The Tel Aviv Heat () is the first professional

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

team. Based in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, the team competed annually in the

Rugby Europe Super Cup The Rugby Europe Super Cup is an annual men's rugby union club tournament organised by the continental governing body, Rugby Europe. Featuring clubs outside the traditional Six Nations strongholds of the sport, it effectively forms a third tier ...

until 2023. The team is also called the Israeli Springboks, on account of the number of South Africans in the team and have also been described as 'the world's most diverse rugby team'.

History

Tel Aviv Heat were formed in 2021 to play in the 2021–22 Rugby Europe Super Cup. The

was open initially for the seven highest-ranked countries below the Six Nations, other Unions were given the opportunity to bid for an eighth ‘wild card’ slot, which the Israel Rugby Union submitted a formal bid for in December 2020. Having won that slot in March 2021, a founding team was put together to build a professional franchise from scratch. Kevin Musikanth was named as the team’s first Director of Rugby and Head Coach for the inaugural season of the

. In their first season Tel Aviv finished 3rd in the Eastern Conference of the competition, however due to the disqualification on Yenisey-STM, Tel Aviv Heat advanced to the semi-finals, losing to the Western Conference winners Lusitanos XV, 42–26 in Lisbon. In 2022 Tel Aviv began the season with a win over the Romanian Wolves in their inaugural Super Cup season. Tel Aviv came 2nd in the Eastern Conference winning four, drawing one and losing one. They once again faced the Lusitanos XV in the semi-final, this time winning 30–22 in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. However they lost against Black Lion in the final. In August 2022 Tel Aviv Heat were invited to join the South African Mzansi Challenge competition, however due to pressure from stakeholders SARU made the decision to withdraw their invitation in February 2023. A partnership with the French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

club

Stade Français Stade Français Paris (known commonly as Stade Français, ) is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French ...

was announced in May 2023, where both teams exchange training methods and organize friendly matches. In the 2023 Rugby Europe Super Cup, Tel Aviv Heat were second in Group A, despite playing their games away from home due to the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

and winning the semi-final against the Romanian Wolves 31–6 in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. Once again they played the Black Lion's in the final with the Georgian franchise winning 27–17 in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

. Tel Aviv Heat have withdrawn from the 2024 competition due to ″various logistical elements″.

Wins against Tier 1 pro teams

After the pool stage of the 2022 Rugby Europe Super Cup, Tel Aviv Heat played a friendly against the English Premiership side

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

Players

Current squad

Notable players

Internationals

Semi Kunatani Semi Kunabuli Kunatani (born 27 October 1990) is a Fiji rugby union player. He plays for the Fiji sevens team and also the Tel Aviv Heat. He previously played for Top 14 side Castres and Top 14 side, Stade Toulousain and Premiership Rugby side ...

(

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup () was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening matc ...

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

) * Nitzan Reizel * Jared Michael Sichel * Misha Eli * Yotam Shulman * Yiftach Engel * Omer Levinson * Gilad Vardi * Idan Eisenberg * Ori Abutbul * Yahel Rozilio * Jared Sichel * Mayaan Shaked * Dan Stein * Prince !Gaoseb (

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup () was the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national rugby union teams. It took place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the country. The opening game ...

) * Max Katjijeko (

) * Gerswin Mouton (

) * Lesley Klim * Renaldo Bothma * Obert Nortje * Nazir Gasanov *

Jamba Ulengo Jamba Isaac Ulengo (born 7 January 1990) is a South African rugby union player for the Tel Aviv Heat, which competes annually in the Rugby Europe Super Cup. His regular position is wing. Career Youth and Varsity Cup rugby He was chosen to r ...

(

2013 World Games The 2013 World Games (), the ninth World Games, were an international multi-sport event held in the city of Cali, Colombia, from July 25 to August 4. It is the first edition of the World Games to be held in South America. Host city allocation hi ...

)

Honours

Major honours

** ''Runner-up'': (2) 2022, 2023

Friendly and Sevens

* Rugby Town Sevens Plate ** ''Runner-up'': 2023

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tel Aviv Heat 2021 establishments in Israel Rugby clubs established in 2021 Rugby Europe Super Cup Rugby union teams in Israel Sport in Tel Aviv