Moana Pasefika faces more set-backs in their Super Rugby Pacific Campaign due to COVID-19.

The Moana Pasefika is playing the waiting game, as their next opponent in their Super Rugby Campaign the Highlanders deals with the COVID 19 virus inside their camp.

This was confirmed by the Highlanders high performance manager Greg O’Brien on Monday after their return from Auckland, where they faced off and lost to the Blues, who also had to bench and isolate player’s last minute due to positive tests.

The Highlanders are meant to host the Pacific Island based team on Friday in Dunedin, and even though the Management is confident that they will be able to field a side for the match, the threat of COVID positive players and staff might beg to differ.

The Moana Pasefika’s campaign has already been affected heavily by the pandemic, with three postponed this season. And if the game does not go underway, the team will be left with a challenging back-log of games.

Not only affecting their competition as they may have to play more than one match per week to catch up, but it is also affecting the state of mind of the team being stuck in Queenstown since their first COVID scare.

Playmaker Christian Leali’ifano stated in an interview with STUFF News that it has been a hard journey, saying “It's definitely tough, as you can imagine, being away from our families, and, you’re stuck here not being able to play footy.”

As for the Highlanders, they are keen to get their first win on the board as they have not been very victorious in their campaign since the season began, losing all their encounters so far.

Moana Pasefika is keen to play says O’Brien but right now, they are playing the waiting game and even thou safety is a priority, the boys hope both sides can hit the field come Friday evening.