Moana Pasifika will take another step towards Super Rugby inclusion, when they face the Māori All Blacks in Hamilton next month.
The Pacific Island outfit will assemble for the first time under coach Tana Umaga for a December 5 encounter, as they prepare for entry into professional rugby as early as 2022.
Samoan-bred Umaga was the first Pasifika captain of the All Blacks, and subsequently filled coaching roles with the Blues, Counties-Maunkau, French club Toulon and the Māori All Blacks.
"This match is a great opportunity to showcase the exciting Pasifika talent that runs throughout New Zealand rugby's community," says Moana Pasifika patron Sir Bryan Williams.
"It will be a huge honour for these players to play against a team with the mana, heritage and quality of the Māori All Blacks.
"It will also be another big step toward our desire to have a Pasifika professional team in Super Rugby and to provide an aspirational pathway for players to progress to the national teams of Samoa, Tonga and Fiji."
The Pasifika roster will be named later in November.
The fixture is another blow to Kanaloa Pasifika, a franchise backed by former All Blacks Joe Rokocoko, John Afoa, Anthony Tuitavake and Ben Atiga, which is also bidding for Super Rugby inclusion, but struggling for traction.
Interim Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan will guide the Māori for their first outing since July 2019, when they swept Fiji in a home-and-away series.
"Many of our whānau and rangatahi have struggled during 2020 as we’ve dealt with COVID," says NZ Māori Rugby chair Dr Farah Palmer.
"I know our Māori All Blacks players will appreciate the chance to represent their iwi, hapū and their whānau, and to provide some positivity for their community.
"Moana Pasifika will be a tough opponent and, like the Māori All Blacks, will bring a rich cultural element to what is shaping up to be a unique and special occasion in Hamilton - the heart of Waikato-Tainui and the Kingitanga."
