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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 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 11 titles, as well as two regionalised titles in 2020 and 2021.
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 helped found the Otago, North Otago, and Southland regions in the 1840s and 1850s.
The Blues is 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 teams in Super Rugby history, the Blues won the competition in its first two seasons, 1996 and 1997, and again in 2003, as well as an all Australasian competition in 2021, additionally, the team were finalists in 1998 and 2022 and semi-finalists in 2007 and 2011.
Bradley Carnegie Thorn is a 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 22-season career as a player. He is currently the head coach of the Queensland Reds and their second longest coach in history.
Mark Garry 'Hammer' Hammett is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. Having represented Canterbury provincially 76 times, and the Crusaders 81 times and the All Blacks 30 times – including 29 Test matches, Hammett later went on to coach both Canterbury and Crusaders as a forwards/assistant coach. He is currently on the assistant coach of the Highlanders in Super Rugby and the Tasman Makos in the Mitre 10 Cup.
Christopher King is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays for the Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan. His position is tighthead prop. Three years ago he returned from France with his daughters Chloe and Alexis.
Kade Poki is a rugby union player who plays for the Bayonne in the French Top 14 competition. Prior to his move abroad, he had represented Tasman in the ITM Cup and the Highlanders in the Super Rugby competition.
Luke Charles Whitelock is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a loose forward for Canterbury in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and the Highlanders in the international Super Rugby competition.
Patrick Osborne is a Fijian rugby union footballer. He plays as a winger for Kubota Spears in the Japanese Top League. He attended Holy Trinity Anglican School before spending his secondary school education at Jai Narayan College and Queen Victoria School.
The 2013 Super Rugby season was the third season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The tournament was won by the Chiefs, who defeated the Canberra-based Brumbies 27–22 in the competition final. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as FxPro Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New Zealand and Vodacom Super Rugby in South Africa. Including the past incarnations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 18th season of the Southern Hemisphere's premier domestic competition. Conference matches took place every weekend from 15 February until 13 July – with a break between rounds 17 and 18 for internationals games – followed by the play-offs series that culminated in the final on 3 August.
Gareth Evans is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a loose forward for Hawke's Bay in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition and the Highlanders in Super Rugby.
Alexander T O A. Hodgman is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a prop for Auckland in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and the Blues in the international Super Rugby competition.
References
- ↑ "Mose Tuiali'i". The Blues. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- ↑ "Winless Highlanders sign Tuiali'i". 3 News NZ. 3 April 2013.