The Fijian Drua enjoys financial stability and home-ground advantages, while Moana Pasifika faces hosting challenges and funding struggles in the Super Rugby Pacific. Photo: Photosport / www.photosport.nz / Edited by RNZ Pacific
Analysis: Two contrasting scenarios are now in play for the two Pasifika rugby franchises in the Super Rugby Pacific competition.
Moana Pasifika is struggling to host home matches in Samoa or Tonga.
Finances, and the lack of it, have been their biggest challenge - and it will remain so unless and until things drastically change.
Compounding their misfortunes at the moment is the fact that their hosting contract within the Super Rugby Pacific competition only allows them to host five matches in Auckland.
This means Moana will have to look at alternative venues for their home matches in a season, unless that specific contractual clause is revisited.
The Fijian Drua, on the other hand, face no such restrictions because they are hosting matches at home in Fiji. They also enjoy a certain amount of financial backing, which has seen them grow from year to year.
Moana Pasifika announced last week they were cancelling their trip to play the Chiefs in Tonga in April. The main reason: the club was not able to secure the NZ$600,000 they needed to be able to host the game at Te'ufaiva Park.
It is disappointing for the club, more so their fans in Tonga, who will miss out on watching the side in action on local soil again - after they missed out last year because of lighting issues at the stadium.
This has raised questions as to why the Drua are able to host their matches in Fiji without any major issues.
The reality on the ground provides the best answer to such questions.
To understand why some of the things are happening the way they are at this time, we need to go back to the beginning.
Drua set up
The Fijian Drua is the fruit of an investment partnership between the Fiji government, which holds 51 percent shares in the franchise, and the Fiji Rugby Union, who has a 49 percent share.
Those shares are held under the Counter Ruck Pte Limited, which was established in 2022 to manage and operate Drua.
The Drua also enjoyed initial funding support from World Rugby, who invested around £1.2 million, approximately NZ$2.3m for the 2021-2022 seasons, which was also shared with Moana Pasifika.
That secured the Drua's start in the Super Rugby Pacific competition and also guarantees their future as part of the series over the years.
Coupled with that, local businesses have teamed up with the Drua team as sponsors in various categories.
It means the franchise is supported financially and with resources in every way they need so the players and officials are left to work on getting the results on the field.
Working also in their favour is the fact that Fiji has the infrastructure that meets Super Rugby standards and requirements.
Both the National Stadium in Suva and Churchill Park in Lautoka met world rugby standards to host international matches.
This year, the newly refurbished Govind Park in Ba has added to the list of internationally-recognised facilities that the Drua can play their home matches at.
It's a big jump from when the club started in the competition in 2022, when Covid-19 restrictions saw them being based in Sydney for the whole season.
Being able to play at home since 2023 means having the support of their fans. It has equated to a record FJ$108m (NZ$84.26m) in income generated in 2025 alone, that money flowing back into the Fiji economy.
The Drua have become a "national economic engine" as a result.
Moana Pasifika
Unfortunately, for Moana Pasifika the road has not been that simple.
Set up to include players from the other Pacific Island countries, especially Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands, the franchise struggled from day one.
They were initially set-up as a charitable trust, Moana Pasifika Charitable Trust, and was not owned by a single private inidividual or entity.
While the World Rugby funding, shared with the Drua, covered some costs, the franchise also got NZ$4m from the New Zealand government, through Sport New Zealand, underwriting costs for operation and meeting licensing conditions.
Both funding arrangements have ended and Moana Pasifika had to secure its own funding through different approaches, including the Pasifika Medical Association Group, which acquired majority ownership of the club in 2024.
On top of that, both the Samoan and Tongan governments do not give financial backing to the franchise, despite the fact that the club features some of their best national prospects.
It's a situation Tonga Rugby Union chief executive officer 'Aisea Aholelei said reflected broader challenges in coordinating professional rugby events in smaller Pacific markets.
"I think the main thing is that we work as a partnership, and then we sort of work together on understanding what's best for each organisation," he told Pacific Media Network.
"We don't have a perfect harmony in our relationship, that's for sure, but we must understand what's beneficial for each organisation to survive."
While Moana Pasifika had played a game each in Samoa (2023) and Tonga (2024), the costs involved were quite high.
Being host means ensuring that all services needed must be on par and ready, according to World Rugby standards.
Host clubs for Super Rugby Pacific games are responsible for significant operational expenses, including venue hire, security, ticketing, catering, transport, broadcast equipment and marketing.
For countries like Samoa and Tonga, costs can go as high as NZ$600,000, which was the cost needed for Moana Pasifika to host the Chiefs in April.
While the franchise have enjoyed their 2025 season at their North Harbour base, where they have been able to record some capacity crowds, the fact that they can only host five games in Auckland in a season is another big challenge.
With Samoa and Tonga both out of the equation for some time, unless financial support gets better, then matches might have to be played "out of town" for the side as well, incurring more costs.
