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89-543: The original Americas Rugby Championship (organised by World Rugby ) was inaugurated in 2009, when varying combinations of national, regional and development teams from North and South America competed for the title. In 2015, it was announced that from 2016, the competition would re-form under the guidance of the Americas Rugby Association and the respective unions, to provide the six national sides with additional rankings tests annually. The updated format

178-676: A 20-game home and away season in 2020 but Super Rugby AU played two additional knockout matches to decide the Australian title. Super Rugby Unlocked featured South Africa's four Super Rugby teams (the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers) plus former franchise the Cheetahs as well as the Currie Cup sides Griquas and Pumas . These seven teams competed in a single round-robin domestic format in 2020. In September 2020, SA Rugby announced

267-527: A TV deal worth more than A$ 1 billion beyond 2020. Specifically, he stated, "You could have a deal comparable to the other major sports in Australia. Rugby is a college (university) sport in the US , if soccer can create its own league there and sell teams for $ 40 million, imagine what you could do in 10–12 years with rugby in that market." By comparison, the largest TV deal in Australian sport, that of

356-538: A competition that did not include South African teams was a commercial non-starter because of large broadcast revenues from that country and because the NZRU considered Super Rugby matches in South Africa to be critical for national team development. SANZAR announced on 4 September 2013 that South Africa would be granted a sixth franchise starting in the 2016 season, negating the need for relegation play-offs involving

445-646: A crossover tournament. In September 2020, the South African Rugby Union withdrew their four franchises from the competition, with plans for them to join the PRO14 . The Argentine Jaguares also left the competition. In August 2021 a 12-team format was confirmed, with the addition of the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika, a team representing the Pacific islands. The tournament for 2022 and 2023

534-675: A four-point loss to fellow countrymen the Blues. In 2004 the Brumbies took revenge on their 2000 final loss to the Crusaders defeating them 47–38 in front of a home crowd. The Crusaders would bounce back to win the 2005 final 35–25 against the Australian side the New South Wales Waratahs who reached their first-ever final. This was the last year of the 12 team format. From the early 2000s Australia had started to push for

623-552: A home quarter final. They were joined by four wild card teams, three from the Australasian group and one from the South African group. From the 2018 season the format changed again, with two South African teams and an Australian team being dropped. There were three conferences, one containing the five New Zealand teams, a South African one including Argentina's team and an Australian one including Japan's team. Due to

712-813: A number of transnational competitions involving regional and provincial rugby union teams had taken shape in the southern hemisphere. The earliest of these was the South Pacific Championship , which was launched in 1986 and continued until 1990. After the demise of the South Pacific Championship, with no tournament played in 1991, the competition was relaunched as the Super 6 in 1992. The original Super 6 competition consisted of three provincial teams from New Zealand: Auckland , Canterbury , Wellington ; along with two Australian state teams: Queensland and New South Wales ; and also

801-550: A tournament. The following year the board committed to conduct a feasibility study. A year later another meeting took place in Paris, and the Union subsequently voted on the idea. The South African Rugby Board's vote that proved crucial in setting up a tied vote, as they voted in favour, even though they knew they would be excluded due to the sporting boycott because of their apartheid policies. English and Welsh votes then changed, and

890-626: A year and manages and controls the affairs of World Rugby. The Council formulates and oversees the implementation of World Rugby's strategic plan and application of policy decisions, and selects the host nation(s) for the Rugby World Cup . The Council considers recommendations of the General Assembly. The Council may admit or expel member nations. The council is also the supreme legislative authority of World Rugby. Most Council decisions require approval of simple majority, but to amend

979-982: Is a list of member and associate unions and their regional associations with the year that they joined World Rugby. Associate unions are in italics . There are 21 World Rugby members and 6 World Rugby associates: Suspended unions: Notes:   * Denotes associate membership date. There are 22 World Rugby members, and 6 World Rugby associates: Notes:   * Denotes associate membership date. There are 38 World Rugby members, and 2 World Rugby associates: Suspended unions: Notes:   * Denotes associate membership date. There are 12 World Rugby members, and 1 World Rugby associate: Notes:   * Denotes associate membership date. There are 9 World Rugby members, and 2 World Rugby associates: Notes:   * Denotes associate membership date. There are 11 World Rugby members: World Rugby's largest members, ranked by number of participants in 2019, are: The World Rugby Council meets twice

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1068-720: Is based on the structure of the European Six Nations Championship , coinciding with each other in February and March of each year. Prior to this, the last competitive tournament to be held across the Sudamérica – RAN region had been the PARA Pan American Championship , which had ceased after its 2003 edition. World Rugby has granted all matches with test match status, with caps awarded for every match, though matches against

1157-518: Is held over five- or six-legs. Both tournaments followed the same principle—points are awarded based on a teams position in each round of the series, and the team with the most points at the end of the Series is crowned champions. Following the inclusion of rugby sevens into the Olympics, beginning with the 2014–15 series, the series prior to an Olympic event (i.e. the series which ends in the year before

1246-434: The 2011 Rugby World Cup . The tournament kept the same format as 2010, however the national side of Uruguay joined the tournament replacing Tonga A, though in 2014, Uruguay sent their second team Charrúas XV . Argentina Jaguars went on to win every tournament between 2012 and 2014. The tournament was not held in 2015 because of the 2015 Rugby World Cup . In 2016, the tournament was relaunched and expanded to six teams with

1335-423: The 2019 edition Updated to after 2019 Americas Rugby Championship Updated to after 2019 Americas Rugby Championship World Rugby World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union . World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competitions, such as

1424-577: The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , World Rugby suspended Russia from international and European continental rugby union competition. In addition, the Rugby Union of Russia was suspended from World Rugby. In the 1960s Australians Harold Tolhurst and Jock Kellaher suggested a World Rugby Championship be held in Australia but the IRFB refused. In 1983 and 1984 respectively, the Australian and New Zealand Rugby Football Unions each proposed hosting such

1513-589: The Australian Football League ( Australian rules ), is worth A$ 1.26 billion from 2012 to 2016. Even that figure was dwarfed by the TV contracts of the NFL , for which contracts at the time were worth more than US$ 4 billion annually. Peters added that the conference-based structure was ideal for expanding the competition to new territories, either by adding new conferences or by adding teams to

1602-521: The COVID-19 pandemic the competition had to undergo a change in structure and be split into regionalised tournaments. There were two national competitions, Australia's Super Rugby AU and New Zealand's Super Rugby Aotearoa , and those were followed by Super Rugby Trans-Tasman in 2021, a crossover competition involving the five Australian sides playing the five New Zealand sides. Super Rugby currently only consists of Australian and New Zealand sides, with

1691-619: The Canadian Rugby Union , and Japan Rugby Football Union were admitted in 1991. In 2016, the Georgia Rugby Union , Romanian Rugby Federation , and the USA were added to the voting Council with one vote each. Additionally, current Council members Argentina, Canada and Italy were granted a second representative and vote. The six regional associations represented on the council also received an additional vote. After

1780-738: The Fiji national team . In 1993, the Super Six competition was revamped and expanded into the Super 10 tournament. With South Africa being readmitted into international sport following the dismantling of apartheid, there was an opportunity to launch an expanded competition which would also feature South Africa's top provincial teams. The inaugural competition featured the following teams: Waikato , Auckland , Otago and North Harbour (New Zealand); Natal , Northern Transvaal and Transvaal (South Africa); Queensland and New South Wales (Australia) and Western Samoa (Pacific Tri-Nations winner). The Super 10

1869-528: The Hurricanes 19–12. During the 2007 season, 22 All Blacks missed the competition's first seven rounds as part of an All Black "conditioning programme" that was a part of the All Blacks' 2007 Rugby World Cup preparations, and every New Zealand franchise was without players for the first seven rounds. At the end of the regular season, for the first time since 1998, no Australian franchise had made

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1958-610: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to include rugby sevens in the 2016 Summer Olympics . World Rugby gained membership of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) in 2010. Until 1885 the laws of rugby football were made by England as the founder nation. However, following a disputed try in an international between Scotland and England in 1884, letters were exchanged in which England claimed that they made

2047-711: The Irish Rugby Football Union , Scottish Rugby Union (named the Scottish Football Union at the time) and Welsh Rugby Union met in Manchester and wrote up the first four principles of the International Rugby Football Board. England refused to take part in the founding of the IRFB, stating that they should have greater representation, as they had more clubs. The England Union also refused to accept

2136-780: The SARU , was reportedly driven by internal union politics. With only five guaranteed places in Super Rugby but six active franchises, the bottom team in the South African Conference faced a promotion/relegation playoff with the sixth franchise for a place in the next season's competition. Australia and New Zealand warmed to the SARU proposal, as a trans-Tasman competition would potentially allow for more regional derbies, fewer time zone complications and less player travel. However, NZRU chief executive Steve Tew indicated that

2225-454: The South African Rugby Union , Brian van Rooyen. After van Rooyen was ousted as president, SARU announced that the Spears would not enter the competition. SARU investigated the viability of the Spears after discovering serious financial irregularities. A High Court of South Africa ruling stated that the Spears had a valid contract to compete in the Super 14 and Currie Cup. However, because of

2314-758: The World Rugby Sevens Series , the Rugby World Cup Sevens , the World Under 20 Championship , and the Pacific Nations Cup . World Rugby's headquarters are in Dublin , Ireland. Its membership now comprises 133 national unions. Each member country must also be a member of one of the six regional unions into which the world is divided: Africa, North America, Asia, Europe, South America, and Oceania. World Rugby

2403-886: The 2020 Super Rugby competition to be cut short. As health concerns eased, other professional sports returned to play. The Super Rugby season was unable to resumed, however, due to border restrictions and the need for teams to be placed into quarantine upon arrival in each country. This resulted in New Zealand Rugby and Rugby Australia forming their own Super Rugby tournaments starting in June and July respectively, so that their teams could compete domestically. South African Rugby subsequently launched its own domestic Super Rugby competition which started play in October 2020. The three competitions formed were: Super Rugby Aotearoa featured all five New Zealand teams from Super Rugby:

2492-581: The ARC. As with the Americas Rugby Championship, the new Americas Rugby Challenge saw all competing countries playing against each other. The first edition of the competition was a Four Nations tournament with Rugby Americas North and Sudamérica Rugby both having two representatives each. The host nation of Colombia were joined by Sudamérica Rugby rivals Paraguay . Guyana and Mexico represented Rugby Americas North. Played annually,

2581-753: The Argentina XV (rather than the top Argentina national squad) will not affect the World Rugby Rankings . Originally formed in 2009 by World Rugby (then known as the International Rugby Board) to replace the North America 4 Series , was created to give the newly formed Canadian regions more competitive matches against strong opposition from the second teams of the United States and Argentina . The winner of

2670-515: The Australian model of one franchise per union. This model differs from the traditional club-based model of other Australian sports; with 4 Super Rugby teams in Australia compared to the 16 Australian-based National Rugby League teams and the 18 teams of the Australian Football League . The Pacific Islands franchise, Moana Pasifika, played mainly in New Zealand during the 2022 season. The following sides have won Super Rugby titles since

2759-614: The Blues, Chiefs, Crusaders, Highlanders and Hurricanes. Super Rugby AU included Australia's four teams, the Reds, Waratahs, Brumbies and Rebels, as well as former Super Rugby side, the Western Force . The Force had continued as a franchise after their 2017 post-season exclusion from Super Rugby and were playing in Global Rapid Rugby , also suspended due to COVID-19. The Australian and New Zealand competitions each scheduled

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2848-704: The Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers, with the Cheetahs and Kings losing their spots. The Cheetahs and Kings joined the Pro 12, which became the Pro14 from the 2017–2018 season onwards. On 11 August 2017, Australia announced that the Western Force had lost their licence. On 21 March 2019, SANZAAR confirmed that 2020 will be the Sunwolves last season of competition in Super Rugby. The global COVID-19 pandemic caused

2937-648: The Canterbury Crusaders became The Crusaders. Also South Africa followed the New Zealand franchise model, where previously South African participation was decided by the previous year's Currie Cup placings. SANZAR announced in December 2004 that a new five-year television deal had been signed that would cover 2006 to 2010, with News Corporation winning the rights for the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and SuperSport winning rights for South Africa. The contract

3026-858: The Chief Executive sit on the World Rugby Executive Committee. A General Assembly of the full membership is convened every two years. The General Assembly may make recommendations to the council, and may consider business that the council has referred to it, but the General Assembly has no legislative powers. The current Chair of World Rugby is Brett Robinson who was elected following the Executive Council vote on 14 November 2024. Previous chairmen include Bill Beaumont (2008 to 2024), Bernard Lapasset (2008 to 2016), Syd Millar (2002 to 2007) and Vernon Pugh , QC (1994 to 2002). In July 2012, Brett Gosper

3115-407: The IRFB as the recognised lawmaker of the game. This led to the IRFB taking the stance of member countries not playing England until they joined, and no games were played against England in 1888 and 1889. In 1890 England joined the IRFB, gaining six seats while the other unions had two each. The same year, the IRFB wrote the first international laws of rugby union. In 1893, the IRFB was faced with

3204-570: The IRFB were reduced from six to four in 1911. The Australian Rugby Union , New Zealand Rugby Football Union and South African Rugby Board joined the board with one seat each in 1948, with England's seats being reduced to two, the same as the other home nations. The three Southern Hemisphere unions were given a second seat each in 1958. The French Rugby Federation was admitted in 1978, the Argentine Rugby Union , Italian Rugby Federation and USA Rugby Football Union in 1987, and

3293-682: The Japanese Sunwolves departing the competition after the 2020 season, the South African sides voting to leave to join an expanded PRO14 (Later known as the United Rugby Championship ), and the Argentine Jaguares not set to compete in any Super Rugby tournament in 2021. From 2022, the tournament reverted to round robin format featuring 12 teams, with the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika joining

3382-505: The Olympics takes place) forms the first phase of Olympic qualification. When Olympic Qualification was included, the top four teams from both the men's and women's series qualified for the Olympic Games, and remaining teams competed in regional competitions for one of the remaining places. Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and

3471-535: The Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the Super 12 in the 1996 season with 12 teams from Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, building on competitions dating back to the South Pacific Championship in 1986. The Super 12 was established by SANZAR after the sport became professional in 1995. After the COVID-19 pandemic forced

3560-654: The Super 12, the Unions had a product that was in demand from viewers, enabling them to sell a 10-year contract for exclusive television rights to News Corp for US$ 555 million, giving them both coverage and financial support to kickstart the new competition. With significant sponsorship, and rugby turning a professional sport in August 1995, the Super 12 competition successfully kicked off in 1996 with five New Zealand franchises, four South African provinces and three domestic Australian teams competing. New Zealand's dominance of

3649-584: The World Rugby's by-laws, regulations, or the Laws of the Game requires approval of three quarters of the council. Prior to 2016, the council had 28 voting members from 12 national unions. In November 2015, World Rugby announced that they would add more unions to the voting council and give the six regional associations two votes each on the council. As of October 2023 , the council had 52 members including

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3738-607: The beginning of the Crusaders' three-year dominance as they went on to win the 1999 and 2000 finals over the Otago Highlanders and ACT Brumbies respectively. The 2001 season was the first in which no New Zealand franchise reached the final, being contested between the ACT Brumbies and Sharks with the Brumbies convincing winners, with a 36–6 scoreline. The Crusaders won their 4th final in 2002 winning all 11 matches and missed out on their 5th in 2003 with

3827-421: The competition began in the first year when the Auckland Blues won the inaugural competition defeating South African side the Sharks 45–21 in a home final. The Blues would repeat the success of 1996 beating Australian side the ACT Brumbies 23–7 in the 1997 final. The Blues then reached their third successive final in 1998 but went down to fellow countrymen the Canterbury Crusaders 13–20. This would mark

3916-438: The competition to split into three, the reformed competition in 2021 only included teams from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific islands. The name was changed to Super 14 with the addition of two teams for the 2006 season , and with expansion to 15 teams for the 2011 season , the competition was rebranded as Super Rugby (with no number). In 2016 two new teams, the Jaguares from Argentina and Sunwolves from Japan, joined

4005-561: The competition, playing in two newly separated African groups. In 2018, the Cheetahs, Kings and Western Force were dropped, leaving 15 teams. The Sunwolves left the competition before the end of the 2020 season. The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Due to international travel restrictions relating to the pandemic, Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby held domestic tournaments, Super Rugby AU and Super Rugby Aotearoa respectively. Both these tournaments continued in 2021, to be followed by Super Rugby Trans-Tasman ,

4094-441: The competition. The two new teams didn't perform all that well, the South African franchise the Cheetahs did the better of the two teams finishing 10th on the ladder notching up 5 season wins. The Australian franchise the Western Force only managed one victory and ended winning the wooden spoon as last placed 14th. The highlight for the Force was a 23-all draw against eventual champions the Crusaders, who defeated first-time finalists

4183-452: The competition. There are no divisions from 2022 onwards, with one main log being used instead, and top 8 teams qualifying for the playoffs. Since 2022, each Super Rugby season has featured a "Super Round", where an entire round of Super Rugby matches is played over a weekend at a single stadium; both the 2022 and 2023 Super Rounds were played at AAMI Park in Melbourne , with the 2024 Super Round set to be played there as well. Before 1996,

4272-458: The conclusion of the Super Rugby tournament; the Tri-Nations preceded the Rugby Championship before Argentina joined the competition. The organisation was formed in 1996 to establish and run the Super 12, and Tri-Nations Tournament. Prior to 2011, Super Rugby was a round-robin competition where each team played every other team once; a team had six or seven home games, and six or seven away games each. The winner received four competition points; if

4361-434: The country's existing four teams plus the Cheetahs , which draws its players from the Free State and Northern Cape Provinces . For the 2007 season, the Southern Spears , based in Port Elizabeth , were originally intended to replace the lowest-finishing South African team from the 2006 competition. However, the existing South African Super 14 franchises opposed the plan, which was pushed through by controversial president of

4450-404: The current conferences. He also discussed the possibility that offshore Super Rugby teams could be a home for surplus players from the SANZAR countries, keeping them in the SANZAR fold and away from European clubs. Prior to Super Rugby's broadcast contracts expiring after the 2015 season, SANZAR considered several alternatives for the competition's future organisation: The last proposal, made by

4539-399: The current five Australian and five New Zealand sides to be joined by Moana Pasifika , and a Fijian side. New Zealand Rugby has confirmed that it intends to partner with Fiji Rugby and Moana Pasifika, along with Australia going forward. In April 2021, it was announced that licences had been offered to the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika ahead of joining Super Rugby in 2022. The new format

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4628-433: The deal. Under the new deal, Australia and South Africa each got one extra team in the competition, and a third round of fixtures was added to the Tri Nations Series. The new Australian team in the competition was based in Perth and was named the Western Force . The addition of the new South African team led to considerable controversy, including government involvement. Finally, the five teams for 2006 were confirmed to be

4717-437: The divide between amateurism and professionalism , which was nicknamed the "Great Schism". Following the introduction of working-class men to the game in Northern England, clubs began paying "broken time" payments to players, due to the loss of earnings from playing on a Saturday. Cumberland County Union also complained of another club using monetary incentives to lure players, leading to the IRFB conducting an enquiry. The IRFB

4806-403: The effective management and operation of the World Rugby. The Committee formulates and monitors the implementation of the World Rugby's strategic plan, business plan, operational plan and budget. In 2016, as part of the reforms to the World Rugby Council, the executive committee was increased to 12 members. The Chairman, Vice-chairman, nine elected officials, including two independent members, and

4895-504: The format of the Championship is simple: each team plays every other team once in a round-robin format, making for a total of 15 matches played across the tournament. For each win, a team picks up 4 points and 2 for a draw. The team with the most points at the end wins the title. Unlike previous ARC, overseas based players are available for selection, while Argentina will mainly only select provincial and domestic players that are not part of their Super Rugby Jaguares side. Updated to after

4984-431: The founding nations, including: England, France, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, with just 3% of viewers coming from all other countries. The most recent Rugby World Cup was held in France in 2023 . South Africa defeated New Zealand 12–11 in the Rugby World Cup final, winning a record fourth title. World Rugby also organises the women's Rugby World Cup , also held every four years. It

5073-423: The fourth placed team, and the second placed team hosting the third placed team. The two winners then played the final at the home ground of the top surviving seed. There were 91 regular season games in total. Games were held over 14 weekends with each team receiving one bye . From 2011 – 2015 the format changed, with each country forming its own conference . Each team within a conference played each of

5162-423: The game was a draw two points were awarded to each team. The bonus points system was also used, where any team scoring four or more tries, and/or losing by seven points or less, receives an extra competition point. In 2016, the try bonus changed. A team now has to score three more tries than their opponents. The top four teams at the end of the round-robin phase then played semi-finals – the first placed team hosting

5251-406: The inaugural Canadian Rugby Championship , BC Bears , went on to compete on the international stage, playing the winner of the international semi-final match between USA Select XV and Argentina Jaguars . The Argentina Jaguars defeated the BC Bears 35–11 in the final to capture the tournament's first title. In 2010, the tournament was cut from 6 to 4 teams, scrapping the Canadian Division part of

5340-401: The inclusion of Brazil and Chile. Unlike the previous single-site tournament featuring lesser sides, the new tournament will be held in February and March, concurrently with the European Six Nations Championship . Like the European championship, teams will play both home and away, whereas players from European clubs will be available. A second competition, the Americas Rugby Challenge or ARCh

5429-423: The inclusion of a fourth Australian team, and South Africa for another team from its country. There was also speculation of including a team from the South Pacific Island nations, such as Fiji; or a combined Pacific Islanders team from Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. Argentina was also pushing for inclusion in the Super 12. In the early 2000s the provincial names from the New Zealand franchises were dropped, so, for example,

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5518-423: The laws, and the try should stand. Scotland refused to play England in the 1885 Home Nations Championship . Following the dispute, the home unions of Scotland, Ireland and Wales decided to form an international union whose membership would agree on the standard rules of rugby football. The three nations met in Dublin in 1886, though no formal regulations were agreed upon. On 5 December 1887, committee members of

5607-453: The next three years. The program was designed to increase the competitiveness of international rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup , the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition, which has been held every four years since 1987. Despite the profitability of the World Cup, the majority of its revenues and viewers come from a small number of countries. For the 2007 Rugby World Cup final , 97% of viewers came from

5696-548: The non-voting chairman, so there were 51 voting members from 17 national unions and 6 regional associations, allocated as follows: In total, Europe has 22 votes; Oceania 9 votes; South America 6 votes; Africa 5 votes; Asia 5 votes and North America 4 votes. A Chairman and Vice Chairman are elected from among the council members. These positions are held by Bill Beaumont of England and Bernard Laporte of France, respectively, elected as of April 2020 . The executive committee, in accordance with bye-laws 9.14–9.16, ensures

5785-451: The organisation was considering adding franchises in Argentina, Japan and the United States in 2016, the first year of SANZAR's next television contract. This was also the year that rugby sevens entered the Olympics , which contributed towards increased interest in the sport in many countries, including Japan and the US. Australian sports broadcasting analyst Colin Smith noted that the addition of Japanese and American teams could result in

5874-414: The organisation's financial and administrative troubles, in November 2006 a settlement was reached. The Spears abandoned their legal case, and will continue to exist, but not compete in the Super 14. SANZAR rejected a proposal to split the Super 14 into two seven-team divisions, and decided to keep the competition in its traditional single-table format. Argentina and the Pacific Islands remained shut out of

5963-423: The other four teams from their own country twice and the other ten teams once each; the season has to end with a six-team finals series. There were four major compromises, however, designed to accommodate certain wishes of each country, that somewhat complicated the model: SANZAR announced in 2009 the addition of a fifth Australian team that would play in the expanded "Super Rugby" competition in 2011. The licence

6052-489: The other teams in its conference twice, once at home and once away. Each team then played four out of the five teams from each of the other conferences once. Competition points were awarded on a similar basis as before. The format of the finals also changed; it involved six teams: the top team in each of the three conferences plus the three next teams with the highest total number of points, regardless of conference. The four lower ranking teams were paired in two sudden death games;

6141-417: The semi-finals. Although the Brumbies were strong and the Western Force experienced vast improvement, it was a poor season for the Queensland Reds and Waratahs who finished last and second last respectively. Also, the competition featured the first all-South African final as the Sharks and Bulls , who finished 1–2 on the season ladder, both won their respective semi-finals. The final, held in Durban , saw

6230-465: The sixth South African franchise. SANZAR then announced on 20 November 2014 that Japan and Argentina would each be allocated a team from the 2016 season onwards. In 2017, the Australian Rugby Union was rebranded to Rugby Australia . In April 2017, SANZAAR confirmed the competition would be reduced to 15 teams in 2018 with two South African and one Australian team to have their franchises withdrawn. Subsequently, four South African teams took part:

6319-420: The team and have taken Rugby Australia to court over the decision. The Rebels will not take part in the 2025 Super Rugby season. There are eleven franchises currently in Super Rugby; four from Australia, one from Fiji, five from New Zealand, and one representing the Pacific Islands. Each franchise is representing a franchise area, with each franchise in New Zealand representing a collection of unions, compared to

6408-547: The three nations against each other. In addition it was decided to hold an annual Tri-Nations Test Series between the three countries. A significant reason for the development of the Super 12 was the threat to rugby union from rival football code rugby league : part of the business model for the Foxtel pay TV network in Australia was to attract subscribers by offering an exclusive product (such as rugby union) which could not be seen on free-to-air broadcast television. By setting up

6497-477: The tournament to create a solely international based tournament for development sides. The USA Select XV and Argentina Jaguars were joined by the second team from Tonga , and a Canada Selects side made up of the top players in the 2010 CRC season . Each team played each other once in a round-robin format , gaining 4 points for a win, with the team on the most points at the end winning the title. The tournament returned in 2012, having not taken place in 2011 due to

6586-453: The visiting Bulls win 20–19. During the time the competition was branded as the Super 14, only two teams won the tournament. The Crusaders winning the 2006 and 2008 tournaments; while the Bulls ended victorious in 2007, 2009, and 2010 respectively. SANZAR unveiled in 2009 its model for an expanded season that would begin in 2011. This model was based around the original ARU proposal for three national conferences: each side were to have played

6675-445: The vote was won 10 to 6. As at June 2024, World Rugby has 113 member unions and 17 associate member unions. Membership of World Rugby is a four-step process: Regional Unions Six regional associations, which represent each continent, are affiliated with World Rugby and help to develop the fifteen-a-side game as well as Rugby sevens across the world. Not all members of the regional associations are members of World Rugby. Below

6764-438: The winners of those two games each played one of the two top ranked teams (which received a bye at the start of the finals). Those winners played for the championship. For the 2016 and 2017 seasons the format changed again, with three more teams joining, one each from Argentina, Japan and South Africa. There were four conferences, with Africa getting two conferences. The finals had eight teams with each conference winner getting

6853-449: The withdrawal from Super Rugby of all of their teams, with plans for the four sides to join an expanded Pro14/United Rugby Championship competition. Super Rugby Aotearoa and Super Rugby AU continued in 2021, Super Rugby Trans-Tasman would also take place in 2021, a crossover competition featuring the Australian sides playing the New Zealand sides. In the longer term, a new 12-team tournament from 2022 onwards had been mooted, with

6942-782: Was appointed as the new Chief Executive of what was then the IRB. He will leave this role at the end of 2020 to become head of the National Football League 's operations in Europe. In 2013 World Rugby released £18.6 million of funding over three years for developing rugby in Canada, the United States, Japan, Romania, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. Argentina also received additional support to enable it to retain its tier one status. The money, built up from successful World Cups,

7031-755: Was awarded to Victoria , Australia, and the team's name announced as the Melbourne Rebels . The Australian start-up franchise was given the nod ahead of South Africa's Southern Kings . Brian Waldron, former CEO of the NRL club the Melbourne Storm , was confirmed as the new CEO of the Rebels on 11 January 2010, but resigned on 23 April after a salary cap breach was uncovered at the Storm. In February 2012, SANZAR chief executive Greg Peters announced that

7120-537: Was confirmed in August 2018, to be played in August and September. The inaugural competition took place at the Estadio Cincuentenario in Medellín, Colombia from August 24 to September 01. The new competition brought together Rugby Americas North (RAN) and Sudamérica Rugby , following the example of the Americas Rugby Championship, The Americas Rugby Challenge is officially the 'B' competition for

7209-475: Was confirmed in August 2021, with the tournament branded as Super Rugby Pacific, with the competition returning to a round robin format, although the divisions will be replaced by one main log instead. In 2024, the Melbourne Rebels, following a period of financial difficulties and being placed into administration, were shut down by Rugby Australia. The Rebels board have challenged the decision to cut

7298-565: Was first held by the IRB in 1998, though tournaments in 1991 and 1994 were retrospectively recognised in 2009. The women's World Cup is contested by fewer teams than the men's Cup, with only the 1998 and 2002 editions featuring more than 12 teams (these competitions both had 16 teams, compared to the 20 teams in the men's Rugby World Cup). On 21 August 2019, World Rugby announced that all future men's and women's World Cups would officially be known as "Rugby World Cup", with no sex or gender designations. The first tournament to be affected by this policy

7387-670: Was founded as the International Rugby Football Board ( IRFB ) in 1886 by Scotland , Wales and Ireland , with England joining in 1890. Australia , New Zealand and South Africa became full members in 1949. France became a member in 1978 and a further 80 members joined from 1987 to 1999. The body was renamed the International Rugby Board ( IRB ) in 1998, and took up its current name of World Rugby in November 2014. In 2009,

7476-608: Was named Super Rugby Pacific . The competition has been dominated by New Zealand teams, who have won 19 times in 26 years. The Crusaders have won most often, with 12 titles. SANZAAR is the body that administers Super Rugby, and has the Australian , New Zealand , South African and Argentine rugby unions as its members. SANZAAR also runs the Rugby Championship tournament that is contested by Argentina , Australia , New Zealand , and South Africa following

7565-454: Was released following a report commissioned by World Rugby highlighting the growing disparity between tier one and tier two nations. This is in addition to the £10–12 million it normally gives out grants and tournament costs. The emphasis is on three areas infrastructure, high performance units and cross border competitions. In April 2006, tier-3 rugby nations Georgia, Portugal, Tunisia and Russia were identified as key investment nations over

7654-402: Was the 2021 Rugby World Cup, for women's team in New Zealand. World Rugby organised three international sevens tournaments - two annual Sevens Series (one for men and one for women ) which are now defunct. The quadrennial Rugby World Cup Sevens is still active. The men's season-long annual Sevens Series took place over 10 legs, each held in a different country. The women's Sevens Series

7743-649: Was warned by all the chief clubs in Lancashire and Yorkshire that any punishment would lead to the clubs seceding from the union. The debate over broken time payments ultimately caused the 22 leading clubs in Yorkshire and Lancashire to form the Northern Rugby Football Union . The competing unions' laws of the game diverged almost immediately; the northern body's code eventually became known as rugby league football. England's seats on

7832-494: Was won by Transvaal (South Africa) in 1993, and by Queensland (Australia) in 1994 and 1995. The official declaration of professionalism in rugby union in August 1995 led to a restructuring of the Super 10 competition. Following the success of the 1995 World Cup , the rugby boards of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa formed SANZAR (South African, New Zealand and Australian Rugby) to administer an annual 12-team provincial/franchise based competition pitting regional teams from

7921-539: Was worth US$ 323 million over five years, a 16% annual increase compared to the previous deal. It covers international fixtures as well as the Super 14. SANZAR remained free to negotiate separate deals for other markets, such as France, Japan and the Americas. The TriNations is the "cash cow" for the SANZAR partners as it provides nearly 60 per cent of the money from News Ltd. The Super 14 made up about 30 per cent of

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