Tana Umaga sounds wider warning to rugby after collapse of Moana Pasifika
Saturday, 18 April 2026
Tana Umaga sounded a wider warning to rugby’s officials and highlighted the imposing threat of rugby league with typically candid reflections after Moana Pasifika’s collapse.
The Moana coach was speaking for the first time after an “emotional” week in which the franchise announced it would disband at the end of the Super Rugby Pacific season.
While Umaga said there was a “glimmer of hope” in saving them, it seems highly unlikely after their five years of an uncertain existence, with low crowds, no certain home base and poor results, and constant concerns about their financial sustainability.
The iconic former All Blacks captain, a proud Samoan, questioned what World Rugby would do to support pathways for Pacific players into professional rugby, something Moana has facilitated while based in Auckland since 2022.
Moana lost their eighth consecutive match, 29-14, away to the Waratahs on Friday night. Afterwards, Umaga faced questions about almost anything but the game in Sydney.
“It’s really about the players and the staff and the effects it had on us and everybody,” Umaga said of the “tough news” that landed on Tuesday.
Moana said their decision came after extensive consideration of their financial, operational and strategic challenges. Pointedly, their statement mentioned the same challenges for professional rugby in New Zealand.
Umaga said: “It’s a tough, old gig for everyone in Super Rugby. If you talk to any club, no one is bristling or financially safe, for lack of a better word.”
With his next job coming as an assistant under new All Blacks coach Dave Rennie once Moana’s season ends, Umaga is still a powerful spokesman for rugby in the Pacific Islands.
He reiterated the threat rugby league posed to the 15-man game in the region, which he mentioned just last month, and the NRL’s aggressive push to recruit their best talent. It could mean more prospects not playing test rugby for Samoa or Tonga, Umaga said.
“If there’s nothing to compete against, I’m sure that’s something we’ve got to think about,” he said.
“That’s the real risk. Then what for Samoa and Tonga?
“Rugby league has a great product at the moment. They’ve got a lot of money being put into it and are all over the islands, promoting it.
“Our people are made for the game. They love the game. They make up big numbers. If they all go to league, that will be a sad time and a sad place for where rugby should be.”
On what Moana stood for, he said: “We represent all Pasifika, but the gap between where we are as Samoa and Tonga, internationally, to where we need to get to, is very big.”
Umaga said bridging that gap was tougher than ever. Tonga only just made the last Rugby World Cup France in 2023. Samoa only scraped into next year’s tournament in Australia by drawing with minnows Belgium.
“If we keep going the way we’re going, and we don’t want it to happen, there’s a possibility Samoa or Tonga might not make the next cycle of the World Cup,” he said.
Umaga said not having Moana would mean more players were lost to Pacific rugby.
“It’s an opportunity for these players to learn how to be better professionals and play at the elite level. If that goes, it makes it tough for those nations,” he added.
Next to Umaga was William Havili, who cracked Super Rugby with Moana in 2022 and has represented them on more than 50 occasions after playing NPC for Tasman.
“I feel for my Tongan and Samoan brothers. They might not get a chance next year now. There are some really exciting kids we have training with us that might get overlooked,” the Tongan fullback said.
Havili said their captain, loose forward Miracle Faiʻilagi, had been plucked from Samoan club rugby.
“This team gave me a chance right at the start, straight out of NPC. It gave me a chance of Super Rugby. I got to debut for my country of birth, then go to a World Cup,” he said.
“Rugby league is obviously a big thing in Tonga as well, so we’re competing against that.”
Moana were also competing for Aucklanders’ attentions with the Blues, in particular, in Super Rugby, as well as the Warriors who continue to attract large crowds to NRL matches at Go Media Stadium.
Umaga said last month the Blues had made it ”very hard for us to survive” in Auckland.
“We were brought in late. We were meant to be based in the islands. It didn’t happen,” Umaga said.
“There’s a lot of sports teams in Auckland, and it’s pretty hard for us to get an even footing in there.
“Some clubs liked us. Some were threatened by us. I’ll probably have to leave it at that.”
Moana’s initial three-year backing from World Rugby and the New Zealand Government ended in 2024. The Pasifika Medical Association Group has kept them going since but can’t afford to beyond this season.
They were not affiliated to New Zealand Rugby like the five Kiwi Super Rugby teams and Umaga acknowledged they had to look out for themselves.
Only a wealthy benefactor willing to risk losing millions can keep Moana afloat. Umaga said that was allowing them to “keep faith”.
“We’ve been in this predicament before, but it’s not as dire as it is now. I wouldn’t say dire because there’s a glimmer of hope,” he said.
“Who knows what will it happen.”
Umaga said they still have to “stay connected” and play for their families, friends and fans in completing the last five matches of their troubling campaign. They sit bottom with one win from nine and were 16 points outside the playoffs after losing in Sydney.
“One player said we have to ‘get on with it’,” Umaga added.
“Those things kind of galvanise you to get on and keep doing what we love doing. We always talk about that we’re very fortunate and grateful for the opportunities we have.
“There’s a glimmer of hope for us, and that’s what we’ve got to look forward to and keep pushing forward.”