Beauden Barrett: Why Super Rugby became ‘tiresome’ and what can be done to fill the South African-shaped hole.

Beauden Barrett at the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific launch and in action for the Hurricanes against South African side the Sharks.

All Blacks star Beauden Barrett believes that Super Rugby Pacific needs a replacement for South Africa in order to safeguard the competition.

The current format sees nine franchises from New Zealand and Australia compete alongside two from the Pacific Islands, Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika.

It has dropped from 12 to 11 teams after the Melbourne Rebels were axed following the end of the 2024 Super Rugby campaign.

The Super Rugby solution

But Barrett wants the number of sides to be increased and insists that adding those from Japan may well be the solution.

“It got tiresome when we were playing head to heads with just the New Zealand teams, that was not a great competition, to be fair,” he told reporters, referring to when Super Rugby Aotearoa was set up during Covid.

“It is exciting playing Australian teams, travelling, having the (Fijian) Drua and Moana (Pasifika) involvement.

“I’d love to see the Japanese become part of the competition. I feel like we need to grow the competition and in that respect, that would be great.”

Various formats have been tried over the years but, after South Africa were ousted in 2020, they eventually settled on Super Rugby Pacific in 2022.

However, Barrett suggested their departure has left a hole in the competition and that they need to be replaced somehow.

“From a player point of view, we’ve lost South Africa. We need to grab another country and fill those spots so it creates a better competition,” the All Blacks centurion said.

“It’s the travelling, the experiences you have off the field, but also the stadiums, the different environments you play in, that’s what makes you a good player.”

Overseas opportunities

Barrett also says that the strength of the competition can influence the stars over whether they remain at home or seek opportunities abroad.

The 33-year-old has taken two sabbaticals in Japan – in 2021 and 2024 – and although he’s chosen to remain eligible for the All Blacks, others may select a different path.

“It’s those sorts of things that keep players who have been around a bit more interested and excited to get back up for another season. Otherwise it’s the decision, ‘okay, I’m getting a little bit stale, let’s go offshore’,” he added.

“I’ve had the luxury where I can go and do that and then come back and be eligible for the All Blacks, so there’s been a lot of factors, but certainly going up and playing in Japan has mentally freshened me up for each time, but it has been necessary to because I’ve really needed that.”