Moana Pasifika, a franchise established to represent Pacific communities, have played just twice in the Pacific Islands since their inception. Photo / Photosport
By Jonty Dine of RNZ
While the hunger for poaching Pacific rugby talent appears insatiable, the same appetite does not appear to exist to provide professional rugby in the Pacific Islands.
For a second consecutive year, Moana Pasifika have been forced to abandon plans to host a Super Rugby Pacific match in Tonga.
In 2025, this was because the floodlights in Nuku’alofa were not up to standard.
This year, however, Moana simply cannot afford to go.
Under minimum broadcast standards, staging a Super Rugby Pacific game in Tonga requires transporting roughly three tonnes of equipment into the country at a cost of $600,000 – an expense the club must cover.
World Rugby, which provided establishment support when Moana entered the competition, no longer contributes to those operational expenses.
Sponsorship discussions late last year gave the club confidence the trip could proceed in 2026, but those negotiations ultimately fell through.
The result is that Moana – a franchise established to represent Pacific communities – have played just twice in the Islands since their inception.
The lack of investment in Moana continues to frustrate coach Fa’alogo Tana Umaga.
“I think Pacific rugby as a whole does great service for the game of rugby and for one reason or another, World Rugby has made their decisions, but I just hope they haven’t forgotten about what we can do for this game of rugby as Pacific Islanders and what we bring. I know we here at Moana are doing our best. I know we’ve got to look after our own backyard first and foremost, but again, we’ve just got to make sure that we don’t get forgotten.”
Umaga was diplomatic when asked if the greater rugby world is incentivised to keep the Islands underfunded and underresourced.
“I suppose that’s one opinion, we want to be strong, and that’s what we are working towards and there’s a lot of people committed to that. It’s still a battle.”
Umaga pointed to the Pacific renaissance in rugby league as a prime example of how the Islands can impact the sporting landscape.
“We saw it with Tonga and Samoa, who got their best players playing, our Pacific people will get in behind it. We saw it with Moana Pasifika last year, everyone likes us when we come visit because they get good crowds, we are pulling people, we have pulling power and I think that needs to be supported.”
With the Tonga match to be moved, discussions are underway over an alternative venue.
Albany will not be an option though, as under their current licensing agreement, Moana can only host five games in Auckland per season, because of fears it would saturate the viewing market.
Their first game back at North Harbour will be in round four against the Crusaders.
Umaga said having home games and not being able to go to the Islands “obviously is disappointing for everybody and it wasn’t through a lack of trying, but that’s how these things pan out”.
The former All Blacks captain said they’ve “just got to make do with what’s next and it doesn’t take away from how proud we are to represent the Islands and our people. We just won’t be able to do that on home soil”.
He said it was critical for Polynesian players to be visible.
“You can talk about it, you can’t watch it on TV but if you can see it, touch it, feel it, people that look like me, it’s easier to believe it and achieve it. A lot of our guys come from the backgrounds these kids come from, they think ‘if he can do it, why can’t I?’ and there is no reason why they can’t.
“To physically be over there and be able to converse with those young people and see their idols, that is an opportunity missed by us, yet we know we’ve got other opportunities through our pathway system that can bring some of those kids to light for us.
“It’s not a small undertaking to go over there and put on a game for our people. But that doesn’t mean that we’re not going to try and get there again. We just know we’ve got to do a bit more work and be able to hold a game there.”
With Moana set to take on the Western Force in Pukekohe this weekend, Umaga said South Auckland provided that Pacific connection for his players.
“We love coming home and we love the support of our people and we love representing them.”
Moana chief executive Debbie Sorensen said it was gutting for both fans and players to not see a game in the Islands.
“We’re not on an equal footing. We are not funded to the same level as the other New Zealand franchises and we’re expected still to perform and to carry the costs.
“We bring the flair to rugby, we believe, and there’s a huge fan engagement around us and so that investment is important, not least because we provide pathways for talent that is coming out of Tonga and Samoa, feeding the other franchises and also feeding the international game.”
She said seeing your heroes on TV was one thing, but having them in your own backyard draws another level of inspiration.
“From a sports diplomacy perspective, it’s a good thing for us to go to the countries and we go not just promoting rugby but it’s actually a contribution to the whole of the country.”
Sorensen said the challenge for Moana was not simply raising one-off funds, but operating within a global system that she believes has shifted its investment focus elsewhere.
“I think their sights are focused on growing the game and other parts of the world in particular, in the US, and I think it’s not an either-or. I think that investment in the Pacific needs to be continuous and ongoing and it is good for the game internationally, not least because we actually provide players for all over the world ... so we believe that we contribute way above our weight to rugby as an international game and [are] worth being invested in.”
She was hopeful future sponsorship deals may come to fruition.
“In the current economic climate, it’s really tough. We have to pay that [$600,000] ourselves. No one funds us for that work and at the moment we’re just not in a position to do that. We did have conversations at the end of last year with potential sponsors, game-day sponsors who were interested and so we thought that we had secured funding for the game, but unfortunately that’s not the case.”
Understanding how heartbroken fans must be, Sorensen reassured them they will not give up.
“We will continue to work really hard to bring Super Rugby to the Pacific and hopefully next year we’ll have more success.”
Moana prop Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa, who is of Tongan descent, said the players will not dwell on the decision.
“Personally, I was excited for it, but things happen, we just have to adapt and hopefully we can just showcase how disappointed we are on the field and hopefully our people there support us.”
Tupou Ta’eiloa has not been to his ancestral homeland since he was a child.
“It would’ve meant a lot. I think most of the boys of Tonga heritage haven’t been there, so it would have been a big thing for us.”
– RNZ