The possibility of bringing a Super Rugby Pacific “Super Round” or “Bula Round” to Fiji remains on the table, but hinges largely on stadium infrastructure, says Super Rugby Pacific CEO Jack Mesley.
Mesley highlighted that while accommodation would not be an issue, venue requirements pose the biggest challenge in hosting a multi-game weekend in the country.
“Yeah, so we would love to bring Super Round here or Bula Round, from an accommodation point of view, I don’t think that’s an issue at all. It’s probably more at a stadium level,” Mesley said.
“With playing five games over a weekend, we need to play night games. And on this side of the island, where the accommodation is, that means we would need to have broadcast quality lighting at the venue.
“And from a change room perspective, we’d have to have double headers. So, we would need four change rooms at a level high enough for Super Rugby to do it.
“So, there are some infrastructure challenges. We would love to start working with the government and the Drua and Fiji Rugby to work together on how we overcome some of those challenges.”
Despite those hurdles, Mesley spoke highly of the impact and growth of the Fijian Drua since joining the competition, noting their ability to challenge top teams this season.
“Drua have been such a great addition to the competition since they came in and have certainly added so much to Super Rugby Pacific,” he said.
“We love seeing a competitive Drua. The fact that they beat the Hurricanes this year and no one’s gone close to the Hurricanes all year and the Brumbies as well.”
Mesley said the competition benefited from closely contested matches and unexpected results, with the Drua playing a key role in delivering those moments.
“So yeah, I mean, we want to see a competition where every game is a really hard contest and we want to see upsets. So great to see when the Drua have those big moments.
“We’d love to see, like all Drua fans, them winning, not just at home, which we know they love to do and do so well, but also on the road.”
He said the long-term goal remained to see the Drua consistently competing with the best teams across all venues.
“We really want the Drua, like all of the teams, to be super competitive and I’m really confident that they will be for sure.”
