Super Rugby Women's is an annual professional women's rugby union club competition organised by Rugby Australia. It is contested by four clubs from Australia and one club from Fiji, who play a single series of round-robin matches to determine the four participants of a single-elimination tournament. The competition replaced the representative National Women's Championship with five teams owned by the Australian Super Rugby franchises, and began play in the 2018 season as an amateur league known as the Super W. The 2022 season saw the addition of a team from Fiji, and the introduction of salaries for players. The league adopted its current name in the 2024 season. The New South Wales Waratahs are the current champions (2024) and hold the most titles with five.
Current season, competition or edition: 2025 Super Rugby Women's season | |
 | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2018 |
| First season | 2018 |
| Administrator | Rugby Australia |
| No. of teams | 5 |
| Countries |  Australia (4 teams) Fiji (1 team) |
| Most recent champion(s) | New South Wales Waratahs (5th title) (2024) |
| Most titles | New South Wales Waratahs (5 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | Nine Network Stan Sport |
History
editThe league commenced in the 2018 season as an amateur league.[1] Buildcorp were named as the league's naming rights partner,[2] while Gilbert were named as the official supplier of the league's rugby balls.[citation needed] For the inaugural season, the teams' playing lists were constructed from scratch throughout the later stages of 2018. Clubs were asked to nominate a list of desired players, with the Super W assigning two of these "marquee" players to each club. In addition, clubs were able to sign a number of players with existing connections to the club, or with arrangements for club sponsored work or study.[citation needed] In the 2019 season, the Western Force were replaced by a team representing RugbyWA.[3]
The 2020 season was suspended following the fifth and final round of the regular season, due to lockdowns imposed by various state governments in late March, following the outbreak of COVID-19 in Australia.[4] The planned playoff between the second-placed Reds and third-placed Brumbies, and the subsequent grand final, were cancelled in April; the first-placed Waratahs were declared champions once more.[5][6] The Waratahs would finish a fourth straight undefeated season in 2021,[7] which was played almost entirely at Coffs Harbour International Stadium in a pool format, and featured the temporary addition of a "President's XV" team composed of players from New South Wales and Queensland.[8][9] The Western Force returned to the league,[10] but withdrew after the first round to avoid the continuing COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales.[11][12]
On 2 October 2024, Rugby Australia confirmed that the Melbourne Rebels will not compete in the Super Rugby Women's competition in 2025, with Rugby Australia stating that an investigation into the viability of maintaining the Rebels women's program did not identify a financially viable option for either Rugby Australia or Rugby Victoria to sustain the program in 2025.[13]
Teams
editThis section needs to be updated. The reason given is: Fijiana Drua location, stadium and capacity are listed as TBA after the season has concluded.. (May 2024) |
Five Super Rugby franchises, including five from Australia and one from Fiji, will field teams in the 2025 season of Super Rugby Women's. Players in the competition are required to be seventeen years of age or older.[citation needed]
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brumbies | Canberra | Canberra Stadium | 25,011 |
| Viking Park | 7,000 | ||
| Fijiana Drua | TBA (Fiji) | TBA | TBA |
| New South Wales Waratahs | Sydney | Sydney Football Stadium | 45,000 |
| Concord Oval | 5,000 | ||
| Queensland Reds | Brisbane | Lang Park | 52,500 |
| Ballymore Stadium | 8,000 | ||
| Western Force | Perth | Perth Rectangular Stadium | 20,500 |
| UWA Sports Park | 4,000 |
Champions
edit| Season | Champions | Final | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | NSW Waratahs | 16–13 | Queensland Reds |
| 2019 | NSW Waratahs | 8–5 | Queensland Reds |
| 2020 | NSW Waratahs | —[a] | Queensland Reds |
| 2021 | NSW Waratahs | 45–12 | Queensland Reds |
| 2022 | Fijiana Drua | 32–26 | NSW Waratahs |
| 2023 | Fijiana Drua | 38–30 | Queensland Reds |
| 2024 | NSW Waratahs | 50–14 | Fijiana Drua |
| 2025 | TBD | ||
Summary of winners
edit| # | Team | Champions | Years as champions | Runners-up | Years as runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NSW Waratahs | 5 | 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024 | 1 | 2022 |
| 2 | Fijiana Drua | 2 | 2022, 2023 | 1 | 2024 |
Broadcasting
editDuring the 2020 season all matches were televised live by affiliate partners Fox Sports. Following Rugby Australia's broadcast deal with Nine Network, all games will be broadcast on streaming service Stan Sport, with one game a round being simulcast on Nine's flagship free to air channel.[14] All matches are streamed live by Stan Sport.
References
editNotes
- ^ The 2020 Final was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, and the Waratahs were declared the winner.[5][6]
Citations
- ^ "Women's Super W rugby union competition to start without pay for players". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 March 2018. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ^ "Buildcorp in talks to sponsor Super W". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 February 2018.
- ^ "Super W: RugbyWA Women unveil new squad and old-school look". www.rugby.com.au. 19 January 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "Rugby Australia suspends broadcast talks and Super W finals amid coronavirus outbreak". Nine's Wide World of Sports. 17 March 2020. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
RA have also called off plans to hold the Super W finals this month. The Reds v Brumbies match will now be held in late May...
- ^ a b Bertoldo, Lucie (3 April 2020). "Brumbies lose chance to crack Super W final after Rugby Australia cancels play-offs". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
It means the NSW Waratahs have been crowned champions for the third consecutive season after finishing the regular rounds undefeated. The Brumbies finished third on the competition's ladder and were slated to meet the Queensland Reds in a semi-final clash at Ballymore.
- ^ a b Mulvenney, Nick (4 April 2020). "'Mixed emotions' for Tahs after winning Super W title by declaration". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
The third year of the competition was cut short before a play-off to decide which of the Queensland Reds or ACT Brumbies would meet the Waratahs, who have never lost a Super W match, in this year's final.
- ^ "Super W grand final: NSW Waratahs retain title with victory over Queensland Reds". Nine's Wide World of Sports. 3 July 2021. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
Unbeaten in four straight seasons, the NSW Waratahs clinched another Super W title...
- ^ "Super W fixtures, location confirmed". ESPN. 26 May 2021. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
...the competition to be played across three rounds and a final with six teams to be split into two pools. [...] a sixth side, the President's XV, will join the competition and will feature players from NSW and Queensland.
- ^ Hugh_96 (5 July 2021). "How Super W can continue to improve". The Roar. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
... changed from the usual home-and-away season to a shortened centralised tournament played over a couple of weeks and based in Coffs Harbour. The President's XV was made up of players on the periphery of their state teams...
- ^ Conway, Bryce (1 April 2021). "Western Force launch Super W team". westernforce.rugby. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "Wallabies' SCG Test against France moved to Brisbane amid Sydney's COVID-19 lockdown". ABC News. 27 June 2021. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
Meanwhile, the Western Force's women's team have pulled out of the Super W rugby competition after just one round due to Sydney's COVID-19 outbreak.
- ^ Chadwick, Justin (28 June 2021). "Force pull out of Super W due to COVID". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
The Western Force's women's team have pulled out of the Super W rugby competition after just one round due to the worsening COVID-19 situation in NSW.
- ^ "2025 Super Rugby Women's competition update". Rugby Australia. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ Phillips, Sam (9 November 2020). "Nine, Rugby Australia confirm groundbreaking $100m broadcast deal". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 December 2020.