Rugby news | New Super Rugby Pacific deal and its implications for Fijian Drua, Moana Pasifika
A stable future for Super Rugby Pacific has broader, positive implications for the Fijian Drua and Moana Pacifica, according to former Wallabies star Morgan Turinui.
As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic taper off, the former international believes more attention should be paid to the tournament’s newest teams that joined at the start of 2022.
The Fijian Drua played just two matches at home across Suva and Lautoka respectively to strong crowds of over 10,000.
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The lion’s share of its other “home” matches were played in Australia at venues including Sunshine Coast Stadium, Leichhardt Oval, Robina Stadium, and Lang Park.
Moana Pasifika is an all-comers style set-up with players out of Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands or those from New Zealand and Australia with Pacific Island heritage.
The team calls Mt Smart Stadium home, although Turinui said there is no reason why it can’t play matches outside of New Zealand in any of the aforementioned countries.
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“Now the COVID years are out, travel’s back, you can have supporters tours and things going to Fiji and Moana Pacifika taking their games to the islands – it’s all there,” Turinui told Wide World of Sports.
“I think the players are happy, of all the places to go, to go over there and play in front of those crowds and see the fervour and passion, especially we saw a little snapshot of the Drua. That’s just a really good example of what it can be.”
Another side effect of the Fijian Drua and Moana Pacifika having long-term stability is the potential benefits to the respective national sides.
With more players competing at the highest franchise level available to them, that opens the doors for a greater selection of players for Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga at a national level.
“I think Rugby Australia, New Zealand Rugby and governments will continue to support Fiji and then the other island nations and so they have the high-performance systems, the gyms, the training fields and then a stadium that is a real Super Rugby standard so that they can continue to make money out of it and eventually become more and more sustainable,” said Turinui.
“Hopefully that flows through to their national teams.”
After months of negotiations, Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby agreed to a new deal that will see Super Rugby Pacific remain unified until 2030.
Part of that will see a new governance structure formed and efforts made to unify the Super W and Super Rugby Aupiki competitions on either side of the Tasman.
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