If I only had time - Winston Peters saw hope for Moana Pasifika deal

The prime minister has poured cold water on the prospect of government support to save Moana Pasifika, after confirmation the Super Rugby franchise will not be involved in next year's competition.

But coalition partner New Zealand First's leader Winston Peters says he could have lined up a deal to save Moana Pasifika if he had another month.

Moana Pasifika was placed into liquidation in May, and on Wednesday New Zealand Rugby confirmed it had rejected several bids to rescue the team.

Crown entity Sport New Zealand had loaned Moana Pasifika $3 million at the time of its launch, and the government had sought advice on how to recover the money still owed.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he did not think the public would want taxpayer funds to be put into the team.

"We've put money in this before, it's failed. Is that the best use of our money? Probably there's other things like schools, roads, and hospitals that Kiwis would want more than support for a professional sports team."

Peters told reporters at Parliament he was "seriously confident" in securing a deal involving Japan, France, the UK and several other nations - if only he had a bit more time.

"I needed another month, actually, because of the other people I wanted to speak to, like in France, and like the UK and like Japan, but I never got a chance logistically to be able to pull it off," he said.

"I'm going to Japan very soon. I was going to raise it when I was there, and I saw an opportunity to get far wider buy-in from other stakeholders, and that was a great prospect, but the time limit was just too difficult."

Peters said he saw Pacific rugby as an economic matter, particularly in Tonga and Samoa.

"From that perspective, yes, I see the government lending a hand ... It's our front door in the Pacific. And how can you have a Pacific contest without the Pacific in it?"

He said he had approached NZ Rugby to ask for "figures, the facts and the amount of money", saying "I had a certain amount of money I was looking for with stakeholders, and they had a whole much bigger amount, and they couldn't explain themselves".

"You never know what your luck is. I mean, we've been over in Scandinavia, we've been in Saudi Arabia, raising money for the Pacific, and in two countries they've dramatically said yes. So I'm going to press on on this matter."

He earlier expressed his disappointment that New Zealand Rugby had "chosen to announce today" that Moana Pasifika would not be part of the 2027 competition.

As foreign minister, Peters visited Samoa earlier this month and told Pacific leaders New Zealand was exploring "all possible options" for a financially sustainable future for Moana Pasifika.

"Less than a month ago, we were approached by a number of parties and rugby lovers seeking our support to put Moana Pasifika on a financially sustainable footing. It would have been helpful if Moana Pasifika had come to us earlier about their financial situation," he said, in his capacity as New Zealand First leader.

"Achieving a result in three weeks to facilitate Moana Pasifika being part of the 2027 season was always going to be a bridge too far. We had hoped NZ Rugby would grant us more time, but they decided they had to move ahead announcing today that the team will not be part of Super Rugby next year."

The sport's governing body has left the door open for Moana Pasifika to compete beyond 2027.

While New Zealand Rugby remained "open and willing" to engage with anyone who could meet the financial and commercial requirements, chief financial officer Chris Kinraid said a competitive and sustainable team would need commercial revenue of more than $10 million, and at least $15 million in committed capital to support its business plan and maintain appropriate cash reserves.