Moana Pasifika’s survival beyond the end of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season is not yet a foregone conclusion, the club’s chief executive Debbie Sorensen said on Thursday, as fresh investor interest emerges and behind-the-scenes talks gather pace. The update comes a day after the club publicly confirmed it would exit the competition at the conclusion of the 2026 campaign, citing unsustainable financial pressures.
Sorensen told Pacific media that making the team’s struggles public has already prompted enquiries and that “work is happening in the background with various parties.” While she said no formal offers have yet been delivered, she expects interested parties to surface “over the next week or so.” The CEO urged patience and persistence: “Don’t give up yet, that there will be a place for Moana. It can. Yes, I think it can.”
Any rescue, however, would carry strict conditions. Sorensen said potential new management must preserve the club’s Pacific identity. “If we really wanted to continue the movement, then having Pasifika people involved in another organisation that might come forward is really important,” she said, stressing that the team’s role extends beyond sport to “our families… hope for the future… opportunity.” She warned that financial backing alone would not be sufficient to retain what she called the club’s “essence.”
The financial hurdle is significant. Sorensen outlined that running a Super Rugby franchise costs between NZ$10 million and NZ$12 million a year (approximately US$5.9m–7m). Under the “current kind of situation” the club has concluded it would not be able to field a team beyond 2026 without substantial new investment, she added.
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has expressed disappointment at the club’s decision but said it remains open to engaging with any parties interested in keeping Moana Pasifika in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. That openness creates a pathway for the background discussions Sorensen described, though she emphasised any outcome would require “serious backing.”
Sorensen said the priority remains the welfare of players and staff amid the uncertainty. Many team members were preparing to fly to Sydney on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s Super Rugby fixture against the New South Wales Waratahs. “Our first responsibility and interest is in the welfare of our players and our staff,” she said, noting preparations for the Waratahs match continue amid the off-field turmoil.
The latest development shifts the narrative from a definitive exit to a holding pattern in which potential investors could still intervene. Sorensen characterised the public disclosure of the club’s finances as a strategic move to widen the pool of potential backers, drawing attention to the broader value Moana Pasifika has added to the competition over the last five years — providing opportunities for Pacific players and enriching the Super Rugby landscape.
For now, the club remains on a conditional timetable: an official exit stands for the end of the 2026 season unless a credible, financially robust and culturally aligned suitor steps forward quickly. Sorensen’s suggestion that interested parties could emerge within a week sets a tight window for what would be a dramatic reversal for a team that has become a focal point for Pacific rugby aspirations.
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