The accolades, victories and fans are starting to flow towards Moana Pasifika, but one of their star players – and maybe others – could be heading in the other direction.
Kyren Taumoefolau, the 22-year-old wing who scored a hat-trick against the Blues last Saturday, is thought to be about to sign with the Chiefs – and assuming he does make the shift, it will engender the perception that Moana is being used as a breeding ground for New Zealand’s five foundation Super Rugby clubs.
In Moana’s four years of existence, they have seen a net outflow of their best talent. There is an established pattern now that whenever Moana discover or rejuvenate someone who reaches new heights, that player then becomes of interest to the established New Zealand clubs and fields an irresistible offer.
Levi Aumua, who had spent time with the Chiefs and Blues without ever winning significant game time at either, became one of the competition’s best and most effective midfielders when he played for Moana in 2022 and 2023.
Good enough, certainly, for the Crusaders to want him and take him south in 2024 – the same direction of travel embarked upon by Timoci Tavatavanawai, the versatile back who signed with the Highlanders after two seasons with Moana where he demonstrated a freakish ability to win turnovers and batter holes in defences.
And now Taumoefolau, whose hat-trick against the Blues confirmed his potential and right to be seen as one of the most gifted wings in Super Rugby Pacific, is set to shift to the Chiefs to effectively replace Shaun Stevenson, who is departing for Japan at the end of the season.
Admittedly, Moana have pulled off the single greatest heist by signing Ardie Savea, but the incredible influence of one man can’t be used to say the balance has been redressed.
The trend is undeniable that Moana are losing more than they are gaining in the labour market and that this net outflow of talent is against the spirit and intent of setting up the club as a vehicle to identify and develop players for the national sides of Samoa and Tonga.
The villains in this, however, are not the New Zealand Super Rugby clubs. Some people may want to dress them up as the bad guys, prowling with their swag bags at the ready, but they are not guilty of predatory behaviour by picking up players who shine brightly for Moana.
The driver in this traffic flow is the overwhelming imbalance that exists when considering a possible career with the All Blacks against playing for either Samoa or Tonga.
Taumoefolau played for Tonga at the 2023 World Cup but was born and brought up in New Zealand and will be All Blacks-eligible next year, having served a three-year stand-down.
Whether he’s good enough to ultimately make the All Blacks remains to be seen, but he certainly looks to have the raw speed, positional awareness and finishing instincts to be of significant interest.
He also has the freedom of choice to switch his allegiance from Tonga to New Zealand.
And when the financial outcomes of playing for the Chiefs and making the All Blacks are compared with staying at Moana and playing for Tonga, the former is worth anything between $350,000 to $700,000-plus a year more than the latter.
Making the All Blacks would net Taumoefolau $7500 for every week the team are assembled (about $120,000 a year) and would entitle him – or trigger – a New Zealand Rugby (NZR) top-up payment to his retainer that could be anything from $150,000 a year to $500,000, and would push him towards the top Super Rugby payment of $195,000.
At Moana, who are thought to have significantly less money to spend on salaries than the about $5 million each of the five foundation clubs have, he’s likely to be paid around $100,000 a year, while if he stayed committed to Tonga, he’d be lucky to receive $1000 per test in match payments.
But even if Taumoefolau doesn’t make the All Blacks, he’ll still benefit from a suite of financial perks that are open to players contracted to the Blues, the Chiefs, the Hurricanes, the Crusaders and the Highlanders, but not Moana.
Under the terms of the collective agreement between the Rugby Players’ Association and NZR, there are various loyalty payments available to incentivise individuals to remain in New Zealand.
A player contracted to play in the NPC and Super Rugby Pacific receives an additional loyalty payment of $5,000 a year, which rises to $12,500 after they have been here for three years and then becomes $35,000 if they stay for five.
There is also a savings scheme open to players from the foundation clubs, where the player payment pool – the money NZR sets aside to meet salaries – will contribute $2.50 for every $1 a player invests (up to $12,500 a year) rising to $3 for every $1 (up to $15,000) if that player has been contracted for five years.
Whether Taumoefolau makes the All Blacks or not, he’ll be significantly better off by joining the Chiefs (who are likely going to pay him a higher Super salary than Moana), and this highlights a secondary significant issue with the current set-up, which is the question of Moana’s purpose and ownership.
The club is licensed to NZR but not funded by the national body, and so it finds itself masquerading as a sixth New Zealand team but without the financial pipeline and associated benefits.
And given the bulk of its squad – almost the entirety of it – is and always likely will be dual-qualified, Moana in their current guise are set up to be a feeder team, incubating talent for the other five New Zealand sides to swoop in with superior offers once they have seen a player they want.
Moana have added colour, drama, spectacle and vibrancy to Super Rugby Pacific, but the question of how they are funded and how they fit into the broader New Zealand rugby landscape is one that needs an immediate answer.
Live updates of the Super Rugby semifinal between the Crusaders and the Blues.