• Super Rugby Pacific 12 teams: Blues, Brumbies, Chiefs, Crusaders, Fijian Drua, Highlanders, Hurricanes, Melbourne Rebels, Moana Pasifika, NSW Waratahs, Queensland Reds, Western Force
• 18-week competition window from 18 February to 18 June 2022 and 24 February to 24 June 2023
• 14 regular-season matches with a three-week playoff finals series
Set to kick-off on 18 February 2022, the new 12-team Super Rugby Pacific competition welcomes the new teams Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika who will join the five Australian and five New Zealand sides and will run by the joint venture partnership between Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby.
The Fijian Drua had previously competed in Australia’s National Rugby Championship, winning the title in 2018, and will play their home matches in Australia in 2022. Moana Pasifika will play their home fixtures primarily in New Zealand. Super Rugby Pacific’s two new entrants will play each other twice in the first two seasons with other examples where teams play twice to be determined by a seeding process based on 2021 results.
Stan Sport’s 2021 Rugby commentary team
Stan acting chief executive officer Martin Kugeler said: “After a fantastic start for rugby on Stan Sport, we are looking forward to showcasing the new Super Rugby competition format. We saw interest and viewership of Super Rugby significantly increase this year on Stan Sport and Nine, and we expect this new 12 team competition, with the addition of both Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika, to resonate well with fans.”
Rugby Australia CEO Andy Marinos said: “We’re thrilled to confirm the competition model for next year and beyond and want to thank NZR for their hard work and effort along with Fijian and Moana Pasifika for their patience, and the effort that has been put into their proposals. I want to thank Mike and Martin at Nine and Stan for their endorsement of the competition as well as Foreign Minister Marise Payne and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for their terrific support. This is a game-changer for Rugby in the Pacific, and indeed, the rest of the Rugby world. We have seen the brilliant rugby that Fiji play in all formats of the game and their inclusion will make this new competition one of the toughest in the world.”
See also: Mike Sneesby on how Stan Sport sits inside Nine’s total TV strategy