Highlanders beat Moana Pasifika after lights go out and broadcast misses final 20 minutes
Friday, 27 March 2026
At North Harbour Stadium, Auckland: Highlanders 39 (Caleb Tangitau (2) tries 7min, 27min, Jona Nareki try 32min, Jack Taylor try 38min, Nic Shearer try 41min, Veveni Lasaqa try 51min; Reesjan Pasitoa 3 con, pen). Moana Pasifika 19 (Niko Jones try 43min, Millennium Sanerivi try 52min, Allan Craig try 57min ; Jackson Garden-Bachop 2 con) HT: 27-0.
Yellow cards: William Havili (Moana Pasifika), Glen Vaihu (Moana Pasifika)
All Blacks contender Caleb Tangitau grabbed two tries for the Highlanders but debutant halfback Nic Shearer was the brightest spark as the lights went out for Moana Pasifika - literally and figuratively.
With an hour gone and the Highlanders leading 39-19, one of the stadium floodlights at North Harbour Stadium failed and a power outage then cut the coverage on Sky Sport.
Play was paused for more than 20 minutes and eventually resumed without the TV coverage, with Sky informing viewers that it couldn’t broadcast the final quarter.
No further points were scored after the coverage went down, but there will be serious questions asked of North Harbour Stadium management after the embarrassing state of affairs.
A Sky spokesperson said its broadcast truck was affected by the stadium’s “significant power outage”.
“While the broadcast truck can operate for a short period on failover battery power, the prolonged nature of the outage meant the truck ultimately lost power.
“Once it became clear that venue power could not be restored within a reasonable timeframe, the decision was made to complete the match under reduced lighting and without broadcast coverage.”
The spokesperson acknowledged the situation was frustrating for fans and would work with the stadium to avoid a repeat. The last 20 minutes of the match could be viewed on Moana Pasifika’s social media channels.
Earlier, Shearer, 22, provided the speed around the ruck that has been largely missing for the Highlanders this season, with former All Black Folau Fakatava dropped for the trip to the North Shore.
On the evidence of Friday evening Fakatava has a job on his hands to regain his starting place.
Shearer, a standout for Southland in the NPC last year, showed that form can translate into Super Rugby with a sharp and assured performance in the No 9 jersey.
His crisp passing and footwork was a feature of his play against Moana Pasifika, and he was constantly scanning the backfield for space in a sign that he is a heads-up footballer.
The Highlanders scored four unanswered tries in the first half on the back of Shearer’s play at No 9 and Tangitau showed his finishing prowess with tries in the 7th and 27th minutes.
Shearer got on scoresheet himself in the first play of the second after Tangitau had regathered the restart.
New All Blacks coach Dave Rennie would have been satisfied with Tangitau’s work rate and desire to get off his wing to look for the ball.
The Highlanders had been forced into two late changes as their sole All Black Ethan de Groot (paternity leave) and co-captain Timoci Tavatavanawai (foot) were ruled out out.
However, it was one-way traffic for the first 40 minutes as the return of Argentine lock Tomas Lavanini stabilised their wobbly lineout.
For Moana Pasifika coach Tana Umaga, the issues continue to pile up in his last season in charge before he joins Rennie at the All Blacks.
In front of another modest crowd in Albany, Moana Pasifika clearly missed the injured Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa (head knock) and they suffered further injury blows as halfback Joel Lam, midfielder Lalomilo Lalomilo and flanker Niko Jones were all forced off.
They also lost William Havili and Glen Vaihu to yellow cards and when one of the floodlights failed in the second half it seemed like a metaphor for Moana Pasifika’s season.
The Highlanders’ bonus-point win temporarily vaults them into a playoffs spot, but they will need other results to go their way over the weekend to stay there.
The Highlanders and Moana Pasifika both have the bye next weekend.