Newstalk ZB
An announcement on Moana Pasifika’s future in Super Rugby appears imminent. The Herald understands Moana Pasifika chief executive Debbie Sorensen, who is also chief executive of Pasifika Medical Association (PMA), which owns the Super Rugby side, informed all staff yesterday afternoon that the owner will meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the 2026 season but will not be running the club next year. The decision by PMA to cut ties with the club means Moana Pasifika will not be part of Super Rugby Pacific in 2027 unless they can find a new owner willing to meet the annual running costs of between $10 million and $12m. Estimates suggest the cost of running Moana Pasifika is $10m-$12m a year and there is no viable means by which PMA believes it could meet its financial obligations next year. Rugby commentator and Lower Hutt mayor Ken Laban told Ryan Bridge TODAY that up to 60 players and staff face an uncertain future. “I’ve had a quick exchange of texts with Tana [coach Umaga] after you contacted me about coming on your show and I asked him how many were at risk, and all up, staff and players, 60 of them face a very uncertain future over the next few hours. I think official confirmation is due soon, it’s fair to say as far as Moana Pasifika is concerned, it looks like their future in Super Rugby is done,” Laban said. “The rules of engagement when they first came into the competition were unfair. They weren’t allowed to have access to the top players in the competition so it wasn’t a level playing field. The allocation of broadcasting rights, what the New Zealand franchises got by comparison to what Moana Pasifika got is also an unfair distribution of the revenue generated by the broadcast rights. They’ve had a lot of barriers to overcome and now they’re facing the reality of Pasifika Medical Association not being able to support them beyond this year. If they were to remain in the competition they would need the support of New Zealand Rugby, Super Rugby and World Rugby. And I can’t believe that between the three of them they’re not able to come up with a deal that would secure them.” Laban suggested the money was there in corporate New Zealand to save Moana Pasifika. “NZR and World Rugby have the marketing connections to help Moana Pasifika. I can understand New Zealand Rugby have financial pressures of their own and their own franchises to support. But I would have thought $12m, surely you can share that among five to six corporates in New Zealand. Somebody like Sir John Key could make half a dozen phone calls and I’m sure he can change the financial equation for Moana Pasifika in five minutes,” Laban said. The Herald revealed last year that PMA suffered a financial blow when it lost a government contract worth $44m. Moana Pasifika currently sit bottom of the Super Rugby Pacific table with one win from eight games. They are already losing coach Tana Umaga at the end of the season, after he was named as an assistant to new All Blacks coach Dave Rennie. The club’s departure would leave Super Rugby with a 10-team competition and another restructure after the Melbourne Rebels left after the 2024 season. The current season is 14 regular season matches each, with two byes, followed by a quarter-final format. Moana Pasifika joined Super Rugby in 2022 and finished last in the first two seasons with just three wins from 28 games. The club’s best season was last year, led by All Blacks star Ardie Savea, who joined the franchise from the Hurricanes. They finished in seventh place, five points outside of the playoffs, including wins over the Hurricanes, Crusaders, Highlanders and Blues. Moana Pasifika travel to Sydney to face the Waratahs on Friday. If a new owner can’t be found, then it is probable that Moana will play their last game against the Brumbies on May 30 in Canberra. Moana Pasifika's running costs are estimated to be...
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