Rugby’s Next Step — And How Fans Can Shape It
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What are the recent upsets in Super Rugby?
Well, it's great to welcome to the Aotearoa Rugby Pod, Super Rugby CEO, Jack Mesley. And Jack, that was a good weekend of upsets.
Yeah, I'm still getting over what was a very big Saturday and a great weekend all round. Some massive upsets that have thrown the comp into a really interesting place just beyond the halfway stage. Do you watch every game? You just did the whole thing. Well, I try to get to a game every week if I can. And then, yeah, try to catch up on all five games or however many games we've got in the weekend.
I mean, that has been the best thing, though, about Super Rugby the last few years is that unpredictability of result. And you look at the weekend, and I would say there are three upsets. Most would have thought the Canes would probably win that. You know, now there's, what, 10 teams that are still eligible for that sixth place, maybe fifth.
I think you're right, Jib. And, you know, all of these long-term hoodoos that have existed are getting busted every week, it seems. So, yeah, the Drewa winning for the first time in Canberra was just amazing. You could see what that meant to that team and their fans. The Force getting over the Crusaders at home. You know, each week we seem to have this. And certainly any team on their day can beat any other team in the comp. And And we love that. We want every fan group, as I keep saying, look forward to the next weekend thinking their team have got a chance. And it certainly seems to be the way at the moment.
Now, Jack, we'll get to the state of the game and what's happened this year as far as the play and the evolution of the game and the innovations and all of that soon. But when you look at what's happening in the media, certainly in New Zealand over the last few days, the comment is all about Moana Pacifica and the future of Moana Pacifica within this competition. So I thought possibly the best place for us to start with you is maybe just to take a step back because there is a lot of emotion tied to it. And rightfully so, because, you know, there's a lot here as far as jobs and a team and a culture and a lot on the line with this team, a very important team in that way. Where are we at with Moana Pacifica right now?
Yeah, I mean, it's been a big week, right? And I was lucky enough to be at the Waratahs Moana game on Friday night. And I was out there with Debbie Sorensen and got a real feel for, you know, obviously the tough week it's been. And us, like everyone else, our first and the priority is thinking about those individuals that are impacted by the news. And the news is that the owners of Moana Pacifica have said that, you know, they can no longer fund the team going forward. But right now, what they are trying to do is find new owners who will come in and take the franchise forward. So from a competition point of view, you know, we are very supportive of that process, very supportive of Moana Pacifica trying to find new owners and we will do everything we can to support that.
So that's where we're at. Our main priority is, as I said, make sure that the people impacted are looked after. It was great to see them and their fans put on such a good show on Friday. You can see the emotion that's going to run out and they've given every assurance that regardless of what happens with new ownership or not, they are going to play through the balance of the season and give it everything they've got.
Is there an element where early notice is probably more helpful for the survival of the team in terms of having that clarity now almost gives that ability or I suppose the narrative can be spread wider publicly to maybe create opportunities for them to continue?
one of the good things about the news being out there is that it's being broadcast all around the world. So if there are interested parties and you can see from the rhetoric out there and, and all the sentiment in, in social media, if there are interested parties, then, you know, this gives them an opportunity to come forward, speak with Moana Pacifica, speak with New Zealand rugby to see if we can keep this franchise going.
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