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 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 Highlanders is a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Dunedin that compete in Super Rugby. The team was formed in 1996 to represent the lower South Island in the newly formed Super 12 competition, and includes the Otago, North Otago and Southland unions. The Highlanders take their name from the Scottish immigrants that founded the Otago, North Otago, and Southland regions in the 1840s and 1850s.
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).
Robert Rawiri Hunter-Paul is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer. He has since become a business owner and television pundit, running Xtra Mile Marketing, an inbound and digital marketing company. Robbie retired from playing at the end of the 2011 season following a 19-season career with the Bradford Bulls, Harlequin FC, Huddersfield Giants, Salford City Reds and the Leigh Centurions. He then spent just under 2 years as business development manager at the Huddersfield Giants, and 3 years as CEO at the Bradford Bulls. Robbie played for the New Zealand Kiwis national team from 1997 - 2006. He is the younger brother of former New Zealand Kiwis and England Rugby player Henry Paul.
Bradley Carnegie Thorn is a New Zealand Australian rugby union coach and former rugby league and rugby union footballer. Born in New Zealand, he represented Australia in rugby league and New Zealand in rugby union in a twenty-two year career as a player, starting at age nineteen and finishing at age forty-one. He was the head coach of the Australian Super Rugby Pacific team, the Queensland Reds. Thorn is their second longest-serving coach in history and their longest serving coach in the professional era.
Scott Hill is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He was previously with the Harlequins RL club in the Super League. His usual position is at five-eighth. Hill previously played in Australia for the Melbourne Storm, Hunter Mariners and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Hill is a former New South Wales and Australian representative player.
The Melbourne Rebels were an Australian professional rugby union team based in Melbourne that competed in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. The Rebels made their debut in SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. The club shared its name with a former Australian Rugby Championship team, but was unrelated. The team played home matches at AAMI Park.
James Alexander Slipper is an Australian professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for Super Rugby club ACT Brumbies and captains the Australia national team.
Paddy Ryan is an Australian rugby union player who plays as a tight-head prop. Ryan played eight seasons for the New South Wales Waratahs, where he surpassed one hundred caps in Super Rugby. He was also capped for the Australian national team.
Ruan-Henry Smith is a South African professional rugby union player currently signed to the New South Wales Waratahs of Super Rugby in Australia for Super Rugby Pacific. His regular playing position is Loosehead Prop.
Andrew Kellaway is an Australian rugby union player who currently plays for the Melbourne Rebels in the Super Rugby competition. He also previously played for the Waratahs and English club Northampton. Kellaway has been capped for Australia's national team, the Wallabies. His regular playing positions are fullback and wing.
Mosese Jacob Dujon Kepa Sorovi is a Fijian Australian professional rugby union player. Currently contracted to the Fijian Drua in the Super Rugby, he began his career with the Queensland Reds and joined the Melbourne Rebels briefly. He has also represented Australia at Schoolboy's level.
Kaide Ellis is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop and loose forward for the Wigan Warriors in the ESL.
Super Rugby Women's is an annual professional women's rugby union club competition organised by Rugby Australia. It is contested by five clubs from Australia and one club from Fiji, who play a single series of round-robin matches to determine the four participants of a single-elimination tournament. The competition replaced the representative National Women's Championship with five teams owned by the Australian Super Rugby franchises, and began play in the 2018 season as an amateur league known as the Super W. The 2022 season saw the addition of a team from Fiji, and the introduction of salaries for players. The league adopted its current name in the 2024 season. Fijiana Drua are the current champions, while the New South Wales Waratahs have won the most championships (4).
Ryan Smith is an Australian rugby union player who plays for the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby. His playing position is lock.
The Papua New Guinea Hunters is a professional rugby league club from Papua New Guinea that participates in the Queensland Cup in Australia. They have relocated to Runaway Bay, Gold Coast for the 2021 Intrust Super Cup Season. The 2021 Intrust Super Cup will be the PNG Hunters' eighth season in rugby league's Queensland Cup after securing their future with a four-year license from 2019 until 2022. A 37-man train-on squad was announced for the pre season before it was trimmed and the final squad finalized. Doncaster RLFC agreed for Watson Boas to play with the Hunters squad until he was able to return to the United Kingdom. In partnership with PacificAus Sports( Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade), Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League, PNG Hunters and QRL signed a three year agreement titled 'Growing and Supporting Rugby League in Papua New Guinea' in February which will see the PacificAus Sports and QRL assisting to develop the sport in the country by creating pathways for emerging PNG players and also develop pathways for PNG teams like the PNG Hunters Under-19s and Papua New Guinea Hunters women's to take part in high-level Australian sporting competitions The Hunters travelled with a 24-man squad to Queensland after six could not travel due to visa issues. Three consultants were recruited to join the coaching team in order to refine and up-skill the coaching staff through funding by PacificAus sports program.
Super Rugby Trans-Tasman was a professional men's rugby union club competition in Australia and New Zealand. It featured the five Super Rugby AU teams playing the five Super Rugby Aotearoa teams, followed by a final, and ran from 14 May to 19 June 2021.
