New Zealand Rugby announced that Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika have received conditional licenses to enter a planned new professional event next year.

Moana Pasifika is jointly playing with Samoa and Tonga and is expected to be located in South Auckland, whereas the Fiji team will be situated in Suva.

 New Zealand Rugby (NZR) board member and former Manu Samoa and All Blacks legend Sir Michael Jones said the declaration was an important goal. We are about to realize the long-cherished wish to include Pasifika in our professional game and take the opportunity to use everything that comes with it.

With the consent of licenses, Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua would now be able to move forward with the last phases of their field-tested strategies and vitally begin to secure their playing and training lists for next season. It's an energizing time for rugby.

We are moving into the last period of getting ready for 2022 and the past.  We have certainty that Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua will be able to meet the conditions of the license, which incorporates the last approval of a sustainable business strategy by 30 June, said the Mark Robinson NZR CEO.
 

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