The Super Rugby Trophy is a

sterling silver Sterling silver is an alloy composed mass fraction (chemistry), by weight of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver silver standards, standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925. ''Fineness, Fine silver'' ...

trophy awarded to the winner of 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 ...

, a rugby union competition, final. It is a rotating trophy, held only during the offseason and returned to the competition organisers in time for it to be awarded to the next season's champions.

Original trophy

Jens Hansen of

Nelson, New Zealand Nelson () is a List of cities in New Zealand, city and Districts of New Zealand, unitary authority on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay at the top of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the oldest city in the South Island and the second-old ...

, made the original trophy by hand, and it was first awarded to the

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 ...

after winning the 2006 Super 14 Final. The same workshop made the

gold ring Gold ring may refer to: * ''The Gold Ring''; A group (ring) of conspirators who manipulated the U.S. gold market on September 24, 1869, aka Black Friday * Gold Ring, an Arabic comic * Gold ring of Pietroassa * Wedding ring * Engagement ring See ...

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...

's ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy. Three different silversmiths constructed the trophy. This required soldering together a number of silver sheets as well as sanding, buffing and polishing. The trophy is 49 cm high and weighs 2.7 kg. The trophy was unveiled in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

for the first time on Tuesday, 7 February 2006. The public was able to view the trophy for the first time on 10 February when the

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 ...

played the

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 ...

in the Super 14's opening match in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. The

2006 Super 14 season The 2006 Super 14 season started on 10 February 2006. The Grand Final was held on 27 May 2006. Super 14 is a provincial rugby union competition with 14 teams from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. This season was the first of the expansion, ...

was the first season that the trophy was used.

2011 trophy

In 2011, a new trophy was announced that featured the Super 14 logo on a globe, itself on a four-sided twisted spiral. Fraser Holland, 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 ...

sponsorship and marketing manager, oversaw the construction of the trophy. On 30 June 2011, SANZAR unveiled the new trophy which would first be awarded to the winners of the

final scheduled for Saturday, 9 July 2011. The trophy was crafted from solid stainless steel and polished to a mirror finish. It has a height of 65 cm and a mass of 18 kilograms and was designed by the company responsible for the 2000 Olympic Torch, Blue Sky Design of Sydney. The three curved legs, represent the Conferences involved in the Super Rugby competition, and the colour on each leg corresponds to the Conferences with gold for Australia, black for New Zealand, and green for South Africa.

References

External links

XtraMSN article on the Super 14 Trophy
{{Super Rugby Super Rugby Rugby union trophies and awards

Original trophy

2011 trophy

See also

References

External links