Super Cup (rugby union)

The Super Cup or Super Powers Cup was an international rugby union competition contested from 2003 to 2005. It featured teams representing Canada, Japan, Russia, the United States and Romania.

Not to be confused with Super Rugby.

Toshiba Super Cup
Logo introduced for the 2005 tournament
SportRugby union
Inaugural season2003
Ceased2005

Tournaments

2003
DateWinnerScoreLoser
MayUnited States69–27Japan
MayRussia43–34Japan
JulyRussia30–21USA Selects

The Super Powers Cup was first launched in 2003. It was planned that China, Japan, Russia and the United States would play each other once. However, because of the SARS outbreak the Chinese team were forced to withdraw.

Russia won the inaugural 2003 competition, defeating the United States 30–21 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.[1]

2004
DateWinnerScoreLoser
May 27Canada23–20United States
May 27Japan29–12Russia
May 30Japan34–21Canada
May 30United States41–11Russia

For the 2004 competition Canada joined the competition. In May of that year Japan won the second edition of the Super Powers Cup in Tokyo, where the entire tournament had been staged, beating Russia 29–12 and Canada 34–21 in the process. The United States defeated Russia in the third-place playoff.

2005
DateWinnerScoreLoser
May 25Canada30–26United States
May 25Japan23–16Romania
May 29Canada15–10Japan
May 29United States28–22Romania

In 2005 the tournament was renamed the Super Cup and the participants were again changed, with Romania taking the place of Russia. Romania had been given 'second tier' status by the International Rugby Board (IRB), meaning greater funding and integration into the international calendar, while Russia were at the time considered a third tier nation.

Canada and Japan met in the final, with the Canadians winning 15–10. The United States beat a Romanian team missing many of their France-based professionals 23–16 in the third place play-off.

Dissolution

The competition was discontinued in 2005 after the IRB undertook a new Strategic Investment programme, with funding instead going to several new tournaments including the Pacific Nations Cup, featuring Japan (since 2006), Canada and United States (since 2013), as well as the IRB Nations Cup and IRB Tbilisi Cup, involving European, African and South American teams.

In February 2009, representatives from the IRB, Rugby Canada, the Japan Rugby Football Union, the Rugby Union of Russia and USA Rugby met to discuss the possibility of reviving the tournament under the Super Powers Cup name, beginning in November 2010, but nothing materialized.[2][3]

Honours
Year Winner Tournament location Refs
2003  Russia San Francisco, Tokyo, Krasnoyarsk [4][5]
2004  Japan Tokyo [6]
2005  Canada Tokyo [7]

References
  1. Scrum.com : Russia take Super Powers Cup
  2. Nigel Melville Direct : What a Week!
  3. Nigel Melville Direct : A thrilling rugby weekend - domestic and abroad!
  4. Super Powers Cup 2003. ESPN Scrum. 19 July 2004
  5. "China fixtures postponed". International Rugby Board. 1 May 2003. Archived from the original on 8 March 2004. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  6. Super Powers Cup 2004. ESPN Scrum. 30 May 2004
  7. Toshiba Super Cup 2005. ESPN Scrum. 29 May 2005
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