![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/fijian-drua.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
A Fijian Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific, \u2018Super Round\u2019 is on the radar as the Pacific favorites push for facility upgrades that would allow the rugby-mad nation to host the relaunched concept.<\/p>\n
Super Rugby Pacific chief executive Jack Mesley told AAP that it\u2019d be such a great, unique experience and he\u2019d love to do it, but it\u2019s got a bit of work.<\/p>\n
He says it\u2019s a longer term conversation because Fiji need hard infrastructure improvements to host \u2018Bula Round\u2019.<\/p>\n
The Drua have played out of Lautoka and Suva, which holds 15,000 fans, since entering the competition in 2022.<\/p>\n
Article continues after advertisement<\/p>\n
But to host a Super Round the venues will need, at the minimum, lighting upgrades and two extra player change rooms to accommodate the double-headers on Saturday and Sunday.<\/p>\n
Former Wallabies halfback, Will Genia, says it\u2019d be incredible, a great advertisement for the game in the Pasifika region because a lot of the talent is going to rugby league.<\/p>\n
Genia says league is just everywhere on TV, the NRL\u2019s profile and its individuals are bigger.<\/p>\n
The Wallabies legend believes an event like the \u2018Super Round\u2019 in the Pasifika, just captures the audience again, and keeps them engaged.<\/p>\n
Facility upgrades in Fiji would also benefit the Test side, who have taken their three home games in the new Nations Championship to Europe this year as a revenue-raising initiative.<\/p>\n
Super Rugby CEO, Measley, who was recently in Fiji says it all links in.<\/p>\n
Measley has met with Fijian government officials over the past 18 months and the importance of sports tourism, and Fiji is very conscious of it.<\/p>\n
He adds funding for infrastructure projects is not a simple thing.<\/p>\n
Mesley said they were \u201cplanning for all eventualities for 2027\u201d while a window still existed for an investor to save the embattled Pasifika.<\/p>\n
World Rugby chair Brett Robinson will meet with Super Rugby Pacific officials while in Christchurch for the Super Round which starts tomorrow where ten of Super Rugby Pacific\u2019s 11 outfits will descend on the new One NZ Stadium.<\/p>\n
More than 14,000 people will travel to the event that has been reborn to coincide with the stadium\u2019s symbolic opening after the city\u2019s deadly 2011 earthquake.<\/p>\n
Super Round had a lukewarm, three-year lifespan in Melbourne before the Rebels\u2019 demise killed off the concept last year.<\/p>\n
It comes a week after Moana Pasifika\u2019s owners announced they would not fund the franchise beyond this year, creating a familiar uncertainty around the competition\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
But, with the tournament otherwise delicately poised through 10 rounds, there is buzz and an expectation the Super Round product will be easier to sell once an estimated 70,000 fans have rolled through the gates on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Measley said that should accelerate the discussions that are already going on, in Australia and New Zealand, for 2027 and 2028.<\/p>\n
He thinks they\u2019ve got something really positive to sell and a lot of those people will be at Super Round this weekend and also they\u2019d hope Christchurch would love to host it again.<\/p>\n
The Drua take on the Chiefs at 4.30pm this Sunday, and you can watch it LIVE on FBC Sports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Fijian Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific, \u2018Super Round\u2019 is on the radar as the Pacific favorites…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394427,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-394426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}