Super Rugby turns to Pacific for much-needed shot in the arm in 2022 season

Super Rugby has set its sights on the vast, blue horizon of the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to reinvent and re-energise the elite southern hemisphere competition and for the first time in its 26-year history the competition will feature two Pacific Island teams – the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika – along with sides from Australia and New Zealand.

Many would argue that these inclusions are long overdue given the Pacific Islands’ enormous contribution to the game globally, particularly Super Rugby. Without professional domestic competitions, the major rugby-playing nations of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga became nurseries for rich clubs in Australasia, Europe and Japan.

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Some of the most exciting players in Super Rugby history, such as Fijian winger Rupeni Caucaunibuca, were Pacific Islanders, while the team lists of Australian and Kiwi sides over the years have included a host of players of Pacific Island heritage. On that basis, it is only fair that they should be given a place at the table, but their inclusion was not just an act of altruism on the part of Australian and New Zealand administrators, who will be banking on them to give the competition a shot in the arm. The Pacific Islanders are renowned for their flamboyant style of play and they have the potential to become the entertainers of the competition.

The inclusion of the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika will also provide Super Rugby with more variety. The competition started with 12 teams involving sides from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, but expanded to an 18-team format with the addition of extra teams in Australia, Argentina and Japan.

With the departure of South Africa