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Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the Super 12 in the 1996 season with 12 teams from Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, building on competitions dating back to the South Pacific Championship in 1986. The Super 12 was established by SANZAR after the sport became professional in 1995. After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the competition to split into three, the reformed competition in 2021 only included teams from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific islands.
The Crusaders are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Christchurch, who compete in the Super Rugby competition. They are the most successful team in the competition's history and have won a total of 14 titles, as well as two regionalised Super Rugby titles in 2020 and 2021.
Stade Toulousain, also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
The ACT Brumbies is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the feral horses which inhabit the capital's hinterland. The team represents the ACT, as well as the Far South Coast and Southern Inland regions of New South Wales (NSW).
The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competition in 2017. Following their axing they played in the National Rugby Championship in 2018 and 2019, replacing the Perth Spirit, and Global Rapid Rugby from 2018 to 2020, an Indo-Pacific competition organised by Andrew Forrest.
George Smith is an Australian retired rugby union player. He was a flanker for 12 years (2000–10,13) at the ACT Brumbies in Super Rugby, earning 142 caps.
Toulouse Olympique or TO XIII is a professional rugby league club in Toulouse, south-west France. Founded in 1937, two years after the French Rugby League Federation, the club is a six-time winner of the French Rugby League Championship.
Yannick Nyanga is a former professional rugby union player who played as a flanker for Racing 92 and France, and is also known for his long tenure at Toulouse. He was a part of the victorious French team of the 2006 Six Nations Championship.
The Stade Ernest-Wallon is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sept Deniers district of Toulouse, in southwestern France. Described as a "temple to the oval ball", it is the home ground for the rugby union club Stade Toulousain and the rugby league club Toulouse Olympique.
The 2007 Super 14 season started in February 2007 with preseason matches held from mid-January. It finished on 19 May with the final at Kings Park Stadium in Durban, in the first final between two South African teams in the history of Super Rugby. The visiting Bulls won the 2007 Super 14 Final, scoring a try in the 83rd minute and narrowly defeating the Sharks 20–19, thereby becoming the first South African side to win the Super Rugby title in the professional era.
Digby Ioane is an Australian professional rugby union footballer who played for the Colorado Raptors in Major League Rugby (MLR).
The Toulouse International Rugby Masters were two international rugby union tournaments organised by Toulouse rugby club. The first, held in 1986 and known as the "Matra Espace or Matra Masters" for sponsorship reasons, is sometimes informally referred to as the first World Club Championships due to the participants within the competition representing seven clubs and one touring side from seven countries across three continents. The second tournament, held in 1990 and referred to as the Centenary Masters, marked the centenary of the club. Toulouse were the champions of both editions. The tournaments are viewed as the precursor to the European Rugby Champions Cup, in which Toulouse were crowned the winners of the first edition in 1996.
Luke Burgess is a retired professional rugby union player. His usual position was scrum-half. He represented Australia on 37 occasions.
Virgile Lacombe was a French rugby union footballer who usually played in the hooker position. He became a coach with Stade Toulousain after retiring.
Damien Hill is a three-time Shute Shield winning coach, and was formerly the head coach of the Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby franchise. Initially appointed as an assistant coach with the club in 2011, Hill was appointed head coach after the resignation of inaugural Rebels coach Rod Macqueen at the end of 2011. He is currently the head coach of Japanese side Ricoh Black Rams in the Top League.
Cheslin Kolbe is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for Tokyo Sungoliath in the Japan Rugby League One and the South Africa national team. His regular position is wing, but he also plays at fullback. He has also recently featured at fly half for Toulouse in the Top 14, and as a scrum half internationally. Kolbe was a member of the South Africa Sevens team that won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He has won the Rugby World Cup twice with South Africa, in 2019 and 2023. Kolbe was nominated for 2019 World Rugby Player of the Year but lost to teammate Pieter-Steph du Toit. He is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world. He previously played for Toulouse, Toulon, Stormers, and Western Province. He has won the World Cup, Rugby Championship, and Lions Series with the Springboks, the Top14, and Champions Cup with Toulouse, the Currie Cup with Western Province, and the Challenge Cup with Toulon. He is one of the highest paid rugby players in the world, with a reported salary of between ¥130-155 million yen a season.
Rory Arnold is an Australian professional rugby union player. He played for the Stade Toulousain in the Top 14 competition, and has represented Australia in test matches. His regular position is lock.
Emmanuel Latu-Meafou is a professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for Top 14 club Toulouse and the France national team. Born in New Zealand to parents from Samoa, before moving to Australia where he was raised, he later obtained French nationality in 2023 and made his debut for his adoptive country in 2024.
References
- 1 2 Dutton, Chris (9 August 2014). "ACT Brumbies recruit Rory Arnold tallest player in Super Rugby history". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ↑ "Richie Arnold". Australian Rugby. 2017. Archived from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
- ↑ Harris, Bret (27 February 2015). "Brumbies big man Rory Arnold says long levers are an advantage". The Australian. News. Archived from the original on 10 April 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ↑ "Richie Arnold". Australian Rugby. 2016. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- ↑ "Force sign locks Matt Philip and Richie Arnold for 2017 Super Rugby". Foxsports. 1 December 2016. Archived from the original on 9 April 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- ↑ "Richie Arnold". westernforce.com.au. Western Force. Archived from the original on 9 April 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
- ↑ Taylor, Nick (23 March 2017). "Western Force second-rower Richie Arnold to debut against Crusaders". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 9 April 2017.
- ↑ "Toulouse engage Richie Arnold". Le Figaro Sport 24. 3 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- ↑ "Player Statistics". its rugby. Retrieved 9 April 2017.