Super Rugby facts for kids
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| Formerly | Super 12 (1996–2005) Super 14 (2006–2010) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Rugby Union |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Inaugural season | 1996 |
| Owner(s) | SANZAAR |
| CEO | Jack Mesley |
| No. of teams | 11 |
| Country | Australia (4 teams) Fiji (1 team) New Zealand (5 teams) Pacific Islands (1 team) Former: South Africa (8 teams) Argentina (1 team) Japan (1 team) Australia (1 team) |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Crusaders (2025, 13th title) |
| Most titles | Crusaders (13 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation National Broadcasting Corporation Sky Sport (Sky Open) Stan Sport (Nine Network) International: Canal+ Digicel (Pacific Islands) ESPN FloSports Premier Sports Asia Sky Italia Sky Sports SuperSport TSN Wowow |
| Sponsor(s) | SMARTECH Business Systems DHL Harvey Norman Shop N Save Supermarket |
| Related competitions |
Women's Competitions Super Rugby Women's Super Rugby Aupiki COVID-19 Regional Competitions: Super Rugby Aotearoa Super Rugby AU Super Rugby Trans-Tasman Super Rugby Unlocked |
| Official website | super.rugby |
Super Rugby is a professional men's rugby union competition for club teams. It features teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and a team representing the Pacific Islands. In the past, teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa also played in the tournament.
The competition began in 1996 as the Super 12, with 12 teams from Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. It was created by an organization called SANZAAR right after rugby union allowed players to be paid professionally in 1995.
The tournament has changed its name and size over the years. It became Super 14 in 2006, then just Super Rugby in 2011 as more teams joined. After the COVID-19 pandemic caused major travel problems, the competition was changed. Since 2022, it has been known as Super Rugby Pacific and focuses on teams from the Pacific region.
New Zealand teams have been the most successful, winning the title 21 times. The Crusaders from Christchurch, New Zealand, have won the most championships with 13 titles.
Contents
History of Super Rugby
Early Days: Super 6 and Super 10
Before Super Rugby, there were other competitions between teams from different countries in the Southern Hemisphere. In 1992, a tournament called the Super 6 started. It had teams from New Zealand, Australia, and the national team of Fiji.
In 1993, this grew into the Super 10 when teams from South Africa were able to join international sports again. This tournament was a big step towards the Super Rugby we know today.
| Season | Champions |
|---|---|
| 1993 | Transvaal |
| 1994 | Queensland |
| 1995 | Queensland |
The Professional Era: Super 12
In 1995, rugby union became a professional sport, meaning players could be paid. This led to the creation of the Super 12 in 1996. It was a huge new tournament with five teams from New Zealand, four from South Africa, and three from Australia.
The Auckland Blues won the first two titles in 1996 and 1997. But then, the Crusaders began a period of dominance, winning three championships in a row from 1998 to 2000. The Super 12 era lasted for ten seasons and was very popular with fans.
Getting Bigger: Super 14 and Super Rugby
In 2006, the competition expanded to include two new teams: the Western Force from Australia and the Cheetahs from South Africa. The tournament was renamed Super 14. During this time, the Bulls from South Africa and the Crusaders were the top teams.
In 2011, the competition grew again to 15 teams and was rebranded as Super Rugby. A few years later, in 2016, it expanded to 18 teams, with the Jaguares from Argentina and the Sunwolves from Japan joining. This was the biggest the competition ever got.
Big Changes and Super Rugby Pacific
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 stopped the season. Because teams couldn't travel between countries, Australia and New Zealand created their own separate tournaments: Super Rugby AU and Super Rugby Aotearoa.
This led to big changes. In 2020, the South African teams decided to leave Super Rugby to join a European competition. The Argentinian and Japanese teams also left.
In 2022, a new 12-team tournament called Super Rugby Pacific was launched. It brought back the five teams from Australia and five from New Zealand. They were joined by two new exciting teams: the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika, a team representing Pacific Island nations like Samoa and Tonga.
How the Competition Works
Tournament Format
In the current Super Rugby Pacific format, all 12 teams play each other once during the regular season. This is called a round-robin. Teams also play a few extra "rivalry" games against teams from their own region.
At the end of the regular season, the top eight teams on the overall points table move on to the playoffs. The playoffs are a knockout stage with quarter-finals, semi-finals, and a Grand Final to decide the champion.
Earning Points
Teams get points during the regular season to decide their ranking.
- 4 points for a win.
- 2 points for a draw.
- 1 bonus point for scoring three or more tries than the other team.
- 1 bonus point for losing a match by 7 points or fewer.
These bonus points make games exciting because teams will keep trying to score tries or defend hard, even if they are about to lose.
The Teams
There are currently eleven teams in Super Rugby Pacific. New Zealand has five teams, Australia has four, and there is one team from Fiji and one representing the Pacific Islands.
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| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity | First season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Blues |
Auckland, Auckland Region | Eden Park | 50,000 | 1996 |
 Brumbies |
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory | GIO Stadium | 25,011 | 1996 |
| Chiefs |
Hamilton, Waikato | FMG Stadium Waikato | 25,800 | 1996 |
| Crusaders |
Christchurch, Canterbury | Apollo Projects Stadium | 17,104 | 1996 |
 Drua |
Suva, Fiji | Churchill Park HFC Bank Stadium |
10,000 15,446 |
2022 |
| Force |
Perth, Western Australia | HBF Park | 20,500 | 2006 |
| Highlanders |
Dunedin, Otago | Forsyth Barr Stadium | 30,748 | 1996 |
| Hurricanes |
Wellington, Wellington Region | Sky Stadium | 34,500 | 1996 |
| Moana Pasifika |
North Shore, Auckland Region | North Harbour Stadium | 14,000 | 2022 |
| Reds |
Brisbane, Queensland | Suncorp Stadium | 52,500 | 1996 |
| Waratahs |
Sydney, New South Wales | Allianz Stadium | 42,500 | 1996 |
Former Teams
Many other teams have competed in Super Rugby over the years.
- Argentina: Jaguares
- Australia: Melbourne Rebels
- Japan: Sunwolves
- South Africa: Bulls, Cheetahs, Lions, Sharks, Southern Kings, Stormers
Champions and Records
Past Winners
This table shows the winners and runners-up of every Super Rugby Grand Final.
| Season | Champion | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Auckland Blues |
45–21 |  Natal Sharks |
| 1997 | Auckland Blues |
23–7 | ACT Brumbies |
| 1998 | Canterbury Crusaders |
20–13 | Auckland Blues |
| 1999 | Canterbury Crusaders |
24–19 | Otago Highlanders |
| 2000 | Crusaders |
20–19 | Brumbies |
| 2001 | Brumbies |
36–6 | Sharks |
| 2002 | Crusaders |
31–13 | Brumbies |
| 2003 | Blues |
21–17 | Crusaders |
| 2004 | Brumbies |
47–38 | Crusaders |
| 2005 | Crusaders |
35–25 | Waratahs |
| 2006 | Crusaders |
19–12 | Hurricanes |
| 2007 | Bulls |
20–19 | Sharks |
| 2008 | Crusaders |
20–12 | Waratahs |
| 2009 | Bulls |
61–17 | Chiefs |
| 2010 | Bulls |
25–17 | Stormers |
| 2011 | Reds |
18–13 | Crusaders |
| 2012 | Chiefs |
37–6 | Sharks |
| 2013 | Chiefs |
27–22 | Brumbies |
| 2014 | Waratahs |
33–32 | Crusaders |
| 2015 | Highlanders |
21–14 | Hurricanes |
| 2016 | Hurricanes |
20–3 | Lions |
| 2017 | Crusaders |
25–17 | Lions |
| 2018 | Crusaders |
37–18 | Lions |
| 2019 | Crusaders |
19–3 |  Jaguares |
| 2020 | Seasons cancelled due to COVID-19 | ||
| 2021 | |||
| 2022 | Crusaders |
21–7 | Blues |
| 2023 | Crusaders |
25–20 | Chiefs |
| 2024 | Blues |
41–10 | Chiefs |
| 2025 | Crusaders |
16–12 | Chiefs |
Most Successful Teams
| Team | Title(s) | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Crusaders |
13 | 4 |
| Blues |
4 | 2 |
| Bulls |
3 | 0 |
| Brumbies |
2 | 4 |
| Chiefs |
2 | 4 |
| Waratahs |
1 | 2 |
| Hurricanes |
1 | 2 |
| Highlanders |
1 | 1 |
| Reds |
1 | 0 |
Awesome Records
- Most Titles: 13 – Crusaders
- Most Career Points: 1,708 – Dan Carter (Crusaders)
- Most Career Tries: 66 – Sevu Reece (Crusaders)
- Highest Score in a Match: 96 points – Crusaders defeated Waratahs 96–19 in 2002.
- Highest Combined Score: 137 points – Chiefs defeated Lions 72–65 in 2010.
- Most Tries in a Match by one team: 14 – by the Crusaders (vs Waratahs) in 2002.
Images for kids
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The Western Force (in blue) kick off against the New South Wales Waratahs (in white).
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The Cats (now the Lions) playing against the Sharks.
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The Super Rugby AU final between the Queensland Reds and the Brumbies in 2021.
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The Super Rugby logo used from 2011 to 2021.
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Logo for Super Rugby Aotearoa
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Logo for Super Rugby AU
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Logo for Super Rugby Trans-Tasman
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Logo for Super Rugby Unlocked
See also
In Spanish: Súper Rugby para niños
- List of Super Rugby champions
- List of Super Rugby stadiums
- SANZAAR
- Super Rugby Aotearoa
- Super Rugby AU
- Super Rugby Trans-Tasman
- Super Rugby Unlocked
- Super W
- Super Rugby Aupiki
