David Kirk: There is a 'project' underway to review Super Rugby

Super Rugby Pacific is being put under the microscope in New Zealand, with both New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and the five Super Rugby clubs assessing its merits and limitations.

There’s been much chatter in recent times about the competition’s finances, entertainment value, and ability to prepare players for the international arena, and it’s now been revealed that NZR has launched a “project” to review various elements of the competition, now in its 30th season.

All five New Zealand teams have been involved since Super Rugby kicked off in 1996, and a 2022 agreement between NZR and Rugby Australia (RA) has ensured the competition’s future until 2030. The agreement also implemented a new joint-venture model, introducing a nine-person board that includes an independent chair, four independent directors, and representatives from NZR, RA, and the respective players’ unions.

With broadcast deals and private owners to consider as well, any proposals from the current “project” will face varied consideration. But NZR chair David Kirk anticipates an appetite for change should the proposals strike a chord, given what he sees as a broad sentiment that the competition isn’t fulfilling its potential.

“I think we can probably do better,” Kirk said, speaking to Q+A with Jack Tame. “And I think there’s a general feeling, across the game, that it’s time for a really hard look at Super Rugby and how we can change that to make it a more engaging game and also a game that delivers more value for all of the participants, including the private owners and teams.”

Kirk went on to add: “There’s a project that’s been launched, and so it’s underway. There are a number of strands going on, and those will need to come together; some led by the Super Rugby franchises, some led by New Zealand Rugby. They’ll need to come together, and we’ll need to come to a conclusion.”

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Suggestions on how to evolve the competition are many and wide-ranging, with some of the more dramatic proposals including expansion teams across the Americas and collaboration or integration with Japan Rugby League One.

Super Rugby has a tradition of introducing new law variations each year, and the new competition CEO, Jack Measley, has overseen key initiatives such as Super Round and an official fantasy competition.

Exactly when the new review will be completed, and its findings presented, is unclear.

“I can’t give you an actual date,” Kirk said. “My hope would be this calendar year, for sure. It won’t necessarily be able to have an impact on changing the nature of the competition, because you’ve got media deals that run on, but I’m sure our media partners will be only too happy to change if it’s in their interests as well. A better competition will drive more people watching it on Sky.”

It was reported that NZR’s new broadcast deal with Sky dropped in value due to a lack of competition in the media space, but Kirk said that international broadcast deals increased in value, leaving NZR in a relatively similar place to their last cycle.

Super Rugby Pacific’s viewership numbers have been trending positively in recent seasons, with 2025 seeing a 27 per cent increase in average viewership on Stan Sport, while free-to-air viewership in Australia jumped 13 per cent and streaming on Sky Sport Now in New Zealand increased by 19 per cent.

Those positives were outlined by new NZR CEO Steve Lancaster last week, while also acknowledging one of the biggest challenges facing Super Rugby: reversing the post-Covid drop in match attendance. New Zealand clubs do not share in the revenue from broadcast rights deals, making ticket sales a defining factor in their survival.

“We have a lot of belief in the product of Super Rugby,” Lancaster told Sky Sport’s The Breakdown.

“All the metrics tell us that – the number of tries scored, winning margins, the number of minutes lost to match officials’ intervention… whether those are tracking up or down — they’re all tracking in the right direction.

“Those markers are really good, but we don’t shy away from is that we don’t see the crowds we’d like to see in the stadiums. We have great viewership… we have incredible online engagement, and Super Rugby is the most-followed domestic rugby competition in the world on social media.

“But we acknowledge we need to do more to get crowds in the stadia. This constant talk about empty seats is a problem and it’s something we need to work on.”