Across nearly all the matches taking place this weekend in Round 8 of the Super Rugby Pacific season, there’s a common theme.

Making history.

For one club, it’s making a debut in front of passionate home support. For another, it’s about an ongoing charge to play beyond the regular season for the first time. For others, it’s regarding the chase of tasting championship glory once again.

Landmark occasions happen yearly in Super Rugby, but perhaps never in the recent history of the competition has the potential for multiple major milestones – both in the scope of a single season and of a club’s entire history – been so prevalent in just one matchweek. 

For better, and maybe for worse, it’s likely that at least one club, and possibly more, will look back at Round 8 as a defining one in their respective 2023 seasons.

It’s considered arguably the best club rugby competition in the world for a reason – it’s not just the quality of rugby on display, but the frequent potential for epic moments you can’t find anywhere else on Earth.

Here’s a look at the Super Rugby Pacific matches to watch for in Round 8 of the 2023 season, with numerous fixtures throughout the year (including all listed below) being streamed live on FloRugby.

NOTE: All kickoff times are listed in Eastern Time and are subject to change.

Moana Pasifika Vs. Queensland Reds

It has been a pretty hapless season to date for Moana Pasifika, with the competition’s club of the Pacific Islands nailed to the foot of the table with no wins, just two points and a minus-158 point differential, which is by far the most lopsided in the wrong direction in Super Rugby. 

But if there’s any match on the club’s calendar that can be considered a “must win,” it’s this one. 

Why? 

It’s because for the first time since joining Super Rugby, Moana Pasifika will be playing in front of a home Samoan crowd in Apia – the country’s capital and largest city – in a long-awaited fixture against the Reds.

The matchup Friday should bring a large, active crowd to Apia Park, the home ground of the country’s national team. 

On the grass in Apia 🌴 pic.twitter.com/r1E38tF81H

— Moana Pasifika Rugby (@MoanaPasifika_) April 10, 2023

Fourteen players who previously have been capped for Le Manu are on the Moana Pasifika roster, and with temperatures approaching 90 degrees later in the week in the heavy, humid tropical air, those who call Samoa home are going to feel right in their element. 

The club’s inspired performance against the four-time defending champion Crusaders – in which Moana Pasifika led 21-17 at halftime in Christchurch, before the title contenders ran away with it out of the dressing room – should give them a boost at just the right time, too. 

The Reds, meanwhile, are in dire need of a spurt in form, having lost three straight games and falling down the table into eighth place, only a point ahead of the Melbourne Rebels for the final playoff spot. 

A hostile environment in the islands will test the Reds’ fortitude, though the continued try-scoring efforts of speedy winger Jordan Petaia (joint league-high seven tries) should keep them in all fixtures, regardless of the opponent and/or location.

Brumbies Vs. Fijian Drua

The Drua were off last week, but it’s hard to imagine that much of the current buzz around the club has subsided. 

The second-year Super Rugby side, on 13 points, already passed its point total from last season in less than half as many matches. Fiji has proven to be a major breakout campaign for coach Mick Byrne and his men. 

Playoff qualification is a serious possibility and would be an accomplishment that would stand to be one of the greatest success stories in the proud history of Fijian rugby. However, the Drua’s first fixture off of their bye is far from easy. 

The Brumbies pushed back from a loss to the Crusaders to roll off wins against a pair of fellow Aussie teams – the New South Wales Waratahs and the Reds – and for Round 8, will get the advantage of staying on home soil against the Drua, who the Brumbies demolished last season, 42-3 and 33-12. 

Coach Stephen Larkham’s team likely is feeling solid following the triumph over Queensland last weekend, as well, particularly considering that the Brumbies’ 52-24 victory on the road was their first in Brisbane in eight years. 

The visitors still have some kinks to work out in the attack, being Super Rugby’s second-lowest scoring club this year, with just 164 points (in a game less than most other teams, to be fair), but magic from the Drua is more than possible, like when they shocked the Crusaders in a 25-24 upset last month in the biggest win in the club’s short history. 

A victory over the third-placed Brumbies, however, might solidify that any fears about facing the Drua are justified.

Hurricanes Vs. Chiefs

They’re even on points at the top of the table. 

It’s the most try-heavy attack against the most try-preventative defense in the competition. 

In terms of regular-season Super Rugby matches, it doesn’t get much bigger than Friday night’s clash between two New Zealand clubs that are trying to end the Crusaders’ stranglehold atop the rest of the fray. 

The Chiefs were part of the Round 7 byes, but not before they outlasted everyone else as Super Rugby’s final remaining unbeaten team at 6-0, with a strong resume featuring victories over the Blues and Crusaders. 

With just 14 tries allowed in those matches, the Chiefs rarely make critical errors. 

The back line holds firm and plays cohesively, while an attack led by breakout back (and All Blacks Rugby World Cup selection candidate) Shaun Stevenson, Fijian dynamo Emoni Narawa (four tries in the Chiefs’ past two games) and the return from Japan of centurion and All Black Damian McKenzie, has made mincemeat of their fair share of opposing defenses in 2023. 

But the Hurricanes have been a different level of electric – 39 tries and 272 points scored both are the best marks in the competition, and even in games where they have subpar stints (like in a 29-14 win over the Highlanders last weekend in which the Hurricanes only led 8-7 at the half), they’ll get some high-octane offense in devastating spurts.

Hurricanes name team for blockbuster Chiefs matchup, this Saturday, 2:35PM at Sky Stadium

Read more: https://t.co/VJunthhzwB pic.twitter.com/qW1G8cJQZ4

— Hurricanes Rugby (@Hurricanesrugby) April 13, 2023

An example was when winger Salesi Rayasi scored a pair of tries to help his team push through. 

In what easily could be a deep-playoff preview, Friday’s victor almost certainly will take sole possession of first place in the league standings and set itself up well for the regular season’s second half, where challengers will push for postseason positioning. 

And, in the dogfight that’s to come, it’s much better to have some leeway to work with, making a win here for either side all that much more critical.