Patrick Pellegrini scored twice and sparked the match-winning try as 14-man Moana Pasifika stunned the Brumbies 21–19 at GIO Stadium in a fitting farewell to what may be the franchise’s final Super Rugby Pacific match.
Key moments
3 mins – TRY BRUMBIES: The Brumbies’ forward pack battered the line through Charlie Cale and Rob Valetini before Rory Scott picked and drove over under the posts. Ryan Lonergan converts. (Brumbies 7–0 Moana Pasifika)
11 mins – TRY DISALLOWED (MOANA): Solomon Alaimalo finished a brilliant passage featuring a chip kick and no-look pass, but the TMO ruled Faletoi Peni’s pass to Alaimalo had drifted forward.
16 mins – TRY BRUMBIES: After sustained forward pressure near the line, the Brumbies shifted it wide and Tom Wright dummied and dived over. Lonergan converts. (Brumbies 14–0 Moana Pasifika)
18 mins – YELLOW CARD BRUMBIES: James Slipper sent to the sin bin for cynical play at the ruck. Rhys van Nek came on to manage the scrum.
21 mins – TRY MOANA PASIFIKA: Initially ruled no try on the field, the TMO reviewed and confirmed Patrick Pellegrini had grounded the ball cleanly after sustained pressure near the line. Pellegrini converts. (Brumbies 14–7 Moana Pasifika)
32 mins – TRY MOANA PASIFIKA: Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa made a powerful carry to break into the 22 before Pellegrini cut through the defensive line and barged over near the posts for his second. Pellegrini converts. (Brumbies 14–14 Moana Pasifika)
37 mins – YELLOW CARD MOANA PASIFIKA: Faletoi Peni sent to the bin for a no-arms challenge on Andy Muirhead. First yellow card.
Half-time: Brumbies 14–14 Moana Pasifika. The Brumbies dominated early through their forward pack but errors and set-piece issues let Moana back in. Pellegrini was outstanding, scoring twice and controlling proceedings. Both sides had a player sin-binned. The Brumbies’ lineout was a mess, with several crooked throws and communication breakdowns.
55 mins – TRY BRUMBIES: After a lineout and sustained forward carries, Wright found Luke Reimer on the edge and the flanker dived over in the corner. Lonergan misses the conversion. (Brumbies 19–14 Moana Pasifika)
57 mins – DEBUT: Jarrah McLeod came on for his Super Rugby debut.
63 mins – RED CARD MOANA PASIFIKA: Peni was shown a second yellow card for direct head-on-head contact on Muirhead, automatically upgraded to a 20-minute red card. Moana Pasifika reduced to 14 men for the remainder.
70 mins – TRY DISALLOWED (BRUMBIES): Klayton Thorn dived over after a Reimer break, but the TMO found Valetini’s pass to Reimer on halfway had travelled forward. Moana scrum.
73 mins – TRY MOANA PASIFIKA: Pellegrini sparked a stunning counter-attack with a chip-and-chase, regathering his own kick before putting another ahead and collecting again. The visitors shifted right and Tuna Tuitama sliced through before passing to Melani Matavao, who dived over near the posts. Pellegrini converts to put Moana in front. (Brumbies 19–21 Moana Pasifika)
77–80 mins: The Brumbies threw everything at Moana in the closing stages but could not break through. Corey Toole knocked on in contact in the final minute, handing Moana a scrum. Tupou Ta’eiloa carried from the back, the Brumbies were penalised, and Pellegrini kicked to touch to seal victory.
Full-time: Brumbies 19–21 Moana Pasifika
Match report
The week began with Moana Pasifika’s shareholders voting to appoint liquidators to the franchise’s holding company. It ended with their players performing a war dance before kick-off, producing 80 minutes of courage, and celebrating wildly on the turf at GIO Stadium after one of the most remarkable results in the franchise’s short history. With nothing but pride to play for and uncertainty about their future beyond this afternoon, Tana Umaga’s side delivered a performance that matched the occasion.
“With all that had happened during the week, in terms of Moana going into liquidation, we knew we wouldn’t see a lot of our group that we left behind,” Umaga said. “We talked a lot about our strong purpose of who we represent. We’re representing our culture, our people, and we saw that come through in the end. I’m very proud of it. This one stands out.”
It did not look like standing out at all in the opening quarter. The Brumbies came out firing and scored twice inside 16 minutes. Scott finished off sustained forward pressure under the posts in the third minute, with Cale, Valetini and the pack doing the heavy lifting. Wright added a second after more forward dominance near the line, dummying and diving over. Lonergan converted both and at 14–0 the Brumbies appeared to be building towards the bonus-point win they needed to climb the standings.
Moana showed their intent early, however. Alaimalo crossed in the 11th minute after a brilliant passage featuring a chip kick and no-look pass, but the TMO ruled Peni’s pass had drifted forward. It was the first of several interventions from the officials that shaped the contest.
The turning point arrived in the 18th minute when veteran prop Slipper was sin-binned for cynical play at the ruck. With the extra man, Moana threw everything at the Brumbies’ line. What followed was one of the match’s strangest moments: Pellegrini lunged for the line and referee Jordan Way initially ruled no try, with play continuing for 40 seconds. The TMO then intervened, and replays confirmed Pellegrini had grounded the ball cleanly. Play was dragged all the way back and the try awarded. Pellegrini converted his own score and the deficit was halved.
The visitors grew in confidence. Peni was a handful with his surging carries through midfield, Tupou Ta’eiloa was immense at No. 8, and skipper Miracle Faiilagi led from the front. On 32 minutes, Tupou Ta’eiloa made a powerful carry to break into the 22 before Augustine Pulu — the evergreen halfback, nearing the end of his career — produced a magic offload for Pellegrini to cut through and barge over near the posts for his second. He converted again and the scores were level at 14–14.
Peni then blotted his copybook. In the 37th minute he was sin-binned for a no-arms challenge on Muirhead as the wing chased Corey Toole’s kick. It was harsh, but Moana held on to take the contest to half-time level.
The Brumbies’ set piece, particularly the lineout, was a mess throughout. Several crooked throws, communication breakdowns and free kicks conceded undermined their forward advantage. Coach Stephen Larkham will have been tearing his hair out. “There’s a whole lot of frustration in the change room at the moment,” he said afterwards. “There’s lots of guys thinking about what they could have done differently or better.”
The second half was a dour, scrappy affair. Wright threw an obvious forward pass to an unmarked Muirhead on the Moana line early on, squandering a golden opportunity. But on 55 minutes, after sustained carries from the pack, Wright found Reimer on the left edge and the flanker dived over in the corner. Lonergan missed the conversion but the Brumbies led 19–14 and appeared to have the momentum.
Then came Peni’s second card. In the 63rd minute, Wright made a break down the right and found Muirhead inside the 22. Play was brought back for a TMO review of Peni’s tackle, which found direct head-on-head contact. Because it was his second yellow of the match, it was automatically upgraded to a 20-minute red card. Moana would play the rest of the contest with 14 men.
The adversity seemed to bolster rather than deflate the visitors. The Brumbies could not capitalise. On 70 minutes, Thorn dived over after a Reimer break and appeared to have sealed it, but the TMO found Valetini’s pass to Reimer on halfway had travelled forward. The try was chalked off and Moana had a lifeline.
Three minutes later, they took it. Pellegrini sparked a stunning counter-attack from inside his own half, chipping over the top and regathering before putting another kick ahead and somehow collecting that too. The visitors shifted right, Tuitama sliced through the defensive line and found Matavao, who dived over near the posts. Pellegrini calmly converted to put Moana in front for the first time at 21–19.
The final seven minutes were tense. The Brumbies threw everything at Moana but could not break through. The visitors won penalties for the Brumbies collapsing the maul and stole a lineout. When Toole knocked on in contact in the final minute, Moana had the scrum. Tupou Ta’eiloa carried from the back, the Brumbies infringed, and Pellegrini tapped and kicked to touch to spark scenes of celebration.
It was Moana Pasifika’s first win since the opening round against the Fijian Drua in February, snapping a 12-game losing streak. Their record of 2–12 and last-place finish does not tell the story of a franchise that has fought against the odds since its introduction in 2022. Whether this was their final chapter remains uncertain — NZ Rugby said the tender process for their licence is continuing, and a private consortium or government intervention could yet provide a rescue — but if it was, they could hardly have written a better ending.
The Brumbies finish 7–7 and sixth on the ladder. They face a daunting trip to Wellington next Friday night to take on the Hurricanes in a qualifying final, where they must win to advance. On this evidence, Larkham has plenty to fix.
Match details
Brumbies 19 (Tries: Rory Scott, Tom Wright, Luke Reimer; Conversions: Ryan Lonergan 2/3)
Moana Pasifika 21 (Tries: Patrick Pellegrini 2, Melani Matavao; Conversions: Patrick Pellegrini 3/3)
Half-time: 14–14
Cards: James Slipper (yellow, 18 mins); Faletoi Peni (yellow, 37 mins; red, 63 mins)
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Referee: Jordan Way (Australia)
Teams
Brumbies: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Andy Muirhead, 13 Hudson Creighton, 12 David Feliuai, 11 Corey Toole, 10 Declan Meredith, 9 Ryan Lonergan (c), 8 Charlie Cale, 7 Rory Scott, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Cadeyrn Neville, 4 Lachlan Shaw, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 Lachlan Lonergan, 17 Blake Schoupp, 18 Rhys van Nek, 19 Nick Frost, 20 Luke Reimer, 21 Klayton Thorn, 22 Tane Edmed, 23 Jarrah McLeod.
Moana Pasifika: 15 William Havili, 14 Israel Leota, 13 Solomon Alaimalo, 12 Faletoi Peni, 11 Glen Vaihu, 10 Patrick Pellegrini, 9 Augustine Pulu, 8 Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa, 7 Semisi Paea, 6 Miracle Faiilagi (c), 5 Veikoso Poloniati, 4 Allan Craig, 3 Atu Moli, 2 Millennium Sanerivi, 1 Malakai Hala-Ngatai.
Replacements: 16 Mamoru Harada, 17 Abraham Pole, 18 Paula Latu, 19 Alefosio Aho, 20 Sam Tuitupou Ah-Hing, 21 Melani Matavao, 22 Tevita Latu, 23 Tuna Tuitama.
What’s next
The Brumbies finish sixth and travel to Wellington to face the Hurricanes in a qualifying final next Friday. The Reds finish fifth and face the Chiefs in Hamilton next Saturday. Moana Pasifika’s future remains uncertain, with the franchise in liquidation but NZ Rugby’s licence tender process continuing.
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