

Down, But Not Out. 

In the opening weekend of the 2024 Summer Olympics, three very different boxers took to the ring, each with extraordinary pressures on them. Though none would be victorious in their match, it was in many ways what happened off the ring that made them simply competing vitally important to both their nations and the wider Pacific community. 

Fe’ofa’aki Epenisa is the first female boxer to compete for Tonga at the Olympics, which you may have already heard about. What you might not know is that boxing was banned in Tonga less than a decade ago. 

In 2018 a letter was sent from then Education Minister Penisimani Fifira to Tonga High School issuing a ban on rugby and boxing. The ban made international headlines, with rugby the focus, partly because Jonah Lomu remains the most famous pacific rugby player of all time. The boxing ban was a bit of an add on to most stories, but it was a big deal for female boxers because the ban was not about safety.…more

The All Blacks Head Coach Scott Robertson has recently named the All Blacks squad for the 2024 Lipovitan-D Rugby Championship. A whopping 42% are Pacific Island Players!

Robertson stated “It was a tough squad to select because everyone has owned their opportunities.…more

As the world gears up for the spectacle of the 2024 Paris Olympics, amidst the grandeur and glory, 105 athletes from the Pacific Islands are ready to make waves of their own. 

From the small Micronesian country of Palau to the mountain ranges of Papua New Guinea, these competitors bring not just their incredible talent but also the spirit Pasifika culture to the global stage. Get to know the athletes representing the Moana here; and stay updated on what days they take to the global stage of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad!

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American Samoa 

‘Le Motu o Fiafiaga’ sends two athletes to the 2024 Summer Olympics, in swimmer Micah Masei Men’s 100m breaststroke and track star/flagbearer Filomenaleonisa Iakopo in the Women’s 100m

Team American Samoa: Micah Masei, Filomenaleonisa Iakopo

Cook Islands

Avaiki Nui will also be sending two athletes to Paris, with Lanihei Connolly looking to make a splash in the Women’s 100m breastroke, and Alex Beddoes taking to the track in the Men’s 800m.…more

OPINION

Although Pacific people are the highest percentage of All Blacks and Black Ferns, there’s still no Pasifika seat at the New Zealand Rugby board.

Pasifika communities and allies are fighting for fair representation in governance. As a sport academic, and son of a Pacific community rugby pioneer, I stand in solidarity.

As a child, in 1997, I remember seeing my dad in meetings with Auckland Rugby.

My dad Fa’alafitele Faupapa Enari organised Pacific rugby tournaments and coached Auckland Samoa and Ulalei rugby teams. I remember hearing the condescending patronising remarks from union representatives to my dad and other Pasifika elders. Sadly, today, much hasn’t changed. It’s just masked better.

Looking at how far New Zealand Rugby has come; you cannot deny that Māori and Pasifika people made New Zealand rugby as we know it and platformed it to the world.

One must only look at legends such as La’auli Sir Michael Jones, the late Jonah Lomu to current players such as Ardie Savea, plus the many more Pacific brothers who wore the black jersey.…more