Super Rugby is the major professional rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere. [1] The competition began as Super 12 in 1996, consisting of 12 teams from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. An extra Australian and South African team were added in 2005 and the name was changed to Super 14. A fifteenth team joined in 2011 and the competition was rebranded as Super Rugby. [1] The current format consists of three conferences of five teams from each country. Teams play other members of their conference twice (home and away) and four teams from each of the other two conferences once. The top team in each conference and the next best three over all conferences advance to the finals. [2] In all previous formats there were no conferences and each team played every team once, with the top four progressing to the finals. The tournament is organised and governed by SANZAAR (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentine Rugby). Super Rugby is considered a successor to the Super Six (1992) and Super 10 (1993–1995), although SANZAR did not administer those tournaments. [3]
Team | Combined | Super 12 | Super 14 | Super Rugby |
---|---|---|---|---|
Crusaders | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
Chiefs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Bulls | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Brumbies | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Blues | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
Reds | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Waratahs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Highlanders | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Hurricanes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Totals | 27 | 10 | 5 | 12 |
Country | Winning teams | Combined | Super 12 | Super 14 | Super Rugby |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Zealand | Crusaders Blues Chiefs Highlanders Hurricanes | 20 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
Australia | Brumbies Reds Waratahs | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
South Africa | Bulls | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Totals | 9 | 27 | 10 | 5 | 12 |
Every season, each team played every other team once, in a round-robin. The venues for regular season matches alternated each year, therefore teams would not play one another at the same venue in consecutive seasons unless they met in the play-offs. The tournament used the rugby union bonus points system; teams were awarded four points for a win, two for a draw, and none for a loss. They received bonus points for scoring four or more tries in a match, and for a loss by seven or fewer points. [4]
After each team had completed their regular season matches, the top 4 teams qualified for the semi-finals. Semi-finals were held under a Shaughnessy playoff system; the first-placed team in the table hosted the fourth-placed, and second hosted third. The winner of each semi-final advanced to the final, held at the home ground of whichever team amassed more points in the round-robin table. [5]
In 2011, Melbourne Rebels joined the Super Rugby competition, meaning that Australia, New Zealand and South Africa would each be represented by five teams. The tournament format was also changed. Teams are divided into three conferences; one per country. [6] Each team plays other teams in the same conference home and away, and plays eight further matches against teams from other conferences, for a total of sixteen games. [7] Each team receives two byes throughout a season; from 2014 no points are added to the team's total on the day a bye is allocated. [8] The highest placed team in each conference qualifies for the finals stage, along with three highest scoring teams which were not conference winners. The two highest scoring teams advance straight to the semi-finals, while the 3rd to 6th placed teams play-off to decide which two teams advance to the semis. The format of the semi-finals and final is the same as that previously used in the Super 14. [9] The bonus points system has also been retained, with the single addition that a team receives four points for each bye. [10]
2016 saw the tournament expand to 18 teams with the inclusion of an Argentine team and Japanese team. The South African conference was split in two with the Sunwolves in South African conference 1 and Jaguares in South African conference 2. South African conference 1 teams will play Australian and New Zealand teams in alternative years with South African conference 2 teams. Every team plays 16 games in the regular season with the top 8 teams qualifying for the quarter-finals 1 v 8 etc. with each conference winner being seeded 1–4.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 2020 Super Rugby season was suspended, and then ultimately cancelled. Regional tournaments were set up to complete the 2020 season, with Super Rugby AU played in Australia, Super Rugby Aotearoa played in New Zealand and Super Rugby Unlocked played in South Africa. The Jaguares and Sunwolves didn't compete in these regional tournaments, while the Western Force competed in Super Rugby AU and the Cheetahs, Griquas and Pumas competed in Super Rugby Unlocked. Only Super Rugby AU had a final as such for 2020, with a qualifying final and then final. Following the 2020 season, the South African sides withdrew from Super Rugby, while the Jaguares and Sunwolves also left the competition. Therefore, in 2021 only 10 teams competed in Super Rugby, again in regional tournaments with the addition of Super Rugby Trans-Tasman played between both Australian and New Zealand sides. A final was added to the Super Rugby Aotearoa competition in 2021, while a qualifying final and then final was again played in Super Rugby AU. Super Rugby Trans-Tasman will also have a final.
Symbol | Meaning |
---|---|
† | Champions |
Games | Regular season record |
Points | Regular season points scored and conceded |
Diff | Difference between points scored and conceded |
BP | Bonus points |
TP | Table points |
Teams mentioned are those that qualified for the play-off rounds. Results are written so that the score of the team in each row is mentioned first. The highlighted team won that season's Super Rugby final. [11] [12]
Note. For 1996 and 1997, it was the policy of the South African Rugby Union to send the top four teams of the previous year's Currie Cup to the Super 12. This resulted in the Sharks, Transvaal, Northern Transvaal and Western Province playing in 1996 and the Sharks, the Gauteng Lions, Free State Cheetahs and Northern Transvaal playing in 1997. In 1998, South Africa set up four (and later five, then six) Super Rugby regions, similar to the policy adopted by the New Zealand Rugby Union. For these areas, please see Super Rugby franchise areas. [11]
Year | Duration | Table position | Team | Games | Points | BP | TP | Semi score | Final score | Refs | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
played | won | drawn | lost | for | against | diff | |||||||||
1996 | 28 February – 31 May | 1 | Reds | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 320 | 247 | +73 | 5 | 41 | 25–43 | — | [13] |
2 | Blues † | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 408 | 354 | +54 | 9 | 41 | 48–11 | 45–21 | |||
3 | Northern Transvaal | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 329 | 208 | +121 | 6 | 38 | 11–48 | — | |||
4 | Sharks | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 389 | 277 | +112 | 9 | 33 | 43–25 | 21–45 | |||
1997 | 1 March – 25 May | ||||||||||||||
1 | Blues † | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 435 | 283 | +152 | 8 | 50 | 55–36 | 23–7 | [14] | ||
2 | Brumbies | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 406 | 291 | +115 | 9 | 41 | 33–20 | 7–23 | |||
3 | Hurricanes | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 416 | 314 | +102 | 10 | 34 | 20–33 | — | |||
4 | Sharks | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 321 | 350 | –29 | 6 | 30 | 36–55 | — | |||
1998 | 27 February – 30 May | 1 | Blues | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 388 | 296 | +92 | 7 | 43 | 37–31 | 13–20 | [15] |
2 | Crusaders † | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 340 | 260 | +80 | 9 | 41 | 36–32 | 20–13 | |||
3 | Coastal Sharks | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 329 | 263 | +66 | 8 | 36 | 32–36 | — | |||
4 | Highlanders | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 343 | 279 | +64 | 6 | 34 | 31–37 | — | |||
1999 | 26 February – 30 May | 1 | Reds | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 233 | 170 | +63 | 2 | 36 | 22–28 | — | [16] |
2 | Stormers | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 290 | 244 | +46 | 4 | 36 | 18–33 | — | |||
3 | Highlanders | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 280 | 203 | +77 | 3 | 35 | 33–18 | 19–24 | |||
4 | Crusaders † | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 322 | 262 | +60 | 3 | 33 | 28–22 | 24–19 | |||
2000 | 25 February – 27 May | 1 | Brumbies | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 393 | 196 | +197 | 9 | 45 | 28–5 | 19–20 | [17] |
2 | Crusaders † | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 369 | 293 | +76 | 7 | 39 | 37–15 | 20–19 | |||
3 | Highlanders | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 310 | 280 | +30 | 8 | 32 | 15–37 | — | |||
4 | Cats | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 320 | 334 | –14 | 4 | 32 | 5–28 | — | |||
2001 | 23 February – 26 May | ||||||||||||||
1 | Brumbies † | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 348 | 204 | +144 | 8 | 40 | 36–6 | 36–6 | [18] | ||
2 | Sharks | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 322 | 246 | +76 | 6 | 38 | 30–12 | 6–36 | |||
3 | Cats | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 285 | 244 | +41 | 6 | 34 | 12–30 | — | |||
4 | Reds | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 300 | 277 | +23 | 8 | 32 | 6–36 | — | |||
2002 | 22 February – 25 May | ||||||||||||||
1 | Crusaders † | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 469 | 264 | +205 | 7 | 51 | 34–23 | 31–13 | [19] | ||
2 | Waratahs | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 337 | 284 | +53 | 7 | 39 | 10–51 | — | |||
3 | Brumbies | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 374 | 230 | +144 | 10 | 38 | 51–10 | 13–31 | |||
4 | Highlanders | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 329 | 207 | +122 | 6 | 38 | 23–34 | — | |||
2003 | 21 February – 24 May | ||||||||||||||
1 | Blues † | 11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 393 | 185 | +208 | 9 | 49 | 42–21 | 21–17 | [20] | ||
2 | Crusaders | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 358 | 263 | +95 | 8 | 40 | 39–16 | 17–21 | |||
3 | Hurricanes | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 324 | 284 | +40 | 7 | 35 | 16–39 | — | |||
4 | Brumbies | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 358 | 313 | +45 | 7 | 31 | 21–42 | — | |||
2004 | 20 February – 22 May | ||||||||||||||
1 | Brumbies † | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 408 | 269 | +139 | 8 | 40 | 32–17 | 47–38 | [21] | ||
2 | Crusaders | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 345 | 303 | +42 | 6 | 34 | 27–16 | 38–47 | |||
3 | Stormers | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 286 | 260 | +26 | 5 | 33 | 16–27 | — | |||
4 | Chiefs | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 274 | 251 | +23 | 5 | 33 | 17–32 | — | |||
2005 | 25 February – 28 May | ||||||||||||||
1 | Crusaders † | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 459 | 281 | +178 | 9 | 45 | 47–7 | 35–25 | [22] | ||
2 | Waratahs | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 322 | 174 | +148 | 8 | 44 | 23–13 | 25–35 | |||
3 | Bulls | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 301 | 229 | +72 | 6 | 34 | 13–23 | — | |||
4 | Hurricanes | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 281 | 248 | +33 | 2 | 34 | 7–47 | — | |||
Year | Duration | Table position | Team | Games | Points | BP | TP | Semi score | Final score | Refs | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
played | won | drawn | lost | for | against | diff | |||||||||
2006 | February 10 – May 27 | ||||||||||||||
1 | Crusaders † | 13 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 412 | 210 | +202 | 5 | 51 | 35–15 | 19–12 | [23] | ||
2 | Hurricanes | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 328 | 226 | +102 | 7 | 47 | 16–14 | 12–19 | |||
3 | Waratahs | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 362 | 192 | +170 | 9 | 45 | 14–16 | — | |||
4 | Bulls | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 355 | 290 | +65 | 7 | 38 | 15–35 | — | |||
2007 | February 2 – May 19 | ||||||||||||||
1 | Sharks | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 355 | 214 | +141 | 5 | 45 | 34–18 | 19–20 | [24] | ||
2 | Bulls † | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 388 | 223 | +165 | 6 | 42 | 27–12 | 20-19 | |||
3 | Crusaders | 13 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 382 | 235 | +147 | 10 | 42 | 12–27 | — | |||
4 | Blues | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 355 | 235 | +120 | 6 | 42 | 18–34 | — | |||
2008 | February 15 – May 31 | ||||||||||||||
1 | Crusaders † | 13 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 369 | 176 | +193 | 8 | 52 | 33–22 | 20-12 | [25] | ||
2 | Waratahs | 13 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 255 | 186 | +69 | 5 | 43 | 28–13 | 12–20 | |||
3 | Sharks | 13 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 271 | 209 | +62 | 4 | 42 | 13–28 | — | |||
4 | Hurricanes | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 310 | 204 | +106 | 7 | 41 | 22–33 | — | |||
2009 | February 13 – May 30 | ||||||||||||||
1 | Bulls † | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 338 | 271 | +67 | 6 | 46 | 36–23 | 61-17 | [26] | ||
2 | Chiefs | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 338 | 236 | +102 | 9 | 45 | 14–10 | 17–61 | |||
3 | Hurricanes | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 380 | 279 | +101 | 8 | 44 | 10–14 | — | |||
4 | Crusaders | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 231 | 198 | +33 | 7 | 41 | 23–36 | — | |||
2010 | February 12 – May 29 | ||||||||||||||
1 | Bulls † | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 436 | 345 | +91 | 7 | 47 | 39–24 | 25–17 | [27] | ||
2 | Stormers | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 365 | 171 | +194 | 8 | 44 | 25–6 | 17–25 | |||
3 | Waratahs | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 385 | 288 | +97 | 7 | 43 | 6–25 | — | |||
4 | Crusaders | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 388 | 295 | +93 | 7 | 41 | 24–39 | — | |||
Year | Duration | Table position | Team | Conference position | Games | Points | BP | TP | Qualifier score | Semi score | Final score | Refs | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
played | won | drawn | lost | for | against | diff | |||||||||||
2011 | February 18 – July 9 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Reds † | 1 | 16 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 429 | 309 | +120 | 6 | 66 | — | 30-13 | 18–13 | [28] | ||
2 | Stormers | 1 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 400 | 257 | +143 | 7 | 63 | — | 10-29 | — | |||
3 | Crusaders | 1 | 16 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 436 | 273 | +163 | 7 | 61 | 36-8 | 29-10 | 13-18 | |||
4 | Blues | 2 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 405 | 335 | +70 | 10 | 60 | 26-13 | 13-30 | — | |||
5 | Waratahs | 2 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 398 | 252 | +146 | 9 | 57 | 13–26 | — | — | |||
6 | Sharks | 2 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 407 | 339 | +68 | 7 | 57 | 8–36 | — | — | |||
2012 | February 24 – August 4 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Stormers | 1 | 16 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 350 | 254 | +96 | 2 | 66 | — | 19-26 | — | [29] [30] | ||
2 | Chiefs † | 1 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 444 | 358 | +86 | 8 | 64 | — | 20-17 | 37-6 | |||
3 | Reds | 1 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 359 | 347 | +12 | 6 | 58 | 17-30 | — | — | |||
4 | Crusaders | 2 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 485 | 343 | +142 | 9 | 61 | 28-13 | 17-20 | — | |||
5 | Bulls | 2 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 472 | 369 | +103 | 11 | 59 | 13-28 | — | ||||
6 | Sharks | 3 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 436 | 348 | +88 | 11 | 59 | 30-17 | 26-19 | 6-37 | |||
2013 | February 16 – August 4 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Chiefs † | 1 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 458 | 364 | +94 | 10 | 66 | — | 20-19 | 27-22 | [31] [32] | ||
2 | Bulls | 1 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 448 | 330 | +118 | 7 | 63 | — | 23-26 | — | |||
3 | Crusaders | 2 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 446 | 307 | +139 | 8 | 60 | 38-9 | 19-20 | — | |||
4 | Brumbies | 1 | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 430 | 295 | +135 | 8 | 60 | 15-13 | 26-23 | 22-27 | |||
5 | Reds | 2 | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 321 | 296 | +25 | 6 | 58 | 9-38 | — | — | |||
6 | Cheetahs | 2 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 382 | 258 | +24 | 6 | 54 | 13-15 | — | — | |||
2014 | February 16 – August 2 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Waratahs † | 1 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 481 | 272 | +209 | 10 | 58 | — | 26-8 | 33-32 | [33] | ||
2 | Crusaders | 1 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 445 | 322 | +123 | 7 | 51 | — | 38-6 | 32-33 | |||
3 | Sharks | 1 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 406 | 203 | +113 | 6 | 50 | 31-27 | 6-38 | — | |||
4 | Brumbies | 2 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 412 | 378 | +34 | 5 | 45 | 32-30 | 8-26 | — | |||
5 | Chiefs | 2 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 384 | 378 | +6 | 8 | 44 | 30-32 | — | — | |||
6 | Highlanders | 3 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 401 | 442 | -41 | 10 | 42 | 27-31 | — | — | |||
2015 | February 13 – July 4 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Hurricanes | 1 | 16 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 458 | 288 | +170 | 10 | 66 | — | 29-9 | 14-21 | [34] | ||
2 | Waratahs | 1 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 409 | 313 | +96 | 8 | 52 | 17-35 | 17-35 | — | |||
3 | Stormers | 1 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 373 | 323 | +50 | 3 | 45 | 19-39 | — | — | |||
4 | Highlanders † | 2 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 450 | 333 | +117 | 9 | 53 | 24-14 | 35-17 | 21-14 | |||
5 | Chiefs | 3 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 372 | 299 | +73 | 8 | 48 | 14-24 | — | — | |||
6 | Brumbies | 2 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 369 | 261 | +108 | 11 | 47 | 39-19 | 9-29 | — | |||
Year | Duration | Table position | Team | Conference position | Qualifying path | Games | Points | BP | TP | QF score | Semi score | Final score | Refs | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
played | won | drawn | lost | for | against | diff | ||||||||||||
2016 | February 26 – August 6 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Hurricanes † | 1 | 1st NZ Conf | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 458 | 314 | +144 | 9 | 53 | 41–0 | 25–9 | 20–3 | [35] | ||
2 | Lions | 1 | 1st AF2 Conf | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 535 | 349 | +186 | 8 | 52 | 42–25 | 42–30 | 3–20 | |||
3 | Highlanders | 2 | NZ/AU wc | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 422 | 273 | +149 | 8 | 52 | 15–9 | 30–42 | — | |||
4 | Chiefs | 3 | NZ/AU wc | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 491 | 341 | 150 | +7 | 51 | 60–21 | 9–25 | — | |||
5 | Stormers | 1 | 1st AF1 Conf | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 440 | 274 | +166 | 9 | 51 | 21–60 | — | — | |||
6 | Crusaders | 4 | NZ/AU wc | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 487 | 317 | +170 | 6 | 50 | 25–42 | — | — | |||
7 | Brumbies | 1 | 1st AU Conf | 15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 425 | 326 | +99 | 3 | 43 | 9–15 | — | — | |||
8 | Sharks | 2 | AF wc | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 360 | 269 | +91 | 5 | 43 | 0–41 | — | — | |||
2017 | February 23 – August 5 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Lions | 1 | 1st AF2 Conf | 15 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 590 | 268 | 322 | 9 | 65 | 23–21 | 44–29 | 17–25 | [36] | ||
2 | Crusaders † | 1 | 1st NZ Conf | 15 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 544 | 303 | +241 | 7 | 63 | 17–0 | 27–13 | 25–17 | |||
3 | Stormers | 1 | 1st AF1 Conf | 15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 490 | 436 | +54 | 3 | 43 | 11–17 | — | — | |||
4 | Brumbies | 1 | 1st AU Conf | 15 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 315 | 295 | +20 | 10 | 34 | 16–35 | — | — | |||
5 | Hurricanes | 2 | NZ/AU wc | 15 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 596 | 272 | +324 | 10 | 58 | 35–16 | 44–29 | — | |||
6 | Chiefs | 3 | NZ/AU wc | 15 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 433 | 292 | +141 | 7 | 57 | 17–11 | 13–27 | — | |||
7 | Highlanders | 4 | NZ/AU wc | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 488 | 308 | +180 | 7 | 51 | 0–17 | — | — | |||
8 | Sharks | 2 | AF wc | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 408 | 354 | +54 | 4 | 46 | 21–23 | — | — | |||
2018 | February 17 – August 4 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Crusaders † | 1 | 1st NZ Conf | 16 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 542 | 295 | +247 | 7 | 63 | 40–10 | 30–12 | 27–18 | [37] | ||
2 | Lions | 1 | 1st SA Conf | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 519 | 435 | +84 | 10 | 46 | 40–23 | 44–26 | 18–27 | |||
3 | Waratahs | 1 | 1st AU Conf | 16 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 557 | 445 | +112 | 6 | 44 | 30–23 | 26–44 | — | |||
4 | Hurricanes | 2 | NZ wc | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 474 | 343 | +131 | 7 | 43 | 32–11 | 12–30 | — | |||
5 | Chiefs | 3 | NZ wc | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 463 | 368 | +95 | 5 | 49 | 31–32 | — | — | |||
6 | Highlanders | 4 | NZ wc | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 437 | 445 | -8 | 4 | 44 | 23–30 | — | — | |||
7 | Jaguares | 2 | SA wc | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 409 | 418 | −9 | 2 | 38 | 23–40 | — | — | |||
8 | Sharks | 3 | SA wc | 16 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 437 | 442 | −5 | 6 | 36 | 10–40 | — | — | |||
2019 | February 15 – July 6 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Crusaders † | 1 | 1st NZ Conf | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 497 | 257 | +240 | 8 | 58 | 38–14 | 30–26 | 19–3 | [38] | ||
2 | Jaguares | 1 | 1st SA Conf | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 461 | 352 | +109 | 7 | 51 | 21–16 | 39–7 | 3–19 | |||
3 | Brumbies | 1 | 1st AU Conf | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 430 | 366 | +64 | 8 | 48 | 38–13 | 7–39 | — | |||
4 | Hurricanes | 2 | NZ wc | 16 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 449 | 362 | +87 | 3 | 53 | 35–28 | 26–30 | — | |||
5 | Bulls | 2 | SA wc | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 410 | 369 | +41 | 5 | 41 | 28–35 | — | — | |||
6 | Sharks | 3 | SA wc | 16 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 343 | 335 | +8 | 7 | 37 | 13–38 | — | — | |||
7 | Chiefs | 3 | NZ wc | 16 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 451 | 465 | −14 | 4 | 36 | 16–21 | — | — | |||
8 | Highlanders | 4 | NZ wc | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 441 | 392 | +49 | 6 | 36 | 14–38 | — | — | |||
2020 | January 31 – March 14 | |||||||||||||||||
season cancelled | ||||||||||||||||||
2021 | February 19 – June 19 | |||||||||||||||||
regional competitions played, no official champions | ||||||||||||||||||
2022 | February 18 – June 18 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Blues | N/A | N/A | 14 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 472 | 284 | +188 | 6 | 58 | 35–6 | 20–19 | 7–21 | [39] | ||
2 | Crusaders † | N/A | N/A | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 470 | 268 | +202 | 8 | 52 | 37–15 | 20–7 | 21–7 | |||
3 | Chiefs | N/A | N/A | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 453 | 348 | +105 | 5 | 45 | 39–15 | 7–20 | — | |||
4 | Brumbies | N/A | N/A | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 404 | 306 | +98 | 4 | 44 | 35–25 | 19–20 | — | |||
5 | Hurricanes | N/A | N/A | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 441 | 330 | +111 | 7 | 39 | 25–35 | — | — | |||
6 | Waratahs | N/A | N/A | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 365 | 317 | +48 | 6 | 38 | 15–39 | — | — | |||
7 | Reds | N/A | N/A | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 342 | 327 | +15 | 3 | 35 | 15–37 | — | — | |||
8 | Highlanders | N/A | N/A | 14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 348 | 345 | +3 | 7 | 23 | 6–35 | — | — | |||
2023 | February 24 – June 24 | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Chiefs | N/A | N/A | 14 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 487 | 261 | +226 | 7 | 59 | 29–20 | 19–6 | 20–25 | [40] | ||
2 | Crusaders † | N/A | N/A | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 457 | 278 | +179 | 8 | 48 | 49–8 | 52–15 | 25–20 | |||
3 | Blues | N/A | N/A | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 446 | 292 | +154 | 6 | 46 | 41–12 | 15–52 | — | |||
4 | Brumbies | N/A | N/A | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 474 | 393 | +81 | 6 | 46 | 37–33 | 6–19 | — | |||
5 | Hurricanes | N/A | N/A | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 480 | 338 | +142 | 5 | 41 | 33–37 | — | — | |||
6 | Waratahs | N/A | N/A | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 387 | 408 | −21 | 7 | 31 | 12–41 | — | — | |||
7 | Drua | N/A | N/A | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 370 | 492 | −122 | 2 | 26 | 8–49 | — | — | |||
8 | Reds | N/A | N/A | 14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 391 | 451 | −60 | 4 | 24 | 20–29 | — | — |
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, regionalised tournaments were played for the remainder of the 2020 Super Rugby season and the 2021 Super Rugby season. Those competitions were: Super Rugby AU (Australia), Super Rugby Aotearoa (New Zealand), Super Rugby Unlocked (South Africa) and Super Rugby Trans-Tasman (Australia & New Zealand).
Year | Super Rugby AU | Super Rugby Aotearoa | Super Rugby Unlocked | Super Rugby Trans-Tasman |
---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Brumbies | Crusaders | Bulls | — |
2021 | Reds | Crusaders | —* | Blues |
* South Africa withdrew from all Super Rugby competitions at the end of the 2020 Super Rugby season.
The Rugby Championship, formerly known as the Tri Nations Series (1996–2011), is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These are traditionally the four highest ranked national teams in the Southern Hemisphere; the Six Nations is a similar tournament in the Northern Hemisphere.
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 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches while Australia hosted 11 matches. The tournament was won by New Zealand, who were the strong favourites and won all their matches comfortably. New Zealand defeated France 29–9 in the final at Eden Park in Auckland. The New Zealand team was captained by David Kirk and included such rugby greats as Sean Fitzpatrick, John Kirwan, Grant Fox and Michael Jones. Wales finished third, and Australia fourth, after conceding crucial tries in the dying seconds of both their semi-final against France and the third-place play-off against Wales.
The Blues are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Auckland, who play in the Super Rugby competition. Like New Zealand's four other Super Rugby teams, the Blues were established by the NZRU in 1996. One of the most successful yet unlikeable teams in Super Rugby history, the Blues won the competition in its first two seasons, 1996 and 1997, and again in 2003 and 2024. Additionally, the team were finalists in 1998 and 2022, and semi-finalists in 2007, 2011 and 2023. They won a Trans Tasman competition in 2021.
The Chiefs are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Hamilton, Waikato. The team competes in the Super Rugby competition, previously known as the Super 12 and Super 14, and are one of the competition's five New Zealand teams. Their primary home ground is FMG Stadium Waikato.
The Bulls are a South African professional rugby union team based in Pretoria. They play their home matches at Loftus Versfeld. They compete in the United Rugby Championship, having competed in the Super Rugby competition until 2020. Prior to 1998, the Bulls competed in the then-Super 12 as Northern Transvaal, as in those years South Africa was represented in the competition by its top four Currie Cup sides from the previous season, instead of the modern Super Rugby teams.
The Lions is a South African professional rugby union team based in Johannesburg in the Gauteng province. They competed in the Super Rugby competition until 2020, and have competed in the United Rugby Championship since 2021. They are the successor of the teams known as Transvaal (1996), Gauteng Lions (1997) and the Cats (1998–2006).
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 United States men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Eagles, represents the United States of America Rugby Football Union in men's international rugby union. USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States, and is a member of Rugby Americas North, one of six regional governing bodies under World Rugby. Until rugby returned to Olympic competition, with sevens at the 2016 Rio Games, the United States was the reigning Olympic rugby champion, having defeated the one other competitor in 1920 and the two other competitors at the 1924 Summer Olympics.
Jake White is a professional rugby union coach and former coach of the South African national team – the Springboks – whom he coached to victory in 2007 Rugby World Cup and the 2004 Tri Nations. White also coached the Under-21 Springbok side to victory in the Under-21 World Cup in 2002. He was coach of the Brumbies in the Super Rugby from 2012, but resigned with two years remaining on his contract in 2013 to return to South Africa. On returning to South Africa, he coached the Sharks for a single season, explaining he wanted to seek international opportunities. This arose in a technical role with the Tongan national team. After assisting Tonga in their 3 Test European Tour in 2014, White was announced as Montpellier's new boss, overseeing all coaching aspects for the club.
SANZAAR is the body which oversees Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship competitions in rugby union. SANZAAR meets annually and is composed of the CEOs from its member unions.
The Super Rugby competition in rugby union, including teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands and, in the past, from Argentina, Japan and South Africa, is based on a "franchise" system of teams. The original member countries – Australia, New Zealand and South Africa – all have several regional franchises, while the expansion countries – Argentina, Fiji, Japan and the Pacific Islands – have/had one franchise each. The article covers specific detail as to the areas covered by each Super Rugby team. Bold denotes stadiums that are current primary stadiums for the franchises.
The 2011 Super Rugby season was the first season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involved teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Including its past iterations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 16th season for the Southern Hemisphere's premier transnational club competition. The season kicked off in February 2011, with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished in early July to allow players a recovery period for the 2011 Rugby World Cup to be held in September and October; in future non-World Cup years, the competition will extend into August.
The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Argentina and the Sunwolves from Japan taking part. This season also saw the return of the Kings, who competed just once before, in the 2013 Super Rugby season. The round-robin games took place every weekend from 26 February to 16 July 2016, followed by the finals series at the end of July and culminating in the final on 6 August.
The 2014 Super Rugby Final, was played between the New South Wales Waratahs from Australia and the Crusaders from New Zealand on 2 August 2014. It was the 19th final in the Super Rugby competition's history and the fourth under the expanded 15-team format. The Waratahs had qualified in first place during the regular season, while the Crusaders had qualified in second place. Both teams hosted semi-final matches, with the Waratahs defeating fellow Australian team the Brumbies in Sydney and the Crusaders defeating South African team the Sharks in Christchurch. As the Waratahs had qualified higher, the final was held in Sydney, it was the third time that the Waratahs, and the Crusaders had met in a Grand Final, the Crusaders had defeated the Waratahs in the 2008, and 2005 Grand Finals.
The 2017 Super Rugby season was the 22nd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It was the second season featuring an expanded 18-team format, following the competition's expansion from 15 teams prior to the 2016 season.
The 2018 Super Rugby season was the 23rd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. After two seasons in which 18 teams participated, the 2018 season reverted to a 15-team competition, consisting of three geographical conferences.
The 2019 Super Rugby season was the 24th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. The 2019 season was the second season using the reduced 15-team format consisting of three geographical conferences since being reduced from an 18-team competition in 2017.
The 2020 Super Rugby season was the 25th season of Super Rugby, an international men's rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR involving teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It is the third tournament in its current 15 team format, the last before the Japanese side the Sunwolves withdraw from the tournament ahead of a new format in 2021. The current champions are the Crusaders, who won their 10th title in 2019.
The 2019 Super Rugby Final was played between the Crusaders of New Zealand and the Jaguares of Argentina. It was the 24th final in the Super Rugby competition's history. The Crusaders had qualified in first place on the regular season standings, while the Jaguares had qualified in second place. Both teams hosted quarter-final and semi-final matches.