Kia ora, Talofa, Ma’lelei, Bula and Welcome to Season 08 Episode 71 of Breakfast Bites, by TeivovoSports.com – a wrap of Pasifika people’s sports news, on a sunny and bright Saturday morning 16 March 2024.
                                                                  
Coming to you with tons of hanisi from the 180th meridian in the middle of the Blue Continent. 
 
In rugby union: Moana Pasifika has won again, beating the Western Force in their Super Rugby Pacific clash at HBF Park in Perth last night, 22-14.
 
Chasing their first win, a valiant fightback by the Force fell short as Moana Pasifika ground out a tough win, defending a 12-point lead from early in the second half.
 
Meanwhile, the Crusaders have made their worst-ever start in Super Rugby history after suffering a narrow 14-10 loss to the Hurricanes in Christchurch last night.

The Super Rugby Pacific defending champions have lost all four of their games in 2024 – after previous losses to the Chiefs, Waratahs and Fijian Drua – their reversal to the Hurricanes means there will be pressure on the Crusaders’ Head Coach, Rob Penney.

In football: The UEFA Champions League quarter-finals draws were made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
Quarter-finals on April 9 & 10 and 16 & 17:
·       Arsenal vs Bayern Munich
·       Atlético Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund
·       Real Madrid vs Manchester City
·       PSG vs Barcelona

In SportsBiz: Tough times are continuing in the athletic footwear and apparel market as industry giant ADIDAS reported their first annual loss in more than three decades.
 
The German company said it posted a net loss of US$82million in 2023, reversing a US$670M gain in 2022.

ADIDAS sales declined 5% to US$23.45Billion, and operating profit plunged 60% to US$293M.
Did someone say “Yeezy”?

NIKE is also affected by many of the same trends, cutting US$2B in costs, mainly through layoffs.
 
In rugby league: The Sharks are 2-0 to start the season after overcoming a spirited Bulldogs pack to seal a 25-6 victory in front of a sold-out crowd at PointsBet Stadium.
 
Desperate defence was the name of the game until the Sharks eventually broke the Dogs — and a 6-all scoreline — in the 55th minute.

Then the floodgates opened as they ran in two more tries and Nicho Hynes put the icing on the cake with a field goal.

In Boxing: The upcoming 20 April fight between Ryan Garcia and unbeaten WBC Super Lightweight World Champion Devin Haney should be one of boxing’s biggest drawcards in 2024.
The 25-year-olds faced off six times as amateurs – the latest when they were 16 – splitting three wins apiece.

At 31-0, Haney is one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world, while Garcia’s loss to Gervonta Davis in April 2023 was hugely popular, with a sellout Vegas crowd delivering US$22.8Million in ticket sales - the fifth highest in Vegas history, and over 1.2 million pay-per-view buys in the US alone.

Er . . so what’s the problem? Garcia is nuts!

And that’s a wrap!
 
Please hit the like and subscribe buttons below if you want to receive more Pasifika sports highlights on Breakfast Bites.
 
Mahalo and Ka kite; for Teivovorugby.com, I’m Culden Kamea tanking you all too mass for all your love and support.
 
#TEIVOVORugby  #TEIVOVODigital #TeivovoRugby #TeivovoDigital #rugby #rugby7s #FijiRugby #rugbyunion #rugbyleague #Raka #team #rugbytraining #sports #FRU #Fiji #womensrugby #rugbygirls #wrugby #ladiesrugby #womeninsport  #woman #rugby #rugby7s #FijiRugby #rugbyunion #rugbyleague #fitness #weightlifting #training #team #rugbytraining #sports  #rakavi  #DevelopmentFiji