Current season, competition or edition: 2023 Super W season | |
Sport | Rugby union |
---|---|
Founded | 2018 |
Inaugural season | 2018 |
No. of teams | 6 |
Country | Australia (5 teams) Fiji (1 team) |
Most recent champion(s) | Fijiana Drua (2023) |
Most titles | NSW Waratahs (4 titles) |
TV partner(s) | Stan Sport Nine Network |
The Super W is a women's rugby union competition held in Australia. The inaugural season was in 2018, [1] when it replaced the former National Women's Rugby Championship. The NSW Waratahs are the most successful team so far, having won four titles [update] .
Six women's rugby teams compete in the Super W:
Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | First season |
---|---|---|---|---|
Brumbies | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory | Canberra Stadium | 25,011 | 2018 |
Melbourne Rebels | Melbourne, Victoria | Melbourne Rectangular Stadium Box Hill Rugby Club | 30,050 17,500 | 2018 |
NSW Waratahs | Sydney, New South Wales | Sydney Football Stadium Pittwater Park | 45,000 3,000 | 2018 |
Queensland Reds | Brisbane, Queensland | Ballymore Stadium Lang Park | 23,000 52,500 | 2018 |
Western Force | Perth, Western Australia | Harvey Field Kingsway Reserve | 8,000 22,000 | 2018 |
Fijiana Drua | Gold Coast, Queensland | Robina Stadium | 27,000 27,000 | 2022 |
Year | No. of Teams | Final | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Winners | Score | Runners-up | ||
2018 | 5 | New South Wales Waratahs | 16–13 | Queensland Reds |
2019 | 5 | New South Wales Waratahs | 8–5 | Queensland Reds |
2020 | 5 | New South Wales Waratahs | round-robin [lower-alpha 1] | Queensland Reds |
2021 | 6 | New South Wales Waratahs | 45–12 | Queensland Reds |
2022 | 6 | Fijiana Drua | 32–26 | New South Wales Waratahs |
2023 | 6 | Fijiana Drua | 38–30 | Queensland Reds |
Rank | Team | Championships | Runners-up | Third | Fourth |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | NSW Waratahs | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2 | Fijiana Drua | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
3 | Queensland Reds | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
4 | Brumbies | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
5 | Western Force [lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
6 | Melbourne Rebels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
7 | President's XV | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
For the inaugural season, the teams' playing lists were constructed from scratch throughout the later stages of 2018.
Clubs were asked to nominate a list of desired players, with the Super W assigning two of these "marquee" players to each club. In addition, clubs were able to sign a number of players with existing connections to the club, or with arrangements for club sponsored work or study.
All participants are required to be 17 years of age or older.
During the 2020 season all matches were televised live by affiliate partners Fox Sports. Following Rugby Australia's broadcast deal with Nine Network, all games will be broadcast on streaming service Stan Sport, with one game a round being simulcast on Nine's flagship free to air channel. [2]
All matches are streamed live by Stan Sport.
Buildcorp is the league's naming rights partner. [3] Gilbert is the official supplier of all rugby balls.
Official match day attire together with other club merchandise is sold through the Super W's stores and website as well through the clubs and through some retailers.
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 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).
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 Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by fifteen teams, thirteen of which are based in Queensland, with one based in New South Wales and one in Central Province, Papua New Guinea.
The Shute Shield, known as the Charter Hall Shute Shield, is a semi-professional rugby union competition in Sydney, Australia. It is the premier club competition in New South Wales. The Shute Shield is awarded to the winning team from the Sydney premiership grand final held at the end of the club rugby season.
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.
Rugby union in Victoria describes the sport of rugby union being played and watched in the state of Victoria in Australia. The code was first introduced some time between the 1850s and 1880s but remained a minor sport played primarily in the private schools and amongst interstate expats. This has changed, particularly since the professionalisation of the game in the mid 1990s.
The National Rugby Championship, known as NRC, was an Australian rugby union competition. It was contested by eight teams, seven from Australia and one from Fiji. The tournament ran from 2014 until 2019 before being disbanded in 2020 following the change of the Australian rugby TV broadcasting deal from Fox Sports, who had funded the competition, to Stan Sport. The 2020 competition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jake Gordon is an Australian rugby union player who plays for Super Rugby franchise New South Wales Waratahs, and the Wallabies.
Zahara Temara is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a halfback for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL Women's Premiership and the Burleigh Bears in the QRL Women's Premiership.
The 2019 Super W season was the second year of the women's Super W rugby union competition held in Australia. A change to the finals format was made in 2019 with an additional playoff match added for the teams which finished second and third in regular season. Queensland, as winner of that match over the Brumbies, travelled to Sydney to play in the competition decider against the NSW Waratahs, who were hosts of the final due to finishing top of the ladder in the regular season. The 2019 Super W title was won by NSW Waratahs, defeating Queensland by 8–5 in the final.
Kennedy Cherrington is an Australian rugby league and rugby union footballer who plays as a prop for Parramatta Eels in the NRL Women's Premiership and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NSWRL Women's Premiership.
Grace Hamilton is an Australian rugby union and rugby league footballer who captains the Australia Wallaroos and the NSW Waratahs in the Super W.
Georgina Friedrichs is an Australian rugby sevens and union player. She has represented Australia in sevens and fifteens internationally, and competed at the 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. She also plays for the NSW Waratahs in the Super W competition.
The 2020 Super W season was the third edition of the women's Super W competition in Australia. The playoff and final were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NSW Waratahs were dubbed champions after an undefeated season.
The 2021 Super W season had a different format to previous seasons. With the inclusion of the President's XV, teams were split into two pools of three. This format however was only for the 2021 season. The competition will revert to the usual home and away format in 2022. After the first round of the season the Western Force withdrew from the competition due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in New South Wales. NSW Waratahs won their fourth consecutive Super W title after defeating Queensland 45 - 12 in the final. A Super W Select team played the Presidents XV in the finals, they replaced the Western Force. The Super W Select were only given 48 hours to prepare.
Michaela Croal Leonard is an Australian rugby union player. She plays at Lock for the Wallaroos and competed at the recent Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. She previously played for the Brumbies before joining the Western Force in the Super W competition. She has also played for Exeter Chiefs and Matatū.
Arabella "Bella" McKenzie is an Australian rugby union player. She made her international debut for Australia against Japan in 2019.
The Queensland Reds Women, or Queensland Reds (Super W), are an Australian women's rugby union team based in Brisbane, Queensland that compete in the annual Super W competition. A female rugby union competition, is considered to be the female equivalent of the Super Rugby, however only holds Australian teams (until 2022). New Zealand holds a similar competition, the Super Rugby Aupiki.
The New South Wales Waratahs Women are an Australian rugby union team that represents New South Wales in the Super W competition. They are the most successful team so far, having won four titles.