A revolutionary plan is being worked on to end the player drain from the Pacific Islands by establishing a Super Rugby franchise in Fiji – and it has already secured more than £20 million backing, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

It is understood that more than four global companies and two leading kit manufacturers have pledged to fund the proposal to ­create “the best club side in world rugby” on the island.

The new team, which could be operational by 2018, would be based in a new 20,000-seat stadium ­included in plans to develop the Port Denarau Marina in Fiji, close to the island’s airport in Nadi.

Ben Ryan, the Englishman who guided Fiji to their historic first ­Olympic gold medal when they ­defeated Great Britain in the sevens final in Rio, claims the move would be a “world game changer”. Some 19 per cent of professional players worldwide are Pacific Islanders or of Pacific Islands descent.