Moana Pasifika fly-half Christian Lealiifano made his mark with a superb try in their 33-24 victory over the Waratahs in their Super Rugby Pacific clash in Sydney on Saturday.
With the score 21-14 in their favour, Moana Pasifika launched an attack close to the halfway line with Alamanda Motuga doing well with a powerful carry.
His progress was halted close to the Waratahs’ 10-metre but he managed to free his arms and offloaded to Henry Taefu, who got a pass out to the on-rushing Lealiifano.
The veteran playmaker glided through a gaping hole in the Waratahs rearguard before showing the cover defence a clean pair of heels on his way over in the right-hand corner.
The 35-year-old dusted himself off and landed the difficult conversion kick which gave his team a 28-14 lead in the 61st minute.
🌊 Moana Pasifika and Christian Leali'ifano close in on a win! #WARvMOApic.twitter.com/veeGSfjTog
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) June 3, 2023
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Earlier, the Waratahs had made the brighter start when Mark Nawaqanitawase scored the opening try after five minutes before the visitors drew level via a Timoci Tavatavanawai five-pointer 10 minutes later.
It was all Moana Pasifika during the next 20 minutes and they were rewarded with further tries from Miracle Faiilagi and Tavatavanawai, which were both converted by Lealiifano.
The Waratahs struck back with a 39th minute try from Ned Hanigan, with Ben Donaldson adding the extras, and the match was still evenly poised as the teams changed sides at half-time with Moana holding a 21-14 lead.
The first 20 minutes of the second half was a tight affair but the visitors extended their lead with Lealiifano’s try before they went further ahead courtesy of another five-pointer from Faiilagi.
The Waratahs finished stronger and added respectability to the score when Tolu Latu and Michael Hooper scored late tries but it wasn’t enough to deny Moana Pasifika their win, which was their first victory of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific campaign.
Video credit: Stan Sport