Fijian Drua will stage six home matches and Moana Pasifika will play a first Super Rugby Pacific match on home soil, as organisers push for next year’s competition to make a bigger imprint in the Pacific Islands.
The inaugural championship this year saw lockdown-related disruptions when the draw was rejigged and some games postponed.
Released on Sunday, the draw for the 12-team competition revealed the same structure as the inaugural championship this year, with a 14-round regular season to be followed by a knockout phase featuring the top eight teams.
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“There is a real feeling that Super Rugby Pacific is ready for take-off,” said New Zealand Rugby’s Chris Lendrum.
“We saw massive potential on the field in 2022, but also some huge challenges off it, so to have a fully integrated and uninterrupted draw in 2023 is great news for the players and the fans,” he said. “I think we are going to see one of Super Rugby’s most competitive seasons.”
It will be the 28th season of Super Rugby, the southern hemisphere competition that has undergone numerous changes of format.
The Crusaders, the defending champions, will play the opening game, at home to the Chiefs on February 24, with a grand final date likely to be June 24.
Five established teams each from New Zealand and Australia will again line up alongside the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika – an Auckland-based team comprised of Samoan and Tongan players.
The two newcomers – the first Pacific teams to field Super Rugby franchises – secured just four wins between them this year to finish last and second-last.
The Drua staged two well-attended home games in Fiji and have been granted six games on home soil next season, with the venues still to be determined.
Moana Pasifika will play in the Pacific for the first time, against the Reds in Apia on April 14.
© Agence France-Presse
