List of Super Rugby champions explained

Super Rugby is the major professional rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere.[1] The competition began as Super 12 in 1996, consisting of 12 teams from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. An extra Australian and South African team were added in 2005 and the name was changed to Super 14. A fifteenth team joined in 2011 and the competition was rebranded as Super Rugby.[1] The current format consists of three conferences of five teams from each country. Teams play other members of their conference twice (home and away) and four teams from each of the other two conferences once. The top team in each conference and the next best three over all conferences advance to the finals.[2] In all previous formats there were no conferences and each team played every team once, with the top four progressing to the finals. The tournament is organised and governed by SANZAAR (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentine Rugby). Super Rugby is considered a successor to the Super Six (1992) and Super 10 (1993 - 1995), although SANZAR did not administer those tournaments.[3]

Champions

YearNo. of TeamsFinalLosing semi-finalists
width=15%Winnerswidth=8%Scorewidth=15%Runners-upwidth=15%1st losing semi-finalistswidth=15%2nd losing semi-finalists
199612 Auckland Blues45–21 Natal Sharks Queensland Reds Northern Transvaal
199712 Auckland Blues23–7 ACT Brumbies Wellington Hurricanes
199812 Canterbury Crusaders20–13 Auckland Blues Otago Highlanders
199912 Canterbury Crusaders24–19 Otago Highlanders Queensland Reds
20001220–19
200112 36–6
20021231–13
200312 21–17
200412 47–38
20051235–25
20061419–12
200714 20–19
20081420–12
200914 61–17
201014 25–17
201115 18–13
201215 37–6
201315 27–22
201415 33–32
2015align=center 15align=center 21–14
2016align=center 1820–3
2017align=center 1825–17
2018align=center 1537–18
2019align=center 1519-3
2020align=center 15season cancelled
2021align=center 10Regional competitions played, no official champions
2022align=center 1221–7
2023align=center 1225–20
2024align=center 1241–10

By team

class=unsortableTeamCombinedSuper 12Super 14Super Rugby
12525
2002
3030
2200
4301
1001
1001
1001
1001
Totals2710512

By country

CountryWinning teamsCombinedSuper 12Super 14Super Rugby
New Zealand



208210
Australia

4202
South Africa3030
Totals92710512

Competition structure

1996 - 2010

Every season, each team played every other team once, in a round-robin. The venues for regular season matches alternated each year, therefore teams would not play one another at the same venue in consecutive seasons unless they met in the play-offs. The tournament used the rugby union bonus points system; teams were awarded four points for a win, two for a draw, and none for a loss. They received bonus points for scoring four or more tries in a match, and for a loss by seven or fewer points.[4]

After each team had completed their regular season matches, the top 4 teams qualified for the semi-finals. Semi-finals were held under a Shaughnessy playoff system; the first-placed team in the table hosted the fourth-placed, and second hosted third. The winner of each semi-final advanced to the final, held at the home ground of whichever team amassed more points in the round-robin table.[5]

2011 - 2015

In 2011, Melbourne Rebels joined the Super Rugby competition, meaning that Australia, New Zealand and South Africa would each be represented by five teams. The tournament format was also changed. Teams are divided into three conferences; one per country.[6] Each team plays other teams in the same conference home and away, and plays eight further matches against teams from other conferences, for a total of sixteen games.[7] Each team receives two byes throughout a season; from 2014 no points are added to the team's total on the day a bye is allocated.[8] The highest placed team in each conference qualifies for the finals stage, along with three highest scoring teams which were not conference winners. The two highest scoring teams advance straight to the semi-finals, while the 3rd to 6th placed teams play-off to decide which two teams advance to the semis. The format of the semi-finals and final is the same as that previously used in the Super 14.[9] The bonus points system has also been retained, with the single addition that a team receives four points for each bye.[10]

2016 - 2020

2016 saw the tournament expand to 18 teams with the inclusion of an Argentine team and Japanese team. The South African conference was split in two with the Sunwolves in South African conference 1 and Jaguares in South African conference 2. South African conference 1 teams will play Australian and New Zealand teams in alternative years with South African conference 2 teams. Every team plays 16 games in the regular season with the top 8 teams qualifying for the quarter-finals 1 v 8 etc. with each conference winner being seeded 1–4.

2020 -

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 2020 Super Rugby season was suspended, and then ultimately cancelled. Regional tournaments were set up to complete the 2020 season, with Super Rugby AU played in Australia, Super Rugby Aotearoa played in New Zealand and Super Rugby Unlocked played in South Africa. The and didn't compete in these regional tournaments, while the Western Force competed in Super Rugby AU and the, and competed in Super Rugby Unlocked. Only Super Rugby AU had a final as such for 2020, with a qualifying final and then final. Following the 2020 season, the South African sides withdrew from Super Rugby, while the Jaguares and Sunwolves also left the competition. Therefore, in 2021 only 10 teams competed in Super Rugby, again in regional tournaments with the addition of Super Rugby Trans-Tasman played between both Australian and New Zealand sides. A final was added to the Super Rugby Aotearoa competition in 2021, while a qualifying final and then final was again played in Super Rugby AU. Super Rugby Trans-Tasman will also have a final.

Tournaments

Key

SymbolMeaning
Champions
GamesRegular season record
PointsRegular season points scored and conceded
DiffDifference between points scored and conceded
BPBonus points
TPTable points

Teams mentioned are those that qualified for the play-off rounds. Results are written so that the score of the team in each row is mentioned first. The highlighted team won that season's Super Rugby final.[11] [12]

Note. For 1996 and 1997, it was the policy of the South African Rugby Union to send the top four teams of the previous year's Currie Cup to the Super 12. This resulted in the, Transvaal, Northern Transvaal and Western Province playing in 1996 and the Sharks, the Gauteng Lions, Free State Cheetahs and Northern Transvaal playing in 1997. In 1998, South Africa set up four (and later five, then six) Super Rugby regions, similar to the policy adopted by the New Zealand Rugby Union. For these areas, please see Super Rugby franchise areas.

Super 12 (1996–2005)

Year!rowspan=2
DurationTable positionTeamGamesPointsBP<--Bonus points-->TP<--Table points-->Semi scoreFinal scoreRefs
playedwondrawnlostforagainstdiff
199628 February  -
31 May		111902320247+7354125–43—[13]
2 11803408354+5494148–1145–21
3Northern Transvaal11803329208+12163811–48—
411605389277+11293343–2521–45
19971 March  -
25 May
1 111010435283+15285055–3623–7[14]
211803406291+11594133–207–23
311605416314+102103420–33—
411524321350–2963036–55—
199827 February  -
30 May		111902388296+9274337–3113–20[15]
2 11803340260+8094136–3220–13
3Coastal Sharks11704329263+6683632–36—
411704343279+6463431–37—
199926 February  -
30 May		111812233170+6323622–28—[16]
211803290244+4643618–33—
311803280203+7733533–1819–24
4 11713322262+6033328–2224–19
200025 February  -
27 May		111902393196+19794528–519–20[17]
2 11803369293+7673937–1520–19
311605310280+3083215–37—
411704320334–144325–28—
200123 February  -
26 May
1 11803348204+14484036–636–6[18]
211803322246+7663830–126–36
311704285244+4163412–30—
411605300277+238326–36—
200222 February  -
25 May
1 111100469264+20575134–2331–13[19]
211803337284+5373910–51—
311704374230+144103851–1013–31
411803329207+12263823–34—
200321 February  -
24 May
1 111001393185+20894942–2121–17[20]
211803358263+9584039–1617–21
311704324284+4073516–39—
411605358313+4573121–42—
200420 February  -
22 May
1 11803408269+13984032–1747–38[21]
211704345303+4263427–1638–47
311704286260+2653316–27—
411704274251+2353317–32—
200525 February  -
28 May
1 11902459281+17894547–735–25[22]
211902322174+14884423–1325–35
311704301229+7263413–23—
411803281248+332347–47—

Super 14 (2006–2010)

Year!rowspan=2
DurationTable positionTeamGamesPointsBP<--Bonus points-->TP<--Table points-->Semi scoreFinal scoreRefs
playedwondrawnlostforagainstdiff
2006February 10  -
May 27
1 131111412210+20255135–1519–12[23]
2131003328226+10274716–1412–19
313904362192+17094514–16—
413715355290+6573815–35—
2007February 2  -
May 19
1131003355214+14154534 - 1819 - 20[24]
2 13904388223+16564227 - 1220-19
313805382235+147104212 - 27—
413904355235+12064218 - 34—
2008February 15  -
May 31
1 131102369176+19385233 - 2220-12[25]
213913255186+6954328 - 1312 - 20
313913271209+6244213 - 28—
413814310204+10674122 - 33—
2009February 13  -
May 30
1 131003338271+6764636 - 2361-17[26]
213904338236+10294514 - 1017 - 61
313904380279+10184410 - 14—
413814231198+3374123 - 36—
2010February 12  -
May 29
1 131003436345+9174739 - 2425 - 17[27]
213904365171+19484425 - 617 - 25
313904385288+977436 - 25—
413814388295+9374124 - 39—

Super Rugby (2011–)

Six team playoff tournament (2011–2015)
Year!rowspan=2
DurationTable positionTeamConference
position		GamesPointsBP<--Bonus points-->TP<--Table points-->Qualifier scoreSemi scoreFinal scoreRefs
playedwondrawnlostforagainstdiff
2011February 18  -
July 9
1 1161303429309+120666—30-1318–13[28]
21161204400257+143763—10-29—
31161114436273+16376136-829-1013-18
42161015405335+70106026-1313-30—
52161006398252+14695713–26——
62161015407339+687578–36——
2012February 24  -
August 4
11161402350254+96266—19-26—[29] [30]
2 1161204444358+86864—20-1737-6
31161105359347+1265817-30——
42161105485343+14296128-1317-20—
52161006472369+103115913-28——
63161006436348+88115930-1726-196-37
2013February 16  -
August 4
1 1161204458364+941066—20-1927-22[31] [32]
21161204448330+118763—23-26—
32161105446307+13986038-919-20—
41161024430295+13586015-1326-2322-27
52161024321296+256589-38——
62161006382258+2465413-15——
2014February 16  -
August 2
1 1161204481272+2091058—26-833-32[33]
21161105445322+123751—38-632-33
31161105406203+11365031-276-38—
42161006412378+3454532-308-26—
5216826384378+684430-32——
6316808401442-41104227-31——
2015February 13  -
July 4
11161402458288+1701066—29-914-21[34]
21161105409313+9685217-3517-35—
31161015373323+5034519-39——
4 2161105450333+11795324-1435-1721-14
53161006372299+7384814-24——
6216907369261+108114739-199-29—
Eight team playoff tournament (2016–)
Year!rowspan=2
DurationTable
position		TeamConference
position		Qualifying
path		GamesPointsBP<--Bonus points-->TP<--Table points-->QF scoreSemi scoreFinal scoreRefs
playedwondrawnlostforagainstdiff
2016February 26  -
August 6
1 11st NZ Conf151104458314+14495341–025–920–3[35]
211st AF2 Conf151104535349+18685242–2542–303–20
32NZ/AU wc151104422273+14985215–930–42—
43NZ/AU wc151104491341150+75160–219–25—
511st AF1 Conf151014440274+16695121–60——
64NZ/AU wc151104487317+17065025–42——
711st AU Conf151005425326+993439–15——
82AF wc15915360269+915430–41——
2017February 23  -
August 5
111st AF2 Conf15140159026832296523–2144–2917–25[36]
2 11st NZ Conf151401544303+24176317–027–1325–17
311st AF1 Conf151005490436+5434311–17——
411st AU Conf15609315295+20103416–35——
52NZ/AU wc151203596272+324105835–1644–29—
63NZ/AU wc151212433292+14175717–1113–27—
74NZ/AU wc151104488308+1807510–17——
82AF wc15915408354+5444621–23——
2018February 17  -
August 4
1 1 1st NZ Conf 16 14 0 2 542 295 +247 7 63 40–10 30–12 27–18[37]
2align=left 1 1st SA Conf 16 9 0 7 519 435 +84 10 46 40–23 44–26 18–27
31 1st AU Conf 16 9 1 6 557 445 +112 6 44 30–23 26–44 —
42 NZ wc 16 11 0 5 474 343 +131 7 43 32–11 12–30 —
53 NZ wc 16 11 05463 368 +95 549 31–32 — —
64 NZ wc 16 10 0 6 437 445 -8 4 4423–30 — —
72 SA wc 16 9 0 7 409 418 −9 2 38 23–40 — —
83 SA wc 16 7 1 8 437 442 −5 6 36 10–40 — —
2019February 15  -
July 6
1 1 1st NZ Conf 16 11 3 2 497 257 +240 8 58 38–14 30–26 19–3[38]
21 1st SA Conf 16 11 0 5 461 352 +109 7 51 21–16 39–7 3–19
31 1st AU Conf 16 10 0 6 430 366 +64 8 48 38–13 7–39 —
42 NZ wc 16 12 1 3 449 362 +87 3 53 35–28 26–30 —
52 SA wc 16 8 2 6 410 369 +41 5 41 28–35 — —
63 SA wc 16 7 1 8 343 335 +8 7 37 13–38 — —
73 NZ wc 16 7 2 7 451 465 −14 4 36 16–21 — —
84 NZ wc 16 6 3 7 441 392 +49 6 36 14–38 — —
2020January 31  -
March 14
season cancelled
2021February 19  -
June 19
regional competitions played, no official champions
2022February 18  -
June 18
1N/A N/A 14 13 0 1 472 284 +188 6 58 35–6 20–19 7–21[39]
2 N/A N/A 14 11 0 3 470 268 +202 8 52 37–15 20–7 21–7
3N/A N/A 14 10 0 4 453 348 +105 5 45 39–15 7–20 —
4N/A N/A 14 10 0 4 404 306 +98 4 44 35–25 19–20 —
5N/A N/A 14 8 0 6 441 330 +111 7 39 25–35 — —
6N/A N/A 14 8 0 6 365 317 +48 6 38 15–39 — —
7N/A N/A 14 8 0 6 342 327 +15 3 35 15–37 — —
8N/A N/A 14 4 0 10 348 345 +3 7 23 6–35 — —
2023February 24  -
June 24
1N/A N/A 14 13 0 1 487 261 +226 7 59 29–20 19–6 20–25[40]
2 N/A N/A 14 10 0 4 457 278 +179 8 48 49–8 52–15 25–20
3N/A N/A 14 10 0 4 446 292 +154 6 46 41–12 15–52 —
4N/A N/A 14 10 0 4 474 393 +81 6 46 37–33 6–19 —
5N/A N/A 14 9 0 5 480 338 +142 5 41 33–37 — —
6N/A N/A 14 6 0 8 387 408 −21 7 31 12–41 — —
7N/A N/A 14 6 0 8 370 492 −122 2 26 8–49 — —
8N/A N/A 14 5 0 9 391 451 −60 4 24 20–29 — —
2024February 23  -
June 22
1N/A N/A 14 12 0 2 480 281 +199 8 56 47–20 19–30 —[41]
2 N/A N/A 14 12 0 2 488 233 +255 7 55 36–5 34–20 41–10
3N/A N/A 14 12 0 2 410 311 +99 4 52 32–16 20–34 —
4N/A N/A 14 9 0 5 486 311 +175 7 43 43–23 30–19 10–41
5N/A N/A 14 8 0 6 444 340 +104 8 40 21–43 — —
6N/A N/A 14 6 0 8 305 402 −97 4 28 16–32 — —
7N/A N/A 14 6 0 8 325 427 −102 2 26 5–36 — —
8N/A N/A 14 5 0 9 341 488 −147 6 26 20–47 — —

Regional competitions champions

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, regionalised tournaments were played for the remainder of the 2020 Super Rugby season and the 2021 Super Rugby season. Those competitions were: Super Rugby AU (Australia), Super Rugby Aotearoa (New Zealand), Super Rugby Unlocked (South Africa) and Super Rugby Trans-Tasman (Australia & New Zealand).

* South Africa withdrew from all Super Rugby competitions at the end of the 2020 Super Rugby season.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: SANZAR release 2011 Super 15 Fixtures . Sports Digital Media . 13 September 2010 . 25 March 2011.
  2. Web site: How will the new Super Rugby format work?. Sports Digital Media. 25 March 2011.
  3. Web site: Super 12: The history. . Rugby365.com . 23 March 2011 . 23 May 2006. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100728072416/http://www.rugby365.com/tournaments/super14/history/ . 28 July 2010.
  4. Web site: New points system in the works for Super Rugby. Sports Digital Media. Rugbyweek. 22 March 2011. 29 November 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20111002211220/http://www.rugbyweek.com/news/article.asp?id=27979. 2 October 2011.
  5. Web site: Super Rugby. ESPN Scrum. 23 March 2011.
  6. Web site: Conferences. Australian Rugby Union. 22 March 2011.
  7. Web site: Competition snapshot. Australian Rugby Union. 22 March 2011.
  8. Web site: Super Rugby drops four point rule for byes. SANZAR. 27 May 2015.
  9. Web site: Finals format. Australian Rugby Union. 22 March 2011.
  10. Web site: Super Rugby standings. ESPN. ESPN Scrum. 23 March 2011.
  11. Book: McIlraith, Matt . 2005 . Ten Years of Super 12 . Hodder Moa . 1-86971-025-8 .
  12. Web site: Match and tournament archive/ Super Rugby. ESPN. ESPN Scrum. 14 March 2011.
  13. Web site: Super 12 1996 results. ESPN. ESPN Scrum. 22 March 2011.
  14. Web site: Super 12 1997 results. ESPN. ESPN Scrum. 22 March 2011.
  15. Web site: Super 12 1998 results. ESPN. ESPN Scrum. 22 March 2011.
  16. Web site: Super 12 1999 results. ESPN. ESPN Scrum. 22 March 2011.
  17. Web site: Super 12 2000 results. ESPN. ESPN Scrum. 22 March 2011.
  18. Web site: Super 12 2001 results. ESPN. ESPN Scrum. 22 March 2011.
  19. Web site: Super 12 2002 results. ESPN. ESPN Scrum. 22 March 2011.
  20. Web site: Super 12 2003 results. ESPN. ESPN Scrum. 22 March 2011.
  21. Web site: Super 12 2004 results. ESPN. ESPN Scrum. 22 March 2011.
  22. Web site: Super 12 2005 results. ESPN. ESPN Scrum. 22 March 2011.
  23. Web site: Super 14 2006 results. ESPN. ESPN Scrum. 22 March 2011.
  24. Web site: Super 14 2007 results. ESPN. ESPN Scrum. 22 March 2011.
  25. Web site: Super 14 2008 results. ESPN. ESPN Scrum. 22 March 2011.
  26. Web site: Super 14 2009 results. ESPN. ESPN Scrum. 22 March 2011.
  27. Web site: Super 14 2010 results. ESPN. ESPN Scrum. 22 March 2011.
  28. Web site: Super Rugby Standings - 2011 . . ESPN Scrum . 2020-07-15.
  29. Web site: Super Rugby Standings - 2012 . . ESPN Scrum . 2020-07-15.
  30. News: Super Rugby Results - 2012 (w/playoffs) . . ESPN Scrum . 2020-07-15.
  31. Web site: Super Rugby Standings - 2013 . . ESPN Scrum . 2020-07-15.
  32. Web site: Super Rugby Results - 2013 (w/playoffs) . . ESPN Scrum . 2013-07-14 . 2020-07-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200716081913/http://en.espn.co.uk/super-rugby-2013/rugby/series/170339.html?template=results . dead .
  33. Web site: Super Rugby Standings - 2014 . . ESPN Scrum . 2020-07-15.
  34. Web site: Super Rugby Standings - 2015 . . ESPN Scrum . 2020-07-15.
  35. Web site: Super Rugby Points Table - 2016 . . ESPN Scrum . 2020-07-15.
  36. Web site: Super Rugby Standings - 2017 . . ESPN Scrum . 2020-07-15.
  37. Web site: Super Rugby Standings - 2018 . . ESPN Scrum . 2020-07-15.
  38. Web site: Super Rugby Standings - 2019 . . ESPN Scrum . 2020-07-16.
  39. Web site: Super Rugby Standings - 2019 . SANZAAR . 2022-06-18.
  40. Web site: Super Rugby Standings - 2019 . SANZAAR . 2022-06-18.
  41. Web site: Super Rugby Standings - 2019 . SANZAAR . 2022-06-18.

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