Record numbers in attendance, digital reach and individual accolades cap off a Moana Pasifika season that fans have labelled one of the most memorable by any team in DHL Super Rugby Pacific history.
Based at their new home of North Harbour Stadium, Moana Pasifika brought a real buzz back to Auckland’s rugby community, particularly on the North Shore and South Auckland.
More than 48,000 people attended Moana Pasifika games this season, with five played at North Harbour Stadium and two at Navigation Homes Stadium in Pukekohe.
In a season of monumental support, they saw an average increase of 369% in scanned attendance at each of their home games compared to the previous season. Over 680 of those fans were loyal members who attended all five of the matches at Albany.
Moana Pasifika CEO Debbie Sorenson said: “This season has been phenomenal and I’m so proud of our players, staff and sponsors for all of their hard work that went into making it a success.
“A massive thank you has to go to our people for showing their support wherever our team was playing. You brought the energy and atmosphere to our games, which is uniquely Pacific. We are so lucky to be able to use our platform to share this with the world.”
The signing of World Rugby Player of the Year, Ardie Savea, was the catalyst for the breakout season – the team’s fourth in the competition. The 31-year-old father of three was instrumental for the team on and off the field. His work rate and skill in games earned him recognition as the inaugural Super Rugby Pacific Player of the Year, as voted by opposition coaches and captains.
The team was able to reward their fans with a record six wins in a season, four of which were achieved at their new home fortress, North Harbour Stadium.
Super Rugby fans acknowledged the individual efforts of players too, voting for Moana Pasifika standouts as the Player of the Week for five of the 14 rounds that the team played in: Miracle Faiilagi (round 4), Patrick Pellegrini (round 7), Feleti Sae-Ta’ufo’ou (round 8), Ardie Savea (round 12 and 14).
A key part of building fan connection to the team this season was through the social channels and the authentic, unbarred, fun content produced. The highly engaged fan base saw Moana Pasifika content viewed over 116 million times across the season, with 40 million of these views during the final three rounds of the competition.
Moana Pasifika have added over 150,000 new followers across social platforms in 2025 year to date – more than the five New Zealand clubs combined, and even slightly more followers than the Super Rugby Pacific hero channel. This astronomical growth sees them lead all sports teams in Australasia for the highest follower growth on both Instagram and TikTok.
This growth has been achieved across multiple platforms, with TikTok up 115%, Instagram up 50% and Facebook increasing by 55%. The introduction of Moana Pasifika Vlogs gave fans access to engaging, behind-the-scenes, player led content of the team, driving YouTube subscriptions up by 462%.
Moana Pasifika also lead the Super Rugby teams for the most video engagements and the highest engagement rate on TikTok and Instagram. When compared with the other professional teams in Australasia, they sit in sixth, beating out some powerhouse teams such as the Penrith Panthers, the Melbourne Storm and the Sydney Roosters.
Interestingly, the United States, South Africa and the United Kingdom are some of the top countries that make up Moana Pasifika’s audience – alongside New Zealand, Australia and Pacific Island nations.
The team finished the season seventh on the table, just outside of playoff contention, but with what is undeniably their best season yet.
Fans can register their interest in 2026 Moana Pasifika memberships here.
ENDS
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