New Zealand open to player movement in Super Rugby Pacific

Samisoni Taukei'aho of the Chiefs is tackled during the Super Rugby Grand final. Pic: Hagen Hopkins/Getty

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has signalled it could relax its strict policy of ‌keeping test players on home soil in an effort to turn the struggling Super Rugby Pacific competition around.

New Zealand has long made All Blacks eligibility conditional upon players representing its professional teams in Super Rugby and the National Provincial Championship (NPC).

However, NZR chief Steve Lancaster has ​opened the door for test players to represent Australian Super Rugby teams by saying the New Zealand-dominated ​competition needed more ambition and bold thinking to transform itself.

"We’re aligned with Rugby Australia and the ⁠Super Rugby clubs that we need people who wake up every day focused on engaging fans, growing revenue ​and working with broadcasters and the media," he said.

“We’re open to working on things like ​player movement, a competition-wide salary cap and centralising commercial assets across the key markets.

“Those are conversations we will now have with Rugby Australia, the Rugby Players Association and the Super Rugby clubs."

Rugby Australia endorsed NZR's statement and said it looked forward to working with them on ​the next phase of Super Rugby's evolution, including the "relaxing of restrictions on player movement across the competition".

Super Rugby teams ​on both sides of the Tasman Sea are struggling financially and highly reliant on funding from the national rugby unions.

The competition will ‌field ⁠10 teams next season, having lost two in three years. Auckland-based Moana Pasifika were disbanded at the end of the 2026 season, while the Melbourne Rebels folded in 2024.

No Australian team have won a Super Rugby championship since the New South Wales Waratahs in 2014 and none made the semi-finals this year.

Australia's decline has rung alarm bells in New Zealand ​that a lack of meaningful ​competition may ultimately hurt ⁠the All Blacks' global competitiveness.

NZR Chief Rugby Officer Mike Collins said Super Rugby would become more independent from NZR's day-to-day management, allowing the governing body to focus more on the ​NPC and developing the community game.

NZR also endorsed the 14-team NPC format but said ​five teams would ⁠have their operations consolidated with the Super Rugby sides in their home cities to drive better outcomes, with implementation targeted for 2028 after a final board decision.

The measure forms part of NZR's work to reduce costs by 5% and create a ⁠NZ$20 million ($11.26 ​million) annual improvement from 2028.

"While these changes will reduce duplication and ​cost, more importantly they simplify rugby operations and player pathways in our major cities and ensure we are operating as one team from community rugby ​through to the All Blacks," said Collins.

Reuters