The
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
competition in
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 ...
, including teams from
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
Fiji
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
and the
Pacific Islands
The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...
and, in the past, from
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, is based on a "
franchise" system of teams. The original member countries – Australia, New Zealand and South Africa (until 2020) – all have several regional franchises, while the expansion countries – Argentina, Fiji, Japan and the Pacific Islands – have/had one franchise each. The article covers specific detail as to the areas covered by each Super Rugby team. Bold denotes stadiums that are current primary stadiums for the franchises.
Current franchise areas
Australia
Brumbies
The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005 to 2022 as simply the 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 inh ...
Force
In physics, a force is an influence that can cause an Physical object, object to change its velocity unless counterbalanced by other forces. In mechanics, force makes ideas like 'pushing' or 'pulling' mathematically precise. Because the Magnitu ...
The Australian Super Rugby franchises have evolved from traditional state and territory representative sides. For most of the history of rugby in Australia, the domestic game has been structured around
regional club competitions. The strongest of these are based in the state and territory capitals of Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra. During the amateur era prior to 1996, these competitions fed into the representative teams of New South Wales, Queensland and Australian Capital Territory, respectively, and those teams became Australia's three original Super Rugby franchises.
Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia had similar representative teams and club structures but the game was generally not as strong in those states due to
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
being the dominant code. Western Australia obtained the country's fourth franchise with the
Western Force
The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby, Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competitio ...
joining in 2006 and Victoria's
Melbourne Rebels
The Melbourne Rebels were an Australian professional rugby union team based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria that competed in the Super Rugby competition. The Rebels made their debut in SANZAAR, SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. T ...
joined in 2011 as the fifth franchise. At the end of 2017, however, the Western Force lost its licence and was removed from the competition because the
ARU decided to reduce the number of Australian teams in Super Rugby from five to four.
Since 1968, several
Australian provincial competitions were created that did not continue, including the Wallaby Trophy in the 1960s and 1970s and, more recently, the Ricoh National Championship,
APC and
ARC. The last continent-wide competition was the
NRC, which was launched as a national competition (like the Currie Cup and the ITM Cup) from 2014 to 2020.
As well as Australian teams signing players from regional club competitions many players are signed straight from schoolboy rugby with strong competitions such as Queensland's
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...
and New South Wales'
AAGPS
The Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (AAGPS) is a sporting association of boys' schools in New South Wales, Australia that contest sporting events among themselves. The AAGPS was formed on 30 March 1892, and to ...
providing a large number of professional players.
While Australian
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
teams do have general feeder areas, players from such areas can play for any side that offers them a contract. Examples include
James O'Connor playing for the
Western Force
The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby, Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competitio ...
having played school rugby in Queensland and
Matt Toomua playing for the
ACT Brumbies
The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005 to 2022 as simply the 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 brumby, feral horses wh ...
having also played school rugby in Queensland.
* Notes:
Former franchises
There are four regions that do not have a Super Rugby franchise.
All regions have provincial club competitions with a representative teams in the
Australian Rugby Shield, from 2000 to 2008, and in
NRC Division 2, from 2018 to 2020.
*
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
— a substantial market with Australian rules football as the main sport. Rugby Union South Australia had an arrangement with the
Melbourne Rebels
The Melbourne Rebels were an Australian professional rugby union team based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria that competed in the Super Rugby competition. The Rebels made their debut in SANZAAR, SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. T ...
for its players to be eligible for that franchise's academy team.
*
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
— a small market and not geographically concentrated. Australian rules football is the main football code.
*
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
— Australia's least populous state or territory, with no major league sporting teams based in it.
*
Victoria — formerly represented by the
Melbourne Rebels
The Melbourne Rebels were an Australian professional rugby union team based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria that competed in the Super Rugby competition. The Rebels made their debut in SANZAAR, SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. T ...
.
Super Rugby AU
Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
cancelling the shortened
2020 Super Rugby season
The 2020 Super Rugby season was the 25th season of Super Rugby, the international men's rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR involving teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It was the third tournament in i ...
, the
Western Force
The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby, Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competitio ...
returned to Super Rugby to participate in
Super Rugby AU
Super Rugby AU, formerly named the Harvey Norman Super Rugby AU for sponsorship purposes, was a rugby union competition organised by Rugby Australia. The competition was created to supplant the 2020 Super Rugby season, which had been suspended ...
. Since departing Super Rugby the team had been participating in
Global Rapid Rugby. The team was again confirmed in the
2021 Super Rugby AU season
The 2021 Super Rugby AU season (branded as Harvey Norman Super Rugby AU for sponsorship reasons) was a professional club rugby union tournament organised by Rugby Australia. Announced on 11 November 2020, the tournament was the second season of ...
.
Fiji
Fiji has a single franchise. It was included in
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
for the
2022 Super Rugby season
The 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season (known as Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific in Australia and DHL Super Rugby Pacific in New Zealand) is the 27th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from ...
and represents all of
Fiji Rugby Union
Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Fiji. It is divided into over 30 provincial unions. The Fiji Rugby Union is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA), along with Samoa and Tonga. There are ...
(FRU); the team consists of players from various teams that participate in the
Skipper Cup, represents the
Fiji
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
national side or
Fiji Sevens national side. Many of the players who represent the side have returned from stints internationally in Europe or elsewhere. In the past, Fiji has also a team in Australia's
National Rugby Championship
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 t ...
(NRC) and
Global Rapid Rugby.
For the 2022 season, the Drua were confirmed as being based in
Lennox Head, New South Wales
Lennox Head is a seaside village in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the stretch of coast between Byron Bay and Ballina in Ballina Shire local government area. It had a population of 7,741 in the 2016 Aust ...
, Australia due to travel restrictions as a consequence of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
New Zealand
Blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
Hurricanes
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...
Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

In New Zealand, each of the country's five Super Rugby teams are linked with several unions in the country's two domestic competitions, the professional
National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to:
* National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides
* National Provincial Championship (2006–present)
The National Provincial Championship (NP ...
and amateur
Heartland Championship
The Heartland Championship is an annual Round-robin tournament, round-robin rugby union competition in men's domestic Rugby union in New Zealand, New Zealand rugby. First played in 2006, it is the third highest level of List of rugby union comp ...
. For all practical purposes, all Super Rugby players will be drawn from the National Provincial Championship sides. The specific unions linked to each franchise are:
Super Rugby Aotearoa
Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
cancelling the shortened
2020 Super Rugby season
The 2020 Super Rugby season was the 25th season of Super Rugby, the international men's rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR involving teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It was the third tournament in i ...
, the
New Zealand Rugby Union
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it b ...
organized
Super Rugby Aotearoa
Super Rugby Aotearoa named the Sky Super Rugby Aotearoa for sponsorship purposes was a professional men's rugby union national club competition in New Zealand. Originally created to supplement the 2020 Super Rugby season, which was suspended due ...
with its 5 Super Rugby Franchises.
Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands have a single franchise, that is owned and operated by
New Zealand Rugby
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it b ...
. It was included in
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
for the
2022 Super Rugby season
The 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season (known as Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific in Australia and DHL Super Rugby Pacific in New Zealand) is the 27th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from ...
and represents all the Pacific Islands, and specifically
Rugby Samoa and the
Tonga Rugby Union along with
Cook Islands Rugby Union
The Cook Islands Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in the Cook Islands. It was founded in 1989 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1995.
The Cook Islands Rugby Union are also members of the Pacific Islands Rug ...
and
Niue Rugby Football Union. The team consists of players from various teams that participate in competitions in these countries such as the
Datec Cup Provincial Championship
The Datec Cup Provincial Championship is the highest level of rugby union football competition within Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which ...
,
Samoa National Provincial Championship and
Skipper Cup, represents one of these nations national side or sevens side. Many of the players who represent the side have returned from stints internationally in Europe or elsewhere, or play their rugby in Australia or New Zealand in competitions such as the
National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to:
* National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides
* National Provincial Championship (2006–present)
The National Provincial Championship (NP ...
,
Heartland Championship
The Heartland Championship is an annual Round-robin tournament, round-robin rugby union competition in men's domestic Rugby union in New Zealand, New Zealand rugby. First played in 2006, it is the third highest level of List of rugby union comp ...
,
Queensland Premier Rugby
Queensland Premier Rugby is a semi professional club rugby union competition in Queensland, Australia. Nine clubs play in the competition, eight clubs are from Brisbane, and one club is from Gold Coast.The premiership has been contested in i ...
or
Shute Shield. The Pacific Islands have had previous representative teams in
Global Rapid Rugby and also competed internationally as the
Pacific Islanders rugby union team
The Pacific Islanders was a combined international rugby union team that played from 2004 to 2008. It represented Fiji national rugby union team, Fiji, Samoa national rugby union team, Samoa and Tonga national rugby union team, Tonga; Niue Rugby Un ...
and had a number of teams who competed in the
World Rugby Pacific Challenge
The World Rugby Pacific Challenge, formerly the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup, is an annual rugby union football tournament held in Oceania since 2006. It is contested by national 'A' teams (formed from the best locally based players, with most not alre ...
.
The team will be based in
South Auckland
South Auckland ( or ) is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. The area is south of the Auckland isthmus, and on the eastern shores of the Manukau Harbour. The area has been populated by Tāmaki M� ...
, New Zealand.
Former franchise areas
Argentina (2016–2020)
Argentina had a single franchise, which participated in the South African Conference. It was included in
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
for the
2016 Super Rugby season
The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Ar ...
and represents all of
Argentine Rugby Union
The Argentine Rugby Union (, abbreviated "UAR") is the governing body for rugby union in Argentina. It is a member of World Rugby, with a seat on that body's Executive Council, and a founding member of Sudamérica Rugby.
The UAR organises all the ...
; the team consists of players from various teams that participate in the
Nacional de Clubes
The Torneo Nacional de Clubes is a club rugby union competition in Argentina, organised by the Argentine Rugby Union (UAR). The Nacional de Clubes is the main club competition in Argentine rugby, being contested by a total of 16 teams, 8 from Bue ...
, which involves clubs from
URBA and from the
Torneo del Interior
The Torneo del Interior A is an annual rugby union competition in Argentina. The competition involves clubs from all provincial unions outside Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires. Teams qualify from different tournaments along the pro ...
. Argentina has also a team in South African's
Currie Cup
The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...
and
Súper Liga Americana de Rugby. The Jaguares weren't named in a Super Rugby tournament for the
2021 season
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
and won't compete in 2021.
Japan (2016–2020)
Sunwolves
The Sunwolves ( Japanese: ) – previously known as the HITO-Communications Sunwolves for sponsorship reasons – were a professional rugby union team and Japan's representative team in SANZAAR's international Super Rugby competition. The team w ...
Japan had a single franchise called the , which participates in the Australian Conference. It was included in
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
for the
2016 Super Rugby season
The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Ar ...
and represented all of
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
and its major rugby club competition, the
Top League
Japan Rugby League One (), formerly known as the Top League (), is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by ...
from 2016 to 2020.
In March 2019, it was announced that
2020
The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
would be the final season for the Sunwolves after failing to negotiate a contract due to financial considerations.
South Africa (1996–2020)

South Africa operated its Super Rugby system in basically the same manner as in New Zealand, with each franchise linked with one or more unions in the country's domestic competition, the
Currie Cup
The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...
and the
Vodacom Cup
The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vodacom Cup competitions were played between its inaugural season in 1998 and 2015 and was contested between February and May each year. The Vodacom Cup was the succes ...
(its development competition). During the
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
and
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
Super 12 seasons, South Africa entered their 4 top finishers in the previous season's Currie Cup. The franchises were created for the
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
season.
The country had five franchises. The four teams from the Super 12 era—the Bulls, Cats (now the Lions), Sharks and Stormers—were joined in 2006 by the Cheetahs. Their identities are largely based around the 5 traditional powers of the Currie Cup competition; the
Blue Bulls
The Blue Bulls (), known for sponsorship reasons as the Vodacom Blue Bulls, is a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament and the United Rugby Championship. They are governed by their second team t ...
,
Golden Lions
The Golden Lions (), currently known as the Fidelity ADT Golden Lions for sponsorship reasons, are a South African professional rugby union team based in Johannesburg who compete in the annual Currie Cup.
The team is governed by the Golden ...
,
Sharks
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...
,
Western Province
Western Province or West Province may refer to:
*Western Province, Cameroon
*Western Province, Rwanda
*Western Province (Kenya)
*Western Province (Papua New Guinea)
*Western Province (Solomon Islands)
*Western Province, Sri Lanka
*Western Provinc ...
and
Free State Cheetahs
The Free State Cheetahs (), formerly known as Orange Free State (), currently named the Toyota Free State Cheetahs due to sponsorship reasons, are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. They are ...
respectively. In 2013, 2016 and 2017, South Africa had another team, Southern Kings, expression of Currie Cup's team, . For 2020, the Griquas and Pumas joined for the
Super Rugby Unlocked
Super Rugby Unlocked (known as Vodacom Super Rugby Unlocked for sponsorship reasons) was a professional rugby union competition played in South Africa from 10 October to 21 November 2020. Sponsored by communications company Vodacom, the tourname ...
competition. In September 2020, South African Rugby announced their plan to leave Super Rugby at the end of 2020.
The franchises that represented South Africa in Super Rugby were:
South African side reduction
Following SANZAAR's decision to reduce the number of teams for 2018 from six to four, the
South African Rugby Union
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to World Rugby. It was established in 1992 as the South African Rugby Football Union, from the merger of the South African Rugby Board ...
announced that the
Cheetahs
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat and the fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, with a short snout and blac ...
and
Southern Kings
The Southern Kings were a South African professional rugby union team that competed in Super Rugby and Pro14. They were based in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape province and played their home matches at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. They w ...
would be the teams cut from the 2018 competition. Instead, the Cheetahs and Southern Kings joined the previously-northern hemisphere
Pro14
The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...
competition from ahead of the
2017–18 Pro14
The 2017–18 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the seventeenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Pro14, Celtic League. It is the first season to be referred to as t ...
season.
Super Rugby Unlocked
Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
cancelling the
2020 Super Rugby season
The 2020 Super Rugby season was the 25th season of Super Rugby, the international men's rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR involving teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It was the third tournament in i ...
, the
Cheetahs
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat and the fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, with a short snout and blac ...
returned to Super Rugby to play in the
Super Rugby Unlocked
Super Rugby Unlocked (known as Vodacom Super Rugby Unlocked for sponsorship reasons) was a professional rugby union competition played in South Africa from 10 October to 21 November 2020. Sponsored by communications company Vodacom, the tourname ...
competition. They will be joined in the competition by
Griquas
The Griquas are a subgroup of mixed-race heterogeneous formerly-Xiri-speaking nations in South Africa with a unique origin in the early history of the Dutch Cape Colony. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Comm ...
and
Pumas who will be playing in their first Super Rugby affiliated competition.
Southern and Eastern Cape Region Franchise
The proposed sixth team were supposed to be entrenched in the 2007 and 2008 Super 14 seasons and were to draw from the Southern and Eastern Cape Region (SEC) and based in
Port Elizabeth
Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...
. They became a major bone of contention in South African rugby, when it was proposed originally, that the entry of the Spears would mean a promotion/relegation system would be put in place in 2006 to determine which team would not participate in the following season's Super 14. The entrenchment of the Spears proved highly controversial; after allegations of financial mismanagement and poor results against other South African sides, the
South African Rugby Union
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to World Rugby. It was established in 1992 as the South African Rugby Football Union, from the merger of the South African Rugby Board ...
(SARU) decided on 19 April 2006 to scrap its original plan to admit the Spears in 2007.
The
High Court of South Africa
The High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law in South Africa. It is divided into nine provinces of South Africa, provincial divisions, some of which sit in more than one location. Each High Court division has general jurisdiction ov ...
gave the Spears a potential reprieve in August 2006 when it ruled that the Spears had a valid contract with SARU and its commercial arm, SA Rugby, to enter both the Currie Cup and Super 14. Both the SARU and SA Rugby planned to appeal this decision. In November 2006, all parties involved reached a settlement; the Spears dropped their suit and abandoned any attempts to enter the Super 14.
Since the Spears never joined Super Rugby, the SARU and SA Rugby had to determine how to reincorporate players from the Spears region to the other franchises. In January 2009, the SARU announced that a new SEC franchise, also to be based in Port Elizabeth, would be launched in June 2009 to coincide with the arrival of the
British & Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...
for
a midweek tour match in the city. The franchise, a joint venture between the
Eastern Province and
Border
Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
unions, was created with the goal of an eventual place in Super Rugby, although the entry date was uncertain, pending agreement with the other
SANZAR partners. SARU also confirmed that the franchise would not assume the Southern Spears name;
the team was later announced as the Southern Kings.
The
Southern Kings
The Southern Kings were a South African professional rugby union team that competed in Super Rugby and Pro14. They were based in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape province and played their home matches at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. They w ...
were confirmed to be drawing from the Spears' former area with the announcement of their inaugural squad in 2009. Most of the players in the Kings' debut match against the British & Irish Lions were affiliated with the team's co-owners, the Border and Eastern Province unions (the latter being the operators of the ), but South Western Districts (operators of the
Eagles
Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
) were also involved. The inaugural Kings side also included players from the provinces of Western Province and Boland within the
Stormers
The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) and the academic team DHL Stormers is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a tra ...
' area.
On 27 January 2012, it was confirmed that the
Southern Kings
The Southern Kings were a South African professional rugby union team that competed in Super Rugby and Pro14. They were based in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape province and played their home matches at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. They w ...
would join Super Rugby in 2013.
It was confirmed that they would replace the Lions as South Africa's fifth club. After playing just a single season, the Lions returned in 2014 and 2015, before a further Super Rugby expansion saw the Kings being included on a permanent basis between
2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
and
2017
2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly.
Events January
* January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
.
References
See also
*
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
*
Rugby union in Argentina
*
Rugby union in Australia
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 Australian Capital Territory, ACT ...
*
Rugby union in Fiji
Rugby union in Fiji is a popular team sport and is considered to be the national sport of the country. The sport was introduced to Fiji in the 1880s. Fiji is defined as a tier two rugby nation by World Rugby. The national team has competed at the ...
*
Rugby union in Japan
Rugby union in Japan is a moderately popular sport. Japan has the fourth largest population of rugby union players in the world and the sport has been played there for over a century. There are 125,000 Japanese rugby players, 3,631 official rugby ...
*
Rugby union in New Zealand
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Rugby union in South Africa
Rugby union in South Africa is a highly popular team sport, along with Cricket in South Africa, cricket and Soccer in South Africa, soccer, and is widely played all over the country. The Springboks, national team is among the strongest in the ...
External links
Official SANZAR Super Rugby website
{{Super Rugby
Super Rugby