Moana Pasifika to bow out of Super Rugby Pacific against Brumbies

MELBOURNE, May 28 : Moana Pasifika will bid farewell to Super Rugby on Saturday against the ACT Brumbies, marking the end of a failed five-year project to boost pathways into the highest levels for players with Pacific islands heritage.

Placed into liquidation this week, Moana's demise will see Super Rugby Pacific shrink to 10 teams in 2027 while leaving players and staff with uncertain futures.

Tana Umaga's team head into the final round of the regular season at Canberra Stadium riding a 12-match losing streak.

A vision that Moana would be based in the Pacific failed to materialise and they ended up as New Zealand's sixth team in the competition by default, struggling for fans and sponsorship in a city dominated by the Auckland Blues.

Umaga, set to join Dave Rennie's All Blacks staff, says Moana's exit may strengthen the National Rugby League's hold over Pacific nations' talent.

"The Pacific islanders make up about 40 per cent of players in the NRL, similar to rugby (union)," he said.

"If they all go to league, it'll be a sad time, a sad place for where rugby should be."

Rival clubs are circling the franchise's top talent, with All Blacks enforcer Ardie Savea the hottest property. The loose forward is on a playing sabbatical in Japan but was expected to return to Moana for the 2027 season.

Moana are not alone in battling financial problems.

Executives at multiple clubs have warned that Super Rugby, once boasting 18 teams and spanning South Africa to Japan, is on a slippery slope.

Hopes that Australia's teams might give New Zealand better competition have come to nothing, with the top four Super Rugby slots set to be locked down by Kiwi teams unless the fifth-placed Brumbies beat Moana and the Canterbury Crusaders lose at home to