Super Rugby franchise areas

Argentina had a single franchise, which participated in the South African Conference. It was included in Super Rugby for the 2016 Super Rugby season and represents all of Argentine Rugby Union; the team consists of players from various teams that participate in the Nacional de Clubes, which involves clubs from URBA and from the Torneo del Interior. Argentina has also a team in South African's Currie Cup and Súper Liga Americana de Rugby. The Jaguares weren't named in a Super Rugby tournament for the 2021 season and won't compete in 2021.[1]

Waratahs

Brumbies

Reds

Force

Rebels

The Australian Super Rugby franchises have evolved from traditional state and territory representative sides. For most of the history of rugby in Australia, the domestic game has been structured around regional club competitions. The strongest of these are based in the state and territory capitals of Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra. During the amateur era prior to 1996, these competitions fed into the representative teams of New South Wales, Queensland and Australian Capital Territory, respectively, and those teams became Australia's three original Super Rugby franchises.

Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia had similar representative teams and club structures but the game was generally not as strong in those states due to Australian rules football being the dominant code. Western Australia obtained the country's fourth franchise with the Western Force joining in 2006 and Victoria's Melbourne Rebels joined in 2011 as the fifth franchise. At the end of 2017, however, the Western Force lost its licence and was removed from the competition because the ARU decided to reduce the number of Australian teams in Super Rugby from five to four.[2]

Since 1968, several Australian provincial competitions were created that did not continue, including the Wallaby Trophy in the 1960s and 1970s and, more recently, the Ricoh National Championship, APC and ARC. The last continent-wide competition was the NRC, which was launched as a national competition (like the Currie Cup and the ITM Cup) from 2014 to 2020.

As well as Australian teams signing players from regional club competitions many players are signed straight from schoolboy rugby with strong competitions such as Queensland's GPS and New South Wales' AAGPS providing a large number of professional players.

While Australian Super Rugby teams do have general feeder areas, players from such areas can play for any side that offers them a contract. Examples include James O'Connor playing for the Western Force having played school rugby in Queensland and Matt Toomua playing for the ACT Brumbies having also played school rugby in Queensland.

• Notes:

There are three regions that do not have a Super Rugby franchise. All regions have provincial club competitions with a representative teams in the Australian Rugby Shield, from 2000 to 2008, and in NRC Division 2, from 2018 to 2020.

• South Australia — a substantial market with Australian rules football as the main sport. Rugby Union South Australia has an arrangement with the Melbourne Rebels for its players to be eligible for that franchise's academy team.
• Tasmania — a small market and not geographically concentrated. Australian rules football is the main football code.
• Northern Territory — Australia's least populous state or territory, with no major league sporting teams based in it.

Fiji has a single franchise. It was included in Super Rugby for the 2022 Super Rugby season and represents all of Fiji Rugby Union; the team consists of players from various teams that participate in the Skipper Cup, represents the Fiji national side or Fiji Sevens national side. Many of the players who represent the side have returned from stints internationally in Europe or elsewhere. In the past, Fiji has also a team in Australia's National Rugby Championship and Global Rapid Rugby.[5] For the 2022 season, the Drua were confirmed as being based in Lennox Head, New South Wales, Australia due to travel restrictions as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.[6][7]

Japan had a single franchise called the Sunwolves, which participates in the Australian Conference. It was included in Super Rugby for the 2016 Super Rugby season and represented all of Japan and its major rugby club competition, the Top League from 2016 to 2020.[8] In March 2019, it was announced that 2020 would be the final season for the Sunwolves after failing to negotiate a contract due to financial considerations.[9]

Blues

Chiefs

Hurricanes

Crusaders

Highlanders

Map of all provincial unions within New Zealand.

In New Zealand, each of the country's five Super Rugby teams are linked with several unions in the country's two domestic competitions, the professional National Provincial Championship and amateur Heartland Championship. For all practical purposes, all Super Rugby players will be drawn from the National Provincial Championship sides. The specific unions linked to each franchise are:

The Pacific Islands have a single franchise, that is owned and operated by New Zealand Rugby. It was included in Super Rugby for the 2022 Super Rugby season and represents all the Pacific Islands, and specifically the Fiji Rugby Union, Rugby Samoa and Tonga Rugby Union along with Cook Islands Rugby Union and Niue Rugby Football Union. The team consists of players from various teams that participate in competitions in these countries such as the Datec Cup Provincial Championship, Samoa National Provincial Championship and Skipper Cup, represents one of these nations national side or sevens side. Many of the players who represent the side have returned from stints internationally in Europe or elsewhere, or play their rugby in Australia or New Zealand in competitions such as the National Provincial Championship, Heartland Championship, Queensland Premier Rugby or Shute Shield. The Pacific Islands have had previous representative teams in Global Rapid Rugby and also competed internationally as the Pacific Islanders rugby union team and had a number of teams who competed in the World Rugby Pacific Challenge.[5] The team will be based in South Auckland, New Zealand.

Map of provincial teams and their unions within South Africa.

South Africa operated its Super Rugby system in basically the same manner as in New Zealand, with each franchise linked with one or more unions in the country's domestic competition, the Currie Cup and the Vodacom Cup (its development competition). During the 1996 and 1997 Super 12 seasons, South Africa entered their 4 top finishers in the previous season's Currie Cup. The franchises were created for the 1998 season.

The country had five franchises. The four teams from the Super 12 era—the Bulls, Cats (now the Lions), Sharks and Stormers—were joined in 2006 by the Cheetahs. Their identities are largely based around the 5 traditional powers of the Currie Cup competition; the Blue Bulls, Golden Lions, Sharks, Western Province and Free State Cheetahs respectively. In 2013, 2016 and 2017, South Africa had another team, Southern Kings, expression of Currie Cup's team, Eastern Province Kings. For 2020, the Griquas and Pumas joined for the Super Rugby Unlocked competition. In September 2020, South African Rugby announced their plan to leave Super Rugby at the end of 2020.[11]

The franchises that represented South Africa in Super Rugby were:

• Super Rugby
• Rugby union in Argentina
• Rugby union in Australia
• Rugby union in Japan
• Rugby union in New Zealand
• Rugby union in South Africa

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Super Rugby.

• Official SANZAR Super Rugby website