Former All Blacks fly-half Lima Sopoaga believes that it is time for NZ Rugby to consider getting rid of Super Rugby and setting up a domestic competition which can rival the north.<\/p>\n
It comes in the wake of Moana Pasifika\u2019s demise, with the Auckland-based team set to be axed from Super Rugby Pacific at the end of the campaign.<\/p>\n
Moana follow Australian outfit Melbourne Rebels, who went bust in 2024, in exiting the competition, leaving it with just 10 teams for 2027.<\/p>\n
Sopoaga now reckons that it is getting to the point where the Antipodean bigwigs should be looking at a complete overhaul of rugby in the southern hemisphere.<\/p>\n
With the Top 14 thriving in France, the current Samoa international has suggested building on what they have in the NPC.<\/p>\n
\u2018The players would love a bit less chaos\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cYou lose one more team and all of a sudden Super Rugby\u2019s<\/a> a 10-team competition. It\u2019s kind of like, \u2018well, why are playing Super Rugby? Why don\u2019t we have a domestic competition that\u2019s the best in the world?\u2019 You start to have these conversations,\u201d Sopoaga told Sport Nation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe players would just love a bit more stability and a bit less chaos and uncertainty because every year Super Rugby seems to change. There seems to be a new format or a new finals system. At some point it\u2019s got to change.<\/p>\n \u201cComing back and playing in the NPC was honestly one of the most enjoyable times I\u2019ve had in my career. We don\u2019t get the eyes to it because rugby\u2019s so saturated, but maybe it\u2019s time for New Zealand to look at that model and be like, \u2018do you know what, we\u2019re going to back our talent because we\u2019re not going to let people leave overseas and play for the All Blacks<\/a>\u2018.<\/p>\n \u201cBe similar to what England and France do. They have one of the best domestic competitions in the Top 14, which is all based in France. There\u2019s the PREM, based in England, so can\u2019t we do that here in New Zealand? I would love to see that model.\u201d<\/p>\n Sir Graham Henry: All Blacks have the depth but \u2018weak\u2019 Super Rugby competition is the danger for \u2018isolated\u2019 New Zealand<\/a><\/p>\n Sopoaga has experience of playing around the world having featured for Wasps in England, Lyon in France and Shimizu Blue Sharks in Japan.<\/p>\n The playmaker therefore has knowledge of how those teams and leagues operates, and he believes that New Zealand have been left behind.<\/p>\n New Zealand Rugby complacency<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I think of some of the cool things around the world I\u2019ve experienced in France, Japan and England, I think in some ways we\u2019ve been left in the stone ages and we haven\u2019t been innovative enough to change with the times,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cWe kind of just thought the All Blacks are the gold standard, they\u2019re our bread and butter, they will bring in revenue and the game is strong here because our number one team is strong, but the psyche of people and how they spend their money has changed.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy would somebody want to bring their kids and spend $250 to go to a game on a cold night. You\u2019ve got to give them more than just a game. They can\u2019t just turn up and be like, \u2018what happens if the team gets pumped by 40 points?\u2019<\/p>\n