In 2012, Reds player Luke Morahan called for a national club competition as a means of bridging the gap between the semi-professional competitions in Sydney, Brisbane and the Australian Capital Territory, and Super Rugby.[1] In 2014, a national professional club competition known as the National Rugby Championship (NRC) was formally established. Nine newly-created clubs played in a round-robin format across eight rounds, finishing with a four-team knockout stage to decide the season winners.[2] The NRC was praised for improving Australia's player depth.[2] However, in 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition was disbanded.[3]
In 2023, Force CEO Tony Lewis told The Sydney Morning Herald that an Australian third-tier competition was a necessity, stating: "All the Super coaches [in Australia] who participated in that third-tier comp [the NRC] that was running before COVID... all waxed lyrical about how good a competition it was and the number of coaches that come through it, and the number of S+C coaches [strength and conditioning], the number of analysts, the number of players. So it's just not about players, it's about coaches, about analysts, about physios. If you're not preparing them for the next level, the jump is horrendous. The first time you do economics, they do needs and wants."[4]
It was speculated in October 2024 by Australian sports news-website The Roar that a new national club competition was in the works and would not be like its predecessors with newly-created teams across the country, but instead involve the four Australian Super Rugby teams (the Brumbies, the Force, the Reds and the Waratahs),[5] and could possibly involve Japanese teams.[5][6] It was revealed months later that a new "third-tier" competition was indeed in the making by Rugby Australia (RA).[7] Announcing a competition could begin as early as 2025, RA CEO Phil Waugh stated to Rugby.com.au, "The biggest gap we've had over the last period of time has been (the) connection between the community game and professional game and how to bridge that gap. I think we're working on that. It's going to take time. There's no doubt that Super Rugby is too short in its current format so how do we fill that gap for those players that aren't in Test Rugby?"[8]
In June 2025, it was confirmed that a national "third-tier" professional competition was launched by Rugby Australia.[9][7] Known as Super Rugby AUS, the competition consists of the four Australian Super Rugby teams: the Brumbies, the Force, the Reds and the Waratahs,[7][10] and its first season is scheduled to be played between September and October 2025 across four weeks.[7] The top two teams after three rounds compete in the Grand Final.[7][10]
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2025 Super Rugby AUS 
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