Fijian Drua, Moana Pasifika look to the future after challenging Super Rugby Pacific campaigns

Five months of weekly Super Rugby Pacific competition and commitment came to an end for the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika in Australia over the weekend.

The Drua took on the Reds in Brisbane and lost 45-24, but not after having put their hosts under a lot of pressure.

Moana Pasifika did one better, beating the Brumbies in Canberra in a match that showed the team’s combined resilience and fighting spirit despite the fact they were underdogs.

While the teams could not make it into the top six and faced a lot of challenges with key players injured in the later stages of the season, one thing stood out in the end: both teams showed they can compete against the best if they put their mind and heart to it.

Head coaches Glen Jackson and Fa’alogo Tana Umaga have finished off with the teams. Jackson has not indicated where he is going to. Umaga is joining the All Blacks coaching team.

There are news of some Drua players heading overseas for contracts, and the list includes tough number eight Elia Canakaivata, halfback Simione Kuruvoli and winger Ponipate Loganimasi.

Moana Pazifika players react after winning the Super Rugby Pacific Round 16 match between the ACT Brumbies and Moana Pasifika at GIO Stadium in Canberra, Saturday, 30 May 2026.
Photo: AAP / Photosport

Moana Pasifika have officially finished their participation in the Super Rugby Pacific competition as a club, with owners Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) putting the franchise up for liquidation last week.

The North Harbour-based franchise is now the centre of discussions between interested bidders and New Zealand Rugby (NZR).

RNZ Pacific has been reliably informed some players have been picked up by other Super Rugby clubs. Sources close to Moana Pasifika have also told us that there are two options offered by interested bidders.

Option 1 is from Kanaloa Consortium, which has offered $15 million to buy the Moana Pasifika operation.

Option 2 is is led by former Moana Pasifika chief executive Pelenato Sakalaia, who is reportedly working with the New Zealand government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Samoa and Tongan governments to get some funding agreement going that would bail Moana Pasifika out and keep them running.

Meanwhile, both Jackson and Umaga said following their team’s performances that the focus is now on the future. They agreed, however, that the performances seen at the weekend augurs well for both teams as they head into the unknown future.

Jackson: It’s taken time for Drua players to mature

Drua’s stand-in captain Tuidraki Samusamuvodre said after Friday night’s match the team played hard and tried their best, but there were mistakes that caused them the game in the end.

“I feel like we started pretty well in the first two halves, just a lot of mistakes and errors that cost us the game.”

The Drua finished the competition at 10th position, with 21 points from five wins and nine losses – three points lower than the Highlanders and seven behind the Waratahs, who also registered five wins each but had better bonus points.

Jackson said the team showed a lot of promise in their last five matches, including the close loss to Western Force last week, adding that players were maturing.

Fijian Drua head coach Glen Jackson
Photo: Screengrab / Zoom

He admitted it has taken some time for the young Drua players to realise what professional rugby is “because we’ve come from nothing”.

He pointed to flanker Kitione Salawa as an example of a player who started five years ago and has grown into a player who has been able to compete against Wallabies and All Blacks players in the Super Rugby competition.

“I think Kiti Salawa, it’s not often a seven can just carry on playing 80 minutes of rugby like he does, and he’s done it last four weeks,” Jackson said.

“He’s certainly number one, where he started with us right back in the day, had a lot of injuries, and you know, his ability to get over the ball and speed. I hope he gets a good chance with the national team, because he’s been there and done it. But he’s now fully fit, and showing what he’s worth.”

Keep Drua separate

Jackson said his years with the Drua has been “a massive moment of my life”.

“[The players are] beautiful human beings, great people to coach. It’ll be a great moment to remember for the rest of our lives, my family and myself.”

Jackson’s parting message is for the Drua to remain a separate entity from the Fiji Rugby Union. He said the two – the Fijian Drua and the Flying Fijians – should be separate and keep it that way into the future.

“It’s important that the Drua remains part of the Drua and not part of Fiji Rugby. One of the really difficult things right now is you see the success of the Drua, has taken a long time to get success in a competition that is established.

“I can only speak from the Drua, it needs to be separated and needs to be run by two different entities. I think everyone in Fiji, especially in our club, would understand the importance of that.”

On the challenge Moana Pasifika is currently facing and the uncertainty around their future, Jackson said he feels for the players and management, hoping the club can be saved for the sake of Pacific rugby development.

“It’s obviously disappointing with what’s happening with Moana Pasifika,” he said.

Umaga sums up

Moana Pasifika finished the season last with just two wins this year.

Umaga said their win over the Brumbies on Saturday summed up their season, which has been one of more downs than ups, especially with their future remaining uncertain at the moment.

The former All Blacks captain said what the team went through this year was tough on the players, especially with their financial security playing out the way it has.

Moana Pasifika Head Coach Tana Umaga sings and dances along to a cultural song after the Super Rugby Pacific – Round 15 match between Moana Pasifika v Reds held at North Harbour Stadium, Auckland – New Zealand – on Saturday 23 May 2026.
Photo credit: Brett Phibbs / www.photosport.nz
Photo: Brett Phibbs / www.photosport.nz

“We did it the hard way … going down to 14 men early on,” Umaga said post-match in Canberra.

“Some of the plays, our accuracy was just off, and we didn’t get some reward from some of our play in the early part, and we let in some easy tries.”

But he said their season finale showed there is a strong purpose from group despite the focus on the franchise’s future.

“We won’t see a lot of our group that we left behind, because we’re not getting back together again, because we can’t. So we talked a lot around our strong purpose of who we represent, we’re representing our culture, our people, and you saw that come through in the end, because I’m just so proud of the effort that everyone put in.”

Umaga said the players knew the game could have been their last and they wanted to put on a performance for their fans and all who stood by them throughout the season.

“I’d like to think that we’ve left something for them, because we’ve heard them and felt their support throughout the season, and especially with what’s happening with Moana Pasifika.”

With discussions ongoing to save the franchise, Umaga said he was hopeful, like the rest of the players and management, that something positive will come out soon.

“I don’t know how big that ray of hope is at this stage, but we live always in hope, and we talk about faith all the time. Now is more than anytime that we’ve got to have faith that the powers that be can keep our Moana movement alive,” he said.

“I know people are working tirelessly at that for now, and there has been some positive talk, but in this game when we talk about it quite a bit, until you get it written down on paper, talk kind of goes up into the air and gets mixed up with the atmosphere and doesn’t really give you any certainty.”

Veteran halfback Augustine Pulu told reporters the challenges they have gone through has united the team and drawn them closer as a unit.

He likened their challenge to being in the valley and getting tested, with players getting to be better individuals as they mature with the experience they have learned from.

“Faith is big for us. We start with God and we finish off with God,” the former All Black said.

“Massive credit to T (Umaga) and the staff, for keeping us accountable. We still have games like no one can explain how hard it is, we can work out not having certainty, but that’s not an excuse for us, it’s made us closer.”

“And we talked about being in the valley and on the mountain tops. You know the valley, you get to learn a bit more of yourself, and we grow as men, so when we do get to the mutton tops, and in different times and areas in the future, they won’t want to go back there. So that’s a big learning for us as young men, especially for the younger ones from the islands, that’s just something that you know we gotta take on board.”

Going forward, Umaga and Pulu both hope that positive news will come out sooner than later.

Umaga said Moana Pasifika has given Pasifika players who do not make it into other Super Rugby clubs a pathway.

“We’ve got a lot of players who haven’t played a lot of professional rugby before, and it’s still an opportunity to keep the Pacific Islands pathways open.”

So as the top six teams head into this weekend’s semifinal challenge, the Fijian Drua will be taking stock of what their last five months have been.

Some of their players head into the Flying Fijians campaign for the upcoming internationals against Wales, England and Scotland.

Moana Pasifika, meanwhile, will be hanging on to hope that someone will step in and give them the lifeline they need to keep playing as a team, driving the movement that has won the hearts of millions of fans around the globe.