I think the only way for the islanders to get into a more lucrative position is joining the SANZAR setup somehow, as Argentina are doing. It's difficult to do that, as already has been said, with most of their players playing in Europe. So, the only logical thing for them to do is also be integrated into Super rugby too. Hopefully this will attract players back to the islands, which deserve to see high quality rugby played throughout the season. The bankers are really News Corp, who pay massive amounts for 3N and Super rugby. Argentina have had problems making their players available for the new 4N tournament because of the overlap with the European season.
Just reformatting the Pacific Islands trophy won't make a huge difference.
Personally I don't like the influence of Murdoch's News Corp on Southern Rugby, but you need to be in bed with them unless you want an exodus of players to Europe. It also requires the big 3 SANZAR unions to 'let you in', because ultimately they will be sharing their TV revenues. They're unlikely to split it again soon after just opening it up to Argentina.
In a Utopian future world 'traditional' tours would return, with SA/Aus/NZ touring each other every 4 years for example, and receiving 3 test tours from England, France, Ireland etc. In this structure it would be easier to integrate Samoa, Tonga and Fiji into top-flight test rugby every year. Teams that tour Aus or NZ would also visit the islands to play Samoa, Fiji, Tonga on their own paddocks. If we want the rugby culture to thrive there at grassroots level the younger generations need to be able to see those big games, and not just the odd visit from Japan or NZ Maori. Read about the famous victory for Samoa against Wales in the early 90s to see the inspiration that it gave the youngsters in the early 90s.
They can't be dependent on 2nd generation kids from Auckland to fill up their teams in the future, the best ones would go into the ABs set-up in any case. The incentive of top-level rugby against the 'powerhouse' nations every year would draw the great players of islander heritage to their Fijian, Samoan and Tongan teams and not towards the NZ team.
Of course they are right to question the 'club' that controls power in the IRB, the 6N countries, SANZAR... there obviously are inequalities. But the way Samoa have reacted - the accusations of racism, the death threats on twitter etc - have not helped their cause for restructuring. The IRB went to great lengths to better Argentina's situation, particularly because of their run in the last WC, and the IRB and SA Rugby had to persuade Aus/NZ to accept the Argentines. They are people that you need to curry favour with, not publically insult.
