Super Rugby is one of the world's finest rugby union competitions. This competition has had a fascinating history from its inception, featuring teams from Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Here, we'll look at how the idea of creating an international rugby competition when from an idea in the 1980s to the tournament we know today.
The Early Days: Rugby Competitions Before Super Rugby
Before Super Rugby was even a thing, most rugby union competitions in the southern hemisphere were domestic, with regional and provincial rivalries.
Teams from New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa all competed in national tournaments. Still, there wasn't a structured international club-level competition.
Previously, New Zealand's National Provincial Championship (NPC) was established in 1976 and featured regional teams like Auckland, Waikato, Wellington, and Otago.
In Australia, Rugby focused mainly on the annual Australian Rugby Championship where Queensland and New South Wales dominated.
Super Rugby evolved from domestic rugby competitions in New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa, with early international experiments like the South Pacific Championship paving the way for its creation.
In South Africa, the Currie Cup was the premier rugby union competition and had been going since 1891.
At this time, the only international rugby played was test matches between national teams, and there was little chance of international club competition.
The South Pacific Championship in the mid-1980s featured teams from New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji. Still, a unified competition with more structure was needed.
1992-1995: Super 6 and Super 10
The Super 6 tournament began in 1992 and featured teams from New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji. The original six teams were:
- Auckland (New Zealand)
- Canterbury (New Zealand)
- Wellington (New Zealand)
- Queensland (Australia)
- New South Wales (Australia)
- Fiji national team
In 1993, the tournament became the Super 10, adding South African teams like Natal, Transvaal, Northern Transvaal, and Western Province.
During this period, teams like the Queensland Reds, Sharks, and Blues started to make their mark. The tournament laid the groundwork for a broader format by showcasing the potential of international club rugby in the southern hemisphere.
1996: The Launch of Super 12 and the Professional Era
1996 was a key year for the competition as it marked the start of the professional era. In keeping with the naming used so far, the competition was renamed Super 12.
Now, Super 12 brought together the best teams from New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa under a single unified and professionally managed competition.
Governed by SANZAR (South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia Rugby), the Super 12 quickly became a globally recognised competition.
The introduction of Super 12 in 1996 marked the professional era of rugby, uniting top teams from New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa under SANZAR’s governance.
Traditionally, rugby union had been an amateur sport, but following the success of the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, the commercial potential of the sport was evident.
With increased sponsorship opportunities, SANZAR was formed in 1996 to manage the new professional competitions, including Super 12 and the Tri-Nations test series, which included South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia.
At this point, the tournament featured:
- New Zealand (5 Teams):
- Auckland Blues
- Waikato Chiefs
- Wellington Hurricanes
- Canterbury Crusaders
- Otago Highlanders
- Australia (3 Teams):
- Queensland Reds
- New South Wales Waratahs
- ACT Brumbies
- South Africa (4 Teams):
- Northern Transvaal (now Bulls)
- Natal Sharks
- Western Province (now Stormers)
- Transvaal (now Lions)
Each team played 11 matches during the regular season, facing each other once. The top four teams advanced to the semi-finals, and the winners of these would compete in the grand final to decide the champion.
Super 12: The New Zealand Dominance
For the early years of Super 12, New Zealand teams dominated.
The Auckland Blues asserted their dominance in 1996 with rugby legends like Zinzan Brooke, Michael Jones, and the talented playmaker Carlos Spencer. The Blues defeated the Natal Sharks at Eden Park in the 1996 final and were crowned the first-ever Super 12 champions.
In 1997, they repeated this feat, triumphing over the ACT Brumbies 23-7, becoming the main team in the competition's formative years.
The Canterbury Crusaders would then become a Super Rugby dynasty. Though Canterbury finished last in the 1996 season, things turned around thanks to the efforts of players like Todd Blackadder, Andrew Mehrtens, and later, Richie McCaw and Dan Carter.
For a decade, New Zealand was at the forefront of club rugby, displaying skill, physicality, and tactical brilliance that defined how rugby was played and appreciated around the world.
Super 14: Expanding Horizons (2006-2010)
After a decade of the 12-team format, the Super 12 expanded, becoming Super 14. This format ran between 2006 and 2010 after SANZAR added a new team from Australia and South Africa.
The Perth-based Western Force was added to develop rugby in a part of Australia that was certainly an Australian Rules-dominated part of the country.
The Cheetahs, representing the Free State province of South Africa, meant that the country now had five teams participating in the tournament.
In its expanded format, each team now played 13 matches during the regular season to ensure they faced every other team once. The semi-final and grand-final structure remained the same.
That said, New Zealand teams still tended to dominate, though South African teams, particularly the Bulls, did grow stronger.
Australian teams had mixed fortunes. The Brumbies and Waratahs remained competitive, while the Western Force struggled to establish itself.
2011-2015: Super 15: A New Format
The competition expanded from 14 to 15 teams in 2011 with the inclusion of the Melbourne Rebels from Victoria, Australia.
This was another attempt to develop rugby in Australia's “footy” strongholds since Victoria is an Australian Rules Football heartland.
Though the Rebels didn't have on-field success, they did help develop a fanbase and establish Melbourne as a viable rugby market.
With 15 teams, a new conference system was introduced to streamline scheduling. The three regional conferences were:
- New Zealand Conference (5 Teams):
- Blues
- Chiefs
- Crusaders
- Highlanders
- Hurricanes
- Australia Conference (5 Teams):
- Brumbies
- Melbourne Rebels
- Queensland Reds
- New South Wales Waratahs
- Western Force
- South Africa Conference (5 Teams):
- Bulls
- Cheetahs
- Lions
- Sharks
- Stormers
Now, each team played 16 regular-season matches, playing their conference rivals both home and away for 8 matches. They then faced four teams from each of the other conferences for 8 inter-conference matches.
The top team from each conference advanced to the playoffs, and the next three highest-ranked teams, regardless of conference, were also added to the playoffs.
Super 18: The Overextension (2016-2017)
In 2016, the Super Rugby competition ambitiously expanded to feature 18 teams in an attempt to globalise it while tapping into emerging rugby markets.
The competition added the Tokyo-based Sunwolves, Asia's first Super Rugby team. This was an attempt to grow rugby in Japan before the 2019 Rugby World Cup. However, the Sunwolves struggled.
The Jaguares from Buenos Aires were another expansion team from a new country. The team included some of Argentina's top players, many of whom already played for the national side.
The final expansion team was the Southern Kinds from South Africa's Eastern Cape region. The team struggled to compete effectively.
With the expansion, the teams were put into four conferences:
Australasian Group (Two Conferences)
- Australia Conference:
- Brumbies
- Rebels
- Reds
- Waratahs
- Western Force
- New Zealand Conference:
- Blues
- Chiefs
- Crusaders
- Highlanders
- Hurricanes
South African Group (Two Conferences)
- Africa 1 Conference:
- Bulls
- Stormers
- Cheetahs
- Sunwolves
- Africa 2 Conference:
- Lions
- Sharks
- Jaguares
- Kings
In the new format, the top team from each conference advanced to the playoffs, and the next four highest-ranking teams across the groups also advanced.
Players, fans, and analysts criticised the new format, and the ultimate dilution of quality and logistical strain on the teams led to unfair competition, financial struggles, and fans growing weary of it.
Super Rugby’s ambitious expansion to 18 teams, including the Sunwolves and Jaguares, strained logistics and quality, ultimately leading to a return to a streamlined 15-team format.
2018-2019: The Return to 15 Teams
Super 18 was clearly a failure, so Super Rugby was streamlined back to 15 teams to ensure the competition's sustainability and stability.
However, the three teams removed from the competition weren't the three added as part of the Super 18 expansion.
Instead, Western Force (Australia), Cheetahs (South Africa), and Southern Kings (South Africa) were all removed from the competition, and the format returned to a structure similar to the one used from 2011 to 2015.
There were now three conferences:
- New Zealand Conference
- Blues
- Chiefs
- Crusaders
- Highlanders
- Hurricanes
- Australian Conference
- Brumbies
- Melbourne Rebels
- Queensland Reds
- New South Wales Waratahs
- Sunwolves
- South African Conference
- Bulls
- Lions
- Sharks
- Stormers
- Jaguares
Every team now played 16 regular-season matches, 8 home and away matches against conference rivals, and 8 inter-conference matches.
The top team from each conference qualified automatically for the playoffs, and then the next five highest-ranked teams from any conference made the playoffs.
2020-2021: Super Rugby and the COVID-19 Era
In 2020, the Super Rugby season began in February as planned with the 15-team format. However, the season was suspended in March following travel restrictions and the closing of international borders and the best players had no means to play international club rugby.
The original format was cancelled, and temporary domestic tournaments were run, including Super Rugby Aotearoa in New Zealand, Super Rugby AU in Australia, and Super Rugby Unlocked in South Africa. In 2021, the regional tournaments continued.
2022-Present: Super Rugby After COVID
In 2022, Super Rugby Pacific was introduced, with a format prioritising the Pacific Region. It now features teams from New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific Islands, making the tournament more geographically coherent and financially stable.
Super Rugby Pacific focuses on New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific Islands, creating a geographically cohesive and financially sustainable competition post-COVID.
Some of the teams from South Africa joined European rugby club competitions. At the same time, the Jaguares effectively disbanded, and Argentina focused on its domestic league (SLAR) and the national team development.
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