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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 previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hemisphere competitions dating back to the South Pacific Championship in 1986, with teams from a number of southern nations, the Super Rugby started as the Super 12 in the 1996 season with 12 teams from 3 countries: Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The Super 12 was established by SANZAR after the sport became professional in 1995. At its peak the tournament featured the top players from nations representing 16 of the 24 top-three finishes in the history of the Rugby World Cup. After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the competition to split into three, the reformed competition in 2021 and beyond will only include Oceanian clubs representing Australia, New Zealand and from the Pacific islands.
The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland. With the introduction of the professional Super 12 competition they moved to a model where players are contracted to the Reds through the Queensland Rugby Union rather than selected on the basis of club form.
The New South Wales Waratahs, referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, are represented by the Brumbies, who are based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
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.
Perth Rectangular Stadium is a sports stadium in Perth, the capital of the Australian state of Western Australia. Located close to Perth's central business district, the stadium currently has a maximum capacity of 20,500 people for sporting events and 25,000 people for concerts, with the ground's record attendance of 32,000 people set during an Ed Sheeran concert in 2015. The land on which the stadium was built, known as Loton Park, was made a public reserve in 1904, with the main ground developed several years later.
Rugby union in Australia has a history of organised competition dating back to the late 1860s. Although traditionally most popular in Australia's rugby football strongholds of New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT, it is played throughout the nation.
Matthew James Giteau is a retired Australian rugby union professional player who last played, for the now defunct, LA Giltinis of Major League Rugby (MLR).
Nathan Sharpe is a retired professional Australian rugby union player. He began his rugby career at the Queensland Reds in 1999 before joining the newly created Western Force in 2006, where he captained the club until his retirement in 2012. He played 116 test matches for Australia, including 20 as captain. His usual position was lock.
Rugby union in South Africa is a highly popular team sport, along with cricket and soccer, and is widely played all over the country. The national team is among the strongest in the world and has been ranked in at least the top seven of the World Rugby Rankings since its inception in 2003. The country hosted and won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and won again in 2007 and 2019.
Tai McIsaac is an Australian rugby union football coach, and a former professional player. He is currently the head coach of the Perth Spirit team in Australia's National Rugby Championship. McIsaac played as a hooker for the Western Force and Queensland Reds in the Super Rugby competition before retiring from playing in 2009.
Digby Ioane is an Australian professional rugby union footballer who played for the Colorado Raptors in Major League Rugby (MLR).
The Western Australia Rugby Union (RugbyWA) is the governing body of rugby union in Western Australia. It was founded in 1893 and the inaugural 4 team competition commenced in 1895. The highest competition run by the union is the RugbyWA FMG Premier Grade.
The "Barassi Line" is an imaginary line in Australia which approximately divides areas where Australian rules football or rugby league is the most popular football code. It was first used by historian Ian Turner in his "1978 Ron Barassi Memorial Lecture". Crowd figures, media coverage, and participation rates are heavily skewed in favour of the dominant code on both sides.
Rodney Davies is an Australian international rugby union footballer who plays for the Western Force. He previously played six seasons for the Queensland Reds in the Super Rugby competition. Davies has represented Australia in both fifteen-a-side and seven-a-side rugby. He is also a former rugby league footballer.
Sitaleki Timani, is a Tongan-born, Australian professional rugby union footballer. He made his test debut for the Wallabies in 2011. His usual position is lock. Timani's professional club career spanned eight seasons of Top 14 in France and seven seasons of Super Rugby in Australia. He currently plays for the RC Toulonnais in the Top 14.
The Australian Provincial Championship, or APC, is a now-defunct rugby union football competition played in Australia. It was one of several provincial competitions since the late 1960s, including the Wallaby Trophy and Ricoh National Championship, that have not continued.
Tetera Faulkner is an Australian professional rugby union player. He currently represents the New South Wales Waratahs in the Super Rugby competition. His regular playing position is prop.
Kyle Godwin is an Australian professional rugby union footballer who made his international debut for the Wallabies against France in 2016. He currently plays for French club Lyon OU Rugby in the Top 14 competition, and previously represented the Western Force and Brumbies in Super Rugby. His regular playing position is centre.
Dane Haylett-Petty is a retired Australian rugby union footballer who played as a fullback or wing for the Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby and the Wallabies.
Rugby union in Western Australia describes the sport of rugby union being played and watched in the state of Western Australia. First introduced some time in 1868 it was the most popular football code until it was overtaken by Australian rules football in Western Australia in 1885. After a period of decline and recess between 1905-1927 it grew throughout the 20th century. The governing body is the Western Australia Rugby Union (RugbyWA).
References
- ↑ Injured Cannon retires from rugby, bbc.co.uk; accessed 10 September 2014.
- ↑ Western Force retiree Brendan Cannon leading fight to stop violence against women, perthnow.com.au; accessed 10 September 2014.