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Super Rugby Pacific draw confirmed for inaugural season
By Sam Smith
A blockbuster local derby between Moana Pasifika and the Blues at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland on Friday 18 February 2022 will kick-off a revised Super Rugby Pacific draw announced by joint venture partners New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and Rugby Australia today.
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The competition will get under way on Australian soil the same night, with the NSW Waratahs hosting the Fijian Drua, while a Super Saturday start in New Zealand sees the Chiefs hosting the Highlanders at 4.35pm in Hamilton and the Crusaders welcoming the Hurricanes to Christchurch at 7.05pm.
The new schedule retains the same competition format announced in November with a full round robin and single points table but will see the six New Zealand-based teams and six Australian-based teams play their opening eight matches on different sides of the Tasman due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
All 12 clubs will converge on Melbourne in Round 10 for a Super Round that will feature a unique celebration of the ANZAC spirit and trans-Tasman fixtures will resume in Round 11 (29 April-1 May).
The revised draw maintains the same key elements of the original draw with each team to play a total of 14 matches during the regular season, 11 round-robin fixtures plus three additional rivalry matches which will see each team play a home and away series against three other teams.
Family friendly afternoon kick-offs are a feature of the draw with 23 daytime matches in total, including ten in New Zealand. Themed rounds celebrating a Women in Rugby Round, Culture Round, and Heritage Round will also remain on the schedule with confirmation of new dates and other details to be announced early next year.
All 12 clubs will still have their bye in either Round 7, Round 8 or Round 9 providing a fair chance for all teams to recharge as they launch their final push for a place in the Grand Final with all 91 matches live and exclusive on Sky including an eight-team play-off series which will kick-off in the first week of June.
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NZR General Manager Professional Rugby & Performance Chris Lendrum said it was great to be in a position to provide teams, fans and partners certainty ahead of the 2022 season.
“We are thrilled that we’ve been able to maintain the integrity of the draw with the key elements of Super Rugby Pacific remaining despite the disruptions caused by COVID-19. We believe the full round-robin schedule, the Super Round, bye rounds, Themed Rounds and playoffs were all critical to retain in revising the schedule.
“I’d like to thank Rugby Australia, all 12 Super Rugby clubs, and our fans and partners, for their understanding, patience and flexibility in ensuring the competition is locked and loaded for 2022. The season opener between Moana Pasifika and the Blues shapes as an historic occasion in Auckland, as does the Fijian Drua’s first match against the Waratahs on the same night.”
Rugby Australia Chief Executive Andy Marinos said:
“We’re pleased to be able to confirm the revised draw for Super Rugby Pacific. We believe these changes will allow us to navigate the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, while ensuring we maintain the integrity of the draw and the format of the new Super Rugby Pacific competition.
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“It’s been a challenging environment over the last two years, but we’re thankful to our teams and our partners in New Zealand Rugby, SANZAAR and our broadcasters for their support as we worked through this process together.
“This is an exciting new era for Rugby in the Pacific and I would encourage all fans to get out and support their teams and sign up to catch all the action.”
SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC AT A GLANCE
Season opener:
- Friday 18 February: Moana Pasifika v Blues @ Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland.
Format:
- 12 teams: Moana Pasifika, Fijian Drua, Blues, Chiefs, Hurricanes, Crusaders, Highlanders, Waratahs, Reds, Force, Brumbies, Rebels
- 14 regular season matches = 11 round-robin matches + 3 rivalry matches
- One bye round per team (all byes in Rounds 7, 8 & 9)
- Season Length: 18 weeks = 15-week regular season + three-week playoff series
- Total Matches: 91
Playoffs:
- 8-team playoffs format – QFs: June 3-5; SFs: 10-11 June; FINAL 18 June.
Super Round:
- Round 10, Friday-Sunday 22-24 April @ AAMI Park Melbourne Park.
- Highlanders v Brumbies; Moana Pasifika v Force; Blues v Fijian Drua; Hurricanes v Reds; Chiefs v Waratahs; Crusaders v Rebels.
New Zealand-based teams home and away rivalry matches:
Blues
Highlanders (H) Rd 4; (A) Rd 6
Chiefs (H) Rd 3; (A) Rd 8
Moana Pasifika (H) Rd 7; (A) Rd 1
Chiefs
Blues (H) Rd 8; (A) Rd 3
Crusaders (H) Rd 6; (A) Rd 4
Moana Pasifika (H) Rd 2; (A) Rd 9
Crusaders
Chiefs (H) Rd 4; (A) Rd 6
Highlanders (H) Rd 7; (A) Rd 2
Hurricanes (H) Rd 1; (A) Rd 8
Highlanders
Blues (H) Rd 6; (A) Rd 4
Crusaders (H) Rd 2; (A) Rd 7
Hurricanes (H) Rd 9; (A) Rd 3
Hurricanes
Crusaders (H) Rd 8; (A) Rd 1
Highlanders (H) Rd 3; (A) Rd 9
Moana Pasifika (H) Rd 4; (A) Rd 6
Moana Pasifika
Blues (H) Rd 1; (A) Rd 7
Hurricanes (H) Rd 6; (A) Rd 4
Chiefs (H) Rd 9; (A) Rd 2
I must agree. Would have made for some great footy, seeing rivals actually playing together.
They could have made a money spinning match at the end of the season between the best of the aussie sides vs the best of the kiwi sides for a Pasifika cup. This would be a mixture of all the players in all the teams and the aussies could have a field of players from all their sides including the Drua while the Kiwis could include MP players in an all stars version of a match...just to make money and distribute it to all the franchises or it could be used to have a second tier competition for an U23 or U20 version or the womens version in 2025. The funding for that competition should cone directly from the representative match....players get $10,000 each or $5k for the match and could become the biggest grudge match in the world