A nine-person Super Rugby Pacific Board is set to be created under the agreement, featuring an independent chair and four independent directors, with one representative from each of NZR, RA, the New Zealand Rugby Players Association and Rugby Union Players’ Association joining them.

This is set to oversee the competition, and have a mandate to explore the creation of an integrated women's structure.

The Super W competition currently runs in Australia and and Sky Super Rugby Aupiki in New Zealand.

New Zealand held the women's Rugby World Cup earlier this year, and NZR chief executive Mark Robinson hopes to build on the staging of the tournament.

"We saw the quality of women’s rugby throughout the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and while it is not a case of copy and paste with the men's structure in Super Rugby Pacific, we believe there are enormous opportunities to build a world-class cross-border professional women's club competition in the Pacific region," he said.

Relations between the two national governing bodies have been tense, with RA threatening to create a domestic competition for its clubs.

However, they have now reached an agreement set to cover the period from 2024 to 2030.

Robinson said that it cemented the future of Super Rugby Pacific.

"This long-term agreement provides certainty for players, coaches, fans, sponsors and broadcast partners and it solidifies our joint commitment to ensuring Super Rugby Pacific is the most entertaining, innovative, and fan-focused cross-border club competition in the world," he commented.

"We charted a new path with the introduction of Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua this year, and having all 91 games played in regional time zones, and believe we have entered an exciting new era for rugby in the Pacific region."

RA counterpart Andy Marinos concurred with these views.

"Today marks the dawn of a new era of Super Rugby within our region," Marinos said.

"Securing this long-term partnership provides stability and continuity that the competition and Super Rugby clubs need to enable rugby to grow in stature and importance across the region."

Super Rugby has previously featured teams from South Africa and Argentina, the other two members of South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby (SANZAAR), as well as Japan.

However, travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic led to a split in the competition, which now features clubs from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the Pacific Islands.

South African clubs now play in Europe and there has been speculation that the Springboks could leave SANZAAR's marquee international event - the Rugby Championship.

The current Super Rugby Pacific format is set to be used as part of the agreement, although the Board has vowed to continue looking at options to adapt.

An agreement has also been reached on revenue sharing to the end of 2025, with the further allocation set to be decided following the finalisation of future broadcast agreements.