Coventry star who shone at World Cup makes move to Super Rugby Pacific side
Tonga ace Pat Pellegrini has made the move to Moana Pasifika
Coventry fly-half Pat Pellegrini has made the switch to Super Rugby Pacific outfit Moana Pasifika after two seasons in the English Championship.
The Tongan international, who featured for the Pacific Island nation at the World Cup, will join his new side ahead of the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season.
He becomes the latest international to make the move to the Auckland-based outfit after World Rugby Player of the Year, Ardie Savea, also agreed to join the club for next season.
Really good stepping-stone
Pellegrini made the move to Coventry two seasons ago and ran out 39 times for the club.
His form saw him called into the Tonga squad, and he made his debut in their match against Fiji. He was later selected for last year’s World Cup, where he made three appearances and scored a brilliant try against the Springboks.
Upon his return to Coventry, Pellegrini ended the season as the league’s top points scorer and was named in the Team of the Season.
“Coventry is a great club and I’ve had two brilliant years there,” Pellegrini said on his exit.
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“The club has been massive in my development. The experience of going full-time with them will make this next transition into top-level rugby much easier. The environment created by the coaching staff at Cov is outstanding and with everyone pushing each other you get better every day.”
He added: “I have to give a massive thank-you to everyone that has helped me over the last two years and especially to the fans for their incredible support.”
The second-tier competition has come under fire in recent seasons. Reduction of central funding for Championship clubs, the ending of traditional promotion and relegation and the financial collapse of 2023 champions Jersey Reds have brought the status of the league into question; but Pellegrini was full of praise for the competition, describing it as a “stepping-stone”.
“The Championship is a really good stepping-stone into top-level rugby,” he said. “It is a league crammed full of talent and playing with and against players of that standard week-in, week-out has really helped me develop.”
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