Moana Pasifika are good to go for 2026 but longer-term forecast remains uncertain

Saturday, 13 September 2025

Rieko Ioane makes way for debutant Leroy Carter.

ANALYSIS: Moana Pasifika will be on the starting line for Super Rugby Pacific in 2026 despite ongoing conjecture about their financial health, but the longer-term forecast is still uncertain.

The Post understands that the New Zealand Rugby board met in Wellington this week and Moana Pasifika were discussed in light of ongoing concerns surrounding their funding model.

The precise nature of those discussions is unclear, but it is understood that NZ Rugby is committed to the 11-team Super Rugby Pacific for 2026 with Moana Pasifika’s inclusion.

That is positive news for a franchise that delivered some of the best feelgood storylines in Super Rugby Pacific this year, and will give a degree of certainty to players, sponsors and broadcasters.

It is also in line with chief executive Debbie Sorensen’s emphatic statement to The Post in July, when she insisted that the franchise was going nowhere.

“Moana Pasifika is here to stay,” Sorensen said.

“Moana Pasifika will proudly take the field in the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season.

“Our place in the competition is confirmed, our funding is in place, and our squad is nearly complete - with only a handful of spots remaining and more team announcements to follow in the coming weeks.

“The foundations are strong. It is important to note that Moana Pasifika’s funding model is built on established rugby revenue streams - including NZ Rugby, World Rugby, broadcast rights, and a growing network of commercial partners.

Moana Pasifika celebrate their win over the Blues at North Harbour Stadium in May.

“We are on track to finish the financial year ahead of forecast.”

However, the harsh realities of running a Super Rugby franchise are such that it seems inevitable that Moana Pasifika will need to secure new investment to be a sustainable longer-term proposition.

In that sense they are no different to the five New Zealand Super Rugby teams, who have had to tap the private investment sector to help them with the rising costs of delivering Super Rugby in difficult economic times.

The Hurricanes were the latest to go down this route, raising $1 million earlier this year.

While the Wellington Rugby Football Union remains a 50% shareholder in the Super Rugby franchise, Upper Hutt developer Malcolm Gillies has been working for months on a plan to buy some or all of their shares.

The questions about Moana Pasifika’s sustainability arose after its key backer, the Pasifika Medical Association (PMA), lost some lucrative Whānau Ora contracts.

Moana Pasifika also gets a cut of NZ Rugby’s broadcast deal with Sky, although that could diminish in line with the reduced terms of that deal over the 2026-2030 cycle.

World Rugby funding is thought to be linked to Moana Pasifika’s ability to provide pathways for players from Tonga and Samoa, but that is complex and challenging work and the majority of Moana Pasifika players have come through the New Zealand system.

Super Rugby has a poor track record with expansion teams, with the Melbourne Rebels, Sunwolves, Southern Kings and Jaguares among those who have come and gone.