Super Rugby is on the up but we can’t ignore ‘Achilles’ heel
Monday, 16 February 2026
Super Rugby Pacific chief executive Jack Mesley is increasingly confident that the competition is moving in the right direction but has acknowledged that domination by sides such as the Crusaders and Chiefs is an issue that requires “a difficult conversation”.
The Crusaders have won eight of the past nine titles and a decade has passed since a final took place without either the Crusaders or Chiefs.
Both sides are tipped to again contest this year’s final, nothwithstanding the Crusaders’ surprise loss to the Highlanders on Friday, and Mesley candidly admitted that it was an area of concern for the competition.
“Our off-field product - I think we've got really clear plans there, real buy-in from all clubs and broadcasters about how we continue to grow on that side,” Mesley said.
“Our on-field product I think is as good as it's been for many, many years.
“But I think if you could identify an Achilles heel in in Super Rugby going back 30 years - it's a blessing and a curse that we've had a team like the Crusaders that have done what very few teams have done in world sport.
“So, creating jeopardy in the competition is certainly a big discussion point for us.”
Mesley noted that “jeopardy” came in two forms - the closeness of the individual matches and the ultimate winners and finalists.
On the first metric Super Rugby Pacific made major strides last year - “We had 40-45% of matches that finished within seven points,” Mesley said - but at the end of the day it was another Crusaders-Chiefs final: the third in five years counting the Super Rugby Aotearoa decider in 2021.
That suggests a structural imbalance in the competition, but Mesley said Super Rugby Pacific’s hands were somewhat tied, with ultimate power residing with New Zealand Rugby and Rugby Australia.
“It's fair to say we as a competition don't have many levers to pull on that at the moment,” he said.
“That's certainly something that you know we're very keen on, and the [Super Rugby Pacific] board are talking about.
“There's some very big structural institutional things that are limiting our ability to pull levers to create jeopardy.
“The All Blacks versus Wallabies being a really significant one.
“Everyone really realises how important it is to drive interest, and so I think everyone's up for the conversation, albeit it's a really difficult conversation, but I think everyone realises we have to have that conversation and investigate what we can do.
“Whether that's distribution of talent ….or what are the mechanisms - salary caps, those types of things - we need to think about.”
The competition enjoyed double-digit broadcast growth on Sky in 2024, when the Crusaders’ struggles opened up the competition to other potential winners, and Mesley said “there is absolute correlation between jeopardy and audience”.
Mesley, who has otherwise been encouraged by strong feedback from boradcasters Sky and Nine/Stan Sport, said that a truly open competition would encourage fans to watch other games that impacted their side’s position on the ladder.
“I need to watch a game that doesn't even involve my team because if someone loses over there it means this for me.
“That's 100% important and drives audience and and attendance.”
Encouragingly, Mesley also noted some headway was being made by Australian rugby in their notoriously competitive media landscape, with the Waratahs’ recent signing of Roosters star Angus Crichton generating much-needed coverage.