Moana Pasifika will not take part in the 2027 Super Rugby Pacific season after a last-ditch rescue effort failed to secure the funding needed to keep the club alive.
The announcement marks a major setback for Pacific rugby and brings an abrupt end to the Auckland-based side’s five-year run in the competition.
Moana’s owners revealed earlier this year that they would withdraw from the venture after failing to establish a sustainable financial model. In recent months, the governments of New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga worked together in an attempt to find a solution, but those efforts ultimately fell short.
“Unfortunately, the long-term financial requirements to participate in the competition could not be met,” said NZ Rugby chief financial officer Chris Kinraid.
“We want to be clear, the door remains open beyond 2027. We firmly believe a team can be based in the Pacific Islands and that a sustainable long-term solution can be found in the future.”
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Established in 2020, Moana Pasifika were created to provide a professional pathway for players of Pacific heritage and quickly became an important part of Super Rugby’s landscape.
However, the club faced significant challenges from the outset.
Restrictions on recruiting players from rival Super Rugby teams, limited access to TV revenue and ongoing financial pressures made long-term sustainability difficult.
Plans to regularly host matches in Samoa and Tonga also failed to materialise. Despite being founded to strengthen rugby in the Pacific, Moana played only two home fixtures in the islands during their five seasons in the competition.
New Zealand foreign minister Winston Peters expressed his disappointment at the outcome.
“We had hoped NZ Rugby would grant us more time, but they decided they had to move ahead announcing today that the team will not be part of Super Rugby next year.”
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Super Rugby also acknowledged the significance of the loss, describing the outcome as disappointing for players, coaches, staff and supporters.
Moana become the second Super Rugby club to disappear in the past three years following the demise of the Melbourne Rebels in 2024.
Their exit leaves the Fiji Drua as the only Pacific-based presence in the competition.
– AFP
Photo: Masanori Udagawa/Getty Images
The post End of the road for Moana appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Moana Pasifika will not take part in the 2027 Super Rugby season after a last-ditch rescue effort failed to secure the funding needed to keep the club alive.
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