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Super Rugby Pacific

New NZR CEO addresses growing Super Rugby Pacific player exodus

Henry Lee

Published: 10 May 2026 17:45 PDT
Updated: 11 May 2026 14:00 PDT

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND - APRIL 25: Fehi Fineanganofo of the Hurricanes celebrates after scoring a try during the round 11 Super Rugby match between Hurricanes and ACT Brumbies at One NZ Stadium, on April 25, 2026, in Christchurch, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Newly appointed New Zealand Rugby CEO Steve Lancaster believes they can do more to keep players in Super Rugby Pacific, as he heads into his first full week as the organisation’s boss.

Reports on Monday have emerged regarding All Blacks and Blues first-five Stephen Perofeta, who, according to Sport Nation NZ and The New Zealand Herald, is the latest to head overseas.

Perofeta is linked with Leon MacDonald’s Yokohama Canon Eagles, joining the likes of Hoskins Sotutu, Braydon Ennor, Isaia Walker-Leawere, Sevu Reece, AJ Lam, Dalton Papali’i, Riley Higgins, Devan Flanders, and Fehi Fineanganofo as Super Rugby Pacific departures.

VIDEO

Speaking to The Breakdown on Sunday evening in an in-depth interview after his appointment, the former Crusaders player turned CEO says New Zealand Rugby can do more to help stop players leaving our shores.

“We can do enough, and we can do more, and we’re very focused on doing that too as generating revenue so we can invest into the game, both professional game and the community game,” Lancaster said.

“But look, you talk about the exodus of players, as you call it, heading offshore, and this is a constant challenge for us, and we’re incredibly focused, and we work really hard and are generally really successful in retaining the players that we do want to retain.

“But players do reach a point in their career where they feel like they’re ready to experience a new culture, try playing in a new competition, test themselves against different players. The other thing is when you look at a year out from Rugby World Cup, is that typically, after, we see a lot of All Blacks move on.

“So if you’re thinking technically as a player who’s looking at his position in the All Blacks and thinking, well, that looks like it’s pretty much locked up.

“This might be the year to move right? So there are a whole lot of factors that are at play, we don’t celebrate it. We work really hard to minimise that flow, but it is a fact of life, and players can earn a huge amount of money offshore, so we do need to keep generating revenue to feed that.”

Lancaster explained that New Zealand Rugby have “a lot of belief” in Super Rugby Pacific and its player development.

“Yes it is serving its purpose in that regard [development]. So we have a lot of belief in the product of Super Rugby and the product on the field is a strong product,” the new CEO said.

“All of the metrics that we track tell us that the right number of tries scored, number of minutes lost to match official intervention, they’re all tracking in the right direction.

“So those markers are really good. But what we don’t shy away from is that we don’t see the crowds that we would like to see in the stadium, right? We have, 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.

“So the product, we believe, is really good, but we acknowledge that we need to do more to get crowds into stadiums and this constant talk about empty seats is a problem and something we need to work on.”

Many New Zealand-based Super Rugby Pacific coaches have spoken publicly about the issue, with Clark Laidlaw claiming that it’s becoming more and more difficult to keep players.

‘That is the juggle you’ve got. You know we have more than one good player in one position, it’s like a loose forward, it’s quite similar, how do you keep everybody happy? And the short answer is, you can’t,” Laidlaw said after the Riley Higgins announcement.

“They can probably offer more money than us, and he qualifies for Scotland. It’s like a Hoskins Sotutu too, I guess, isn’t it? Is he more worthwhile going to England because he qualifies for England? With the rules they have over there, then yes.

“So you know these teams, the countries are active, they’re aggressive. They know all the players are Scottish qualified or Irish qualified so they’re actively trying to recruit, which is part of the professional game, isn’t it.”

Comments

68 Comments

BleedRed&Black 90 days ago

Good to see we have the usual fact free discussion in Rugby Pass. Same everywhere I suppose, so I shouldn't be harsh.

Four of the top five teams in world rugby do not select test players from non-national clubs, France, England, Ireland and New Zealand. Selecting from outside your own is seen to be what it is, a reflection of your own weakness.

So to the one exception in that top five, the Springbok in the room. Contrary to what a lot of people think, the Springboks have never had most of their players playing overseas. Certainly not now. Currently, 22 of the 36 play for SA URC teams. Of the 8 players put on standby, 7 play for SA URC teams. Currently two-thirds of the Springboks, 29 of 44, of their top echelon of players play for SA clubs.

It becomes even less of an issue if you look closer. Of those 15 overseas players in the current squad, 9 are in Japan. The thing is, Japan has no Springboks in their twenties. SA Rugby has directed them there for very specific purpose; to lengthen their time with the Springboks. Lood de Jager, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Franco Mostert, Malcolm Marx, Kwagga Smith, Damian de Allende, Cheslin Kolbe and Jesse Kriel are well into their thirties and near the end with the Springboks. Jasper Weise has recently moved into that category. The proportion of Springboks playing in Japan will only decline further as their veteran players age out and are replaced at a significantly lower rate.

Of SA's top 44, only 6 play for non-SA European clubs, all of which play only 22 scheduled games a year. None play in France's Top 14, whose clubs play 30 games a year, because SA Rugby knows from experience that the Top 14 grinds players up and damages them at international level. SA controls where their Springboks play in almost all instances.

SA began choosing players to play for the Springboks because of the financial weakness of their SR teams. SA are now reasserting control of their players and reversing the outflow of players. The reason is obvious. SA sold off their 4 bankrupt SR/URC teams to private ownership. Unsurprisingly those private owners want every lever possible to draw SA players to their clubs. They are pouring huge resources into player development in SA, and are doing a brilliant job. They are not doing that and have them go and play for non-SA clubs. SA Rugby has got on board with that. They are pushing European based players into SA's URC teams, as the recent transfers demonstrate. They are moving to protect their URC teams, not stab them in the back, which is what a lot of NZer's, include Sir Graham Henry, is proposing NZR do to NZ's SRP teams.

People need to work to out the difference between despite and because. SA have won RWC’s in 2019 and 2023 despite choosing players from non-national clubs, not because it has.

So to the NZ defeatists out there, and our South African "friends" who constantly demonstrate their debilitating insecurity by jumping into articles about SRP and NZ and sneering at what they left behind, NZ and SRP have issues which would be solved if they allowed the competition to join the adult world and run it full season. Until that happens, the number of players leaving will continue at the same far too high rate, though it’s in no way fatal.

JW 89 days ago

Have you progressed your ideas on a full NZ season BRB?

RugCs 90 days ago

Only England, Ireland and NZ have a policy of not selecting overseas based players, France do not have such a policy. Look at the Leinster player they picked just a year ago,

Regarding the Boks, yes the best young players are with URC clubs who now have player budgets at €8 million (the sugar daddy billionaire owners only pay for a maximum of four marquee players) while the aged out veterans are in Japan. It is a smart strategy.

JW 90 days ago

It was a good interview, he did well. A far cry from how Kirk presented recently on another podcast.

GS 90 days ago

Actually I thought he was pretty poor.

Reality is that NZ Rugby were looking for a replacement for Robertson for near on a year and had to go internal, after finding either little interest in the role or not been able to match dollars vs expectations around the role.

For an entity with an annual revenue of 300 Million, you would hope and expect to get someone equipped/experienced with running an entity with those types of numbers.

In a sense, it’s great to have a good deal of rugby knowledge but I would rather a high level of CEO type experience running a large financial entity.

Looking at his CV, bar rugby experience I see zero corporate and/or professional qualifications - hopefully the new CFO in Chris Kinraid, brings that to the table and can back him up.

johnz 90 days ago

Is this the new dawn of NZR? It sounds much like the same old; deny, distract, defer from the last administration.

There was a brief feel good period when Kirk was running the ship. A man who earned his nous from the real business World, not the rugby administration one.

Rennie was appointed. There was some rare honesty. Action aplenty, and hope for positive change after years of spin and visionless management.

The only thing missing was a change maker at CEO - someone with fresh eyes and ideas on how to confront the many difficult problems NZR face.

Instead we ended up with thier inside man. Again.

Now we have the best comp in the World. Our social followings prove that. Lot’s of talented young players heading overseas is perfectly normal. Empty stands is just an optics problem, nevermind the lack of gate takings is leaving our clubs deeply in the red.

No doubt they will also be comforted by the impresive stats from socials. It’s just a shame likes don’t pay creditors or players salaries.

Clearly there’s nothing to see at NZR HQ - any problems can be talked away. I don’t know what we were all worried about in the first place.

PB 90 days ago

Which competition would that be, and based on what metric?

Sorry, but didn’t your hero Kirk have a say in appointing Lancaster. Apart from firing Razor, what has Kirk done to gain such praise. For the record it isn’t proven yet as a wise decision. Time will tell!

JW 90 days ago

Stop it johnz, you bring the standards of NZ rugby down.

Try and make some sort of argument, what do you have a problem with?

B 90 days ago

How good is our SRPacific competition which is apparently laughable in comparison to URC, Top 14, Gallagher Premiership, Investec Champions Cup etc…

Unlucky 14 vs 15 players RWC 2023 Finalist…

JW 90 days ago

Laughable how?

PickOllieMathisOrKeepLosing,Rob. 90 days ago

So we spent all this effin’ $$$ to search the effin’ world for a new CEO to end up with the effin’ guy we put in as a temp anyway.

And he’s the same guy that quit. Mark Robinson shed his human skin and transformed into this guy.

Same bollocks different meat suit.

JW 90 days ago

I must admit I only watch Breakdown on 2x speed, but he sounded much better than the last guy to me.

Do you mean he was saying the same stuff? What do you expect him to do but not saying things?

I did laugh at your joke though, it was the same with the coach, and we got some old fella from Taranaki.

JJ 90 days ago

New Zealand’s overseas coaches also play an integral part in the player exodus to strengthen their teams

Bazzallina 90 days ago

The difference between SA and here is their teams are in a quality comp our comp depends on having our players to keep its quality but that still doesn’t account for Bok guys who are playing in Japan this should be the path that NZR should look at with a test and or Super cap imo this may also free up cash to keep some of these others should this also include other parts of the rugby world think sabbatical can handle that

JW 90 days ago

You wouldn’t call the URC a quality comp, but overall with EPCR there are enough (my idea is to approach a dozen) good games and indeed NZRs problem is that it’s required to provide those games in Super Rugby.

It can’t rely on Australian teams to give NZ players the best contests etc. Great point Baz.

The other difference is the size of the two countries. Weve had guys like Maa’ McCaw, Carter, etc, that could come straight back into test environment and be MoM winners, but they are few and far between. SA are stacked with specimens like Marx, Kriel, Kolbe etc. And there may be more intrinsic things about All Black success, like how they play rugby as well, which has just resulted in the likes of Brodie Retallick and Ardie not coming back from Japan in good form. For whatever reason, that is the reality anyway, fully agree they need to keep SR as good as they can.

Tk 90 days ago

After thinking recently that a fresh breeze was starting to blow through NZR offices, someone has slammed the window shut. The environment has evolved significantly since 1996 but NZR remains stubbornly in their bubble.

Rugby 101 - Ed Pye 90 days ago

So…we’ve got tons of real-world problems (like nobody going to games), but lots of likes on Facebook?? Those are what we call “vanity metrics” Steve and they are not actionable.

JW 90 days ago

Crowds are the responsibility of the clubs, what do you want him to do?

RugCs 90 days ago

The NZR CEO is smoking something if he believes that SR is the most followed online competition in the world. Either smoking something or highly delusional. As usual these NZR appointees run their mouths without stating any facts to backup what they say.

Well here is the truth for all to see. https://www.irishrugby.ie/2025/09/22/53-million-tune-into-urc-as-records-tumble-across-stadiums-screen-social/

JW 90 days ago

I would have thought SR would have more than 1.6 mil followers RugCs, is there a service you can see this sort of thing?

PickOllieMathisOrKeepLosing,Rob. 90 days ago

Highly delusional is a very polite description. He cannot think much of the public’s intelligence to make ridiculous claims like ‘super rugby is the most followed etc’.

Probably fair enough in many respects but dude we’re not comatose.

Wayneo 90 days ago

NZR CEO solves player exodus by simply redefining the word exodus to “Extended Yoga Retreat”

In a move that has sent shockwaves through the world of people who still think it’s 1996, the new NZR CEO Steve Lancaster has unveiled a revolutionary plan to halt the Super Rugby player exodus: believing really, really hard that players will stay

While reports suggest Stephen Perofeta is the latest to trade the scenic views of Hamilton for the cultural experience of a massive Japanese paycheck, Lancaster remains undeterred

Lancaster told the Breakdown the NZR can do more!!!, presumably while trying to figure out if he could pay the players in Crusaders heritage points or systems validation vouchers

The logic is flawlessly circular: NZR works really hard to keep players, and if they leave anyway, it’s simply because they want to test themselves

It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that a season in Japan pays enough to buy a small island, whereas a season in Super Rugby pays enough to maybe afford rent on a three-bedroom fixer-upper in Invercargill

Lancaster also addressed the pesky issue of stadiums looking like they’re hosting a secret meeting for people who hate crowds

Apparently, we’ve all been looking at it wrong

The constant talk about empty seats is the problem, not the actual empty seats

According to the metrics, everything is tracking perfectly, tries scored, high social media engagement, incredible!!!

Actual humans in the vicinity of the pitch: Optional

Who needs atmosphere when you have a TikTok reel with high engagement?

The NZR’s goal isn’t to sell tickets; it’s to ensure that Super Rugby becomes the world’s first purely digital sports league, unencumbered by the physical presence of fans or, eventually, star players

In a moment of peak administrative comedy, the NZR continues to insist that keeping players locked in a local cage is the only way to survive

They’ve watched the Springboks—a team that treats international borders like minor suggestions—win back-to-back World Cups and thought, terrible strategy, far too many stamps in those passports!

We prefer our fly-halves to have the domestic loyalty of a golden retriever

The genius of the NZR policy remains its beautiful, symmetrical stupidity (akin to a North Korean’ model of athlete loyalty)

We must protect the domestic system at all costs—even if that cost is the system becoming a desert

The NZR’s bold strategy in a nutshell:

-Force the best players to leave because we won't pay them or let them play from abroad

-Refuse to pick them because they left

-Lose to a South African team comprised entirely of guys who live in France, Japan, and the Moon

-Declare the system "validated" because at least nobody had fun

Lancaster insists the eligibility rules are…(checks notes)… fit for purpose

If that purpose is to ensure the All Blacks are selected exclusively from a pool of twenty-somethings who haven't discovered Skyscanner yet, then mission accomplished

The crown jewel of this administrative circus remains the Mo’unga Clause

As Lancaster clarified, Richie is a mercenary traitor on a Monday, but if Damian McKenzie so much as sneezes too hard on a Friday, Richie suddenly becomes a vital national asset who should be flown home in a private jet

It turns out loyalty isn't a moral absolute; it’s a variable based on the integrity of the current fly-half’s ACL

The policy is iron-clad, right up until they start losing by 40 points, at which point the systems lens gets swapped for a panic-induced telescope pointed directly at Tokyo

But don't worry, New Zealand fans

While the rest of the world’s best players are experiencing new cultures and earning generational wealth, you can rest easy knowing your systems are being validated

You might be losing your 10s, our 15s, and your crowds, but you are definitely winning the “World Cup of Rigid Adherence to Outdated Policies”

NoLongerARuck 89 days ago

Pure comedy, what a post

Hammer Head 90 days ago

Well written. It boggles the brain how the simple economics of the “exodus” problem is not addressed head on.

Bone of contention:

Lose to a South African team comprised entirely of guys who live in France, Japan, and the Moon

Much like the word “moon” I think the word “entirely” isn’t quite true.

It’s perhaps 50:50 (home based : overseas based) at worst/best on any given Saturday.

SA doesn’t just let players leave.

Look at Willemse, Sacha at the Stormers (for example). Plans are made to keep the best home and concessions are made for some and mostly (these days) to play in Japan where a top player’s body is better looked after.

There are more top players retained by our local franchises than go offshore. There aren’t that many Springboks in France. Nor England or Ireland. Count them.

Weirdly, Europe has become a new proving ground for Europe based SA players who, for whatever reason, missed out on a Bok development pathway. We read about these guys often. JJ vd Mescht. Augustus.

It’s like a high performance Varsity Cup pool of players. Even more interesting is how few of those players get selected by the boks.

When Rassie had the eligibility law changed - I think - it was largely to get back a generation of players that effed off disillusioned at the time.

Consider how many of those boks left to play abroad, despite the 30 cap rule in place. That tells the story.

Since then far fewer players have left - and many others have returned. And those who leave (see players in Japan) do so with a knowing, strategic, nod of the head from SARU.

Besides the economics of the problem, NZRU has simply shown that they are incapable of thinking about this problem in new ways. They are being out strategized by SA.

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