Super Rugby Set for 10-Team Revamp After Moana Pasifika Exit

Moana Pasifika to disband | GETTY IMAGES

Moana Pasifika will disband after this season, cutting Super Rugby to 10 teams in 2027. Coaches say a leaner format could make the competition stronger.

Calls are growing for Super Rugby to become a simpler and stronger competition without Pasifika. Coaches See 'Opportunity' as Super Rugby Shrinks to Most Compact Format Yet...

The collapse of a second Super Rugby team in just three years due to financial issues is disappointing but also an “opportunity” and could make the competition stronger, coaches said Thursday.

New Zealand-based Moana Pasifika, launched in 2020 as a pathway for players of Pacific heritage, said Wednesday it will disband at the end of the season.

Their upcoming exit follows the collapse of the debt-ridden Melbourne Rebels in 2024 and means next year’s competition will feature 10 teams - five from New Zealand, four from Australia and the Fijian Drua.

It will be the most streamlined edition since Super Rugby launched 30 years ago.

NSW Waratahs coach Dan McKellar believes it is the ideal model to better engage with fans.

“I don't think we play enough rugby here,” he said.

“My opinion would be, 'Let's play 18 games -- home and away -- and get as much rugby as we can into the players, without burning them out'.

“Just make it really, really simple -- make it easy for fans to follow and connect with the game. We play with the Crusaders here, we play them in Christchurch... do that with every team, throw in a couple of byes.”

Broadcasters and rights holders have yet to comment, but there are rumors a conference system for Australia and New Zealand, with trans-Tasman finals, is being considered.

Super Rugby has taken various formats since launching in 1996, starting with 12 teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

It became Super 14 when two teams were added for the 2006 season, then grew to 15 in 2011 when it was rebranded Super Rugby.

The competition reached an ultimately unworkable 18 teams a decade ago with Japan and Argentina also involved, before dropping back to 15 prior to the Covid pandemic forcing more change.

A new era began in 2022 with five Australian and five New Zealand teams joined by the Drua and Moana after South African franchises left.

That became 11 when the Rebels folded.

ACT Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham told reporters that fewer teams would make Super Rugby stronger, with more talent available to the 10 remaining sides.

Moana have a 38-player squad and players will now be scrambling to find another club ahead of the 2027 World Cup in Australia.

I agree, Australia doesn't have the depth to field five teams if they're playing against five NZ teams, but NZ don't seem to have any geographic space for a 6th team.

A 10 team comp feels small, but I can't see any real alternatives.

— CarrickTalksRugby (@TalksRugby) April 14, 2026

“There's disappointment there but I think there's opportunities,” he said.

“There's positives to it, obviously negatives for anyone who's involved, but hopefully positives for the competition, that it'll strengthen the other teams and make the competition even stronger.”

I think it's despicable the way World Rugby are treating... *checks notes* NEW ZEALAND?!

I'm sorry, but does Graham Henry want World Rugby to deliver them a suitable club competition, which they'll then ignore in favour of more international tests anyway? pic.twitter.com/OiczNkvlQN

— Aled Fletcher (@aled_fletcher) April 16, 2026

Moana’s marquee signing was All Blacks star Ardie Savea, who joined from the Wellington Hurricanes in 2025.

Savea was set to return in 2027 after a sabbatical in Japan, and the flanker’s signature is likely to be the most sought after.