A bid by the Fiji, Tonga and Samoa Rugby Unions to set up a Pacific Islands Super Rugby team has failed after competition organisers decided it was not commercially viable, the Fiji Rugby Union said on Thursday.

Fiji rugby CEO John O'Connor confirmed that a joint bid from Fiji, Samoa and Tonga was submitted in June to the Super Rugby governing body SANZAAR, which is currently examining how the competition will be structured from 2021 to 2030.

He said SANZAAR had praised aspects of the bid but ultimately rejected it on commercial grounds, saying it could not deliver "commercial uplift in both broadcasting and guaranteed underwrite".

"(This) would render the viability of a Pacific Super team under the proposed SANZAAR commercial model unsustainable," he said in a statement.

While the Fiji Rugby Union did not detail the costings outlined in the bid but the Pacific Rugby Players' Association said it would have required a minimum annual investment of $12 million.

"The decision was made within the Pacific that financially it didn't stack up," association chief Aayden Clarke told Radio New Zealand.

"The losers in that, if they were to put all their eggs in that basket of having a (Super Rugby) franchise team, would probably be community rugby and club rugby."

Rugby fans have floated the idea of a combined Pacific team for years but it has always floundered on economic grounds.

The Super Rugby competition currently has 15 teams playing in five nations that straddle numerous timezones.

Other bids

The Fiji Rugby Union said that both the Tonga Rugby Union and the Samoa Rugby Union had been advised of the outcome of the bid.

Mr. O’Connor also stated that the FRU had initial preliminary discussions with Richard Fale who had also submitted a bid for a Pacific Team to be based in the USA and to play most of its home games in Hawaii and USA.  

“However, the FRU did not support the bid since it proposed to initially use Pacific Island players who were not eligible to play for the three Island Nations, players who had already played for the All Blacks, Australia, England and other Nations,” he stated.

“The FRU has not engaged nor offered support for the bid that has been circulating via the social media which is seeking the support of Dwayne Johnson.

“FRU is committed to seeking pathways for our players but will not render our support to any bid which does not support giving opportunities for players who are eligible to represent the three Pacific Islands,” he concluded.