, April 22 -- The founder of a Māori and Pacific-led professional rugby club says they have the finances, plan and people to keep the Moana Pasifika franchise afloat despite being rejected in their attempts to buy the license last year.

Tracy Atiga is the CEO of Kanaloa Rugby, a consortium made up of former professional rugby players and administrators of Pacific heritage.

Atiga told Pacific Waves she was devastated when she learned that Moana Pasifika will be disbanded at the end of the Super Rugby Pacific 2026 season.

Despite telling Pacific Waves in February that Moana Pasifika was "here to stay", the franchise's CEO Debbie Sorensen confirmed last week that they made the difficult decision to disband due to financial pressures ...