Umaga fears Super Rugby exit could see Tonga and Samoa lost to rugby league
All Blacks legend Tana Umaga says he fears an exit of Moana Pasifika from Super Rugby Pacific could open the door for rugby league to take over Samoa and Tonga, and see the proud Pacific nations struggle to qualify for Rugby World Cups in the future.
Umaga, the outgoing coach of Moana Pasifika, issued the grim warnings after his side ended a “tough week” with defeat against the NSW Waratahs in Sydney on Friday night.
After five seasons in Super Rugby, Moana Pasifika’s future was thrown into grave doubt this week when the owners announced they would not be funding the franchise after this season.
The statement essentially declared Moana Pasifika would fold, but Umaga said players and staff are holding on to a “glimmer of hope” after New Zealand Rugby said it was talking to potential investors about keeping the outfit going.
One investor group is still looking for backers and dealing directly with the NZR about buying the licence.
Umaga, who had already announced he will be moving to the All Blacks staff after this Super Rugby season, said there was faint hope, but he also laid out his deep concern for rugby in the Pacific if Moana Pasifika is shuttered.
With World Rugby support, the franchise began in 2022 as an outlet for Samoan and Tongan players to play at a high level. However, unable to play in Samoa, they had to be based in Auckland and on and off field success was difficult to come by.
But Umaga said Moana had been a vital pathway for young Tongans and Samoans and without it, many players who are being selected to play Tests for their country could have to drop back to club rugby.
“The gap between where we are currently in terms of Samoa and Tonga internationally to where we need to get to is very big,” Umaga said. “And if we don’t have opportunities like Moana to keep bridging that gap, then it’s going to be tough.
“In the last four years, Samoa just scraped into the World Cup. The previous cycle before that was Tonga [just making it]. And if we keep going the way we’re going, we don’t want it to happen, but the possibility is that Samoa or Tonga might not make the next cycle of the World Cup.”
The threat of Samoa and Tonga falling behind the rest of the world is made even more perilous by the fact rugby league is growing in both countries, and the NRL was given a war chest by the Australian government as part of the Papua New Guinea Chiefs expansion deal. Rugby remains the national sport in Samoa and Tonga, but Umaga worries about how long that can last without pathways for elite players.
“If there’s nothing to compete against, then I’m sure that [league taking over] is probably something that we’ve got to be thinking about. That’s the real risk,” he said.
“It’s fine if we’re not there, but then what for Samoa and Tonga? Rugby league’s got a great product at the moment, and it’s very popular.
“They’ve got a lot of money that’s being put into it, and they’re all over the islands promoting it. The Pacific Islanders make up nearly 40 per cent of all players in the NRL, similar to rugby.
“Our people are made for the game, and they love the game, and they make up big numbers in it. But most of them, if they all go to league, then it’ll be a sad time and a sad place for where rugby should be.”
Tonga and Samoa are set to receive a big funding boost from the Australian government, worth about $50 million each over five years, and there are plans to include teams from Fiji, Tonga and Samoa in an expanded version of Super Rugby AUS, the second-tier state competition launched last year.
The Fijian Drua used a similar platform – the now defunct National Rugby Championship – to become a Super Rugby side and Tonga and Samoa rugby unions are hoping that pathway could also possibly lead to them joining the competition in the future.
Umaga said joining Super Rugby AUS would be a great step.
“To make rugby stronger, you’ve got to have these pathways and these opportunities for these players to learn how to be better professionals and how to play in high-performance environments and play at the elite level,” he said.
“We know our boys can play the game – they’re super talented – but the rigours of playing quality rugby every week is probably something that’s not so much on the field that our players need to learn the most – it’s everything off the field.
“You don’t just turn up on a Saturday and play rugby like you did Tuesday, Thursday, training for an hour and a half at night.”
Meanwhile, Wallabies prop Angus Bell is set for a period on the sidelines after injuring his left ankle while playing for Ulster against Leinster in the United Rugby Championship in Belfast.
Bell is on a sabbatical from Australian rugby with Ulster and was due to return for the Wallabies’ July Tests, but this latest setback could see him miss those games.
Bell has previously battled foot injuries, missing large parts of the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons, but enjoyed a clean bill of health in 2025 and has been in strong form for Ulster this season.
Bell left the field on a medical cart and will undergo scans to work out the length of his rehabilitation period.
Watch every match of Super Rugby Pacific live and exclusive on Stan Sport.
Iain Payten is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.