Super Rugby Pacific leadership has explicitly stated they do not want South African teams to return, primarily because the competition "rates better" and has higher attendance without them. Super Rugby Pacific CEO Jack Mesley has "shut the door" on expansion, prioritising stability and the regional identity of the current 11-team format.
“I want every 60 minutes of an hour spent strengthening our competition today versus 30 spent looking for pots of gold in faraway lands that maybe don’t even exist,” Mesley said.
This put an end to Toyota Cheetahs’ Director of Rugby, Frans Steyn's dreams, who recently expressed a strong desire for the Cheetahs to return to the Southern Hemisphere's premier competition.
According to Mesley, data shows that games involving South African teams did not "rate well" or attract high attendance compared to the current Pacific-focused model.
The significant time difference made viewing matches "a commercial zero" for broadcasters in New Zealand and Australia, as fans were often required to watch at 2:00 AM or 3:00 AM.
Organisers want to "solidify and fortify" the current competition so fans in the Pacific region can better understand their local teams and players rather than looking for "pots of gold in faraway lands".
“Our focus right now is largely because Super Rugby has had so many guises, so many changes. We need fans of rugby in this region to understand our comp. Who are our teams? Who are our players? There are no secrets; clubs, financially, are not necessarily in the strongest position.”
“We’ve got a job to solidify and really contain and fortify what we have now. So that is where our energy is focused on strengthening our existing clubs, ensuring that the fans understand what Super Rugby Pacific is today, the teams that are involved and the wonderful talent that we have.”