‘If not us, then what?’ Moana Pasifika coach fears for rugby talent lost to league

All Blacks great and Moana Pasifika coach Tana Umaga fears the region’s talent will gravitate to league and derail the Tongan and Samoan Test sides without a Super Rugby presence.

The Super Rugby Pacific franchise is set to be disbanded after ownership on Wednesday confirmed it would not continue funding the “unviable” operation beyond this season.

Introduced in 2022 alongside Fijian Drua, Pasifika was designed to represent Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands.

But plans to base the club in Samoa never eventuated and, apart from a single game in Apia and another in Tonga in five seasons, have instead operated in obscurity in Auckland.

A World Rugby package initially funded the franchise before Pasifika Medical Association became a majority owner in 2024.

License holders New Zealand Rugby insist there is hope fresh investors – the operation reportedly costs upwards of $7m annually – can resuscitate the team that sits last after an eighth successive loss, in Sydney to NSW Waratahs on Friday night.

But the likelihood is a 10-team competition without a Pasifika presence for 2027 and Umaga, the first All Black captain of Samoan descent, is concerned.

“We understand why we’re here and for people that look like us, have our background, that’s important,” the coach, set to take up an assistant role for the All Blacks next year, said.

“A professional environment created by us; that means a lot.”

Moana Pasifika coach Tana Umaga watches on as the Super Rugby club’s players train. Photograph: Michael Bradley/Getty Images

Of particular concern is the future for the Samoan and Tongan Test teams battling to develop into competitive rugby nations.

Many of their emerging players are currently on the Moana Pasifika roster.

“The gap between where we [Samoa and Tonga] are currently, internationally, to where we need to get to, is very big,” Umaga said. “Without Moana to bridge that gap, it’s going to be tough.

“If we keep going the way we’re going, the possibility [is that] they might not make the next cycle of the World Cup.”