Super Rugby AU

Super Rugby AU
Official Logo
SportRugby Union
First season2020
Ceased2021
No. of teams5
CountryAustralia
Last
champion(s)		Reds (2021; 1st title)
Most titles
TV partner(s)See broadcasters
Sponsor(s)Harvey Norman
Related
competitions		Super Rugby
Super Rugby Aotearoa
Super Rugby Unlocked
Official websiteSuperRugby.com

Super Rugby AU, formerly named the Harvey Norman Super Rugby AU for sponsorship purposes,[1] was a rugby union competition organised by Rugby Australia. The competition was created to supplant the 2020 Super Rugby season, which had been suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to ongoing international travel restrictions relating to the pandemic, the competition was continued with a second season in 2021.[2] The competition features the four Australian Super Rugby teams from the Australian conference, with the addition of the Western Force, in a round-robin tournament over a 12-week period, made up of 10 rounds, a qualifying final and a final.

The competition was announced on 12 May,[3] with the first round commencing on 3 July, making it the third sport to return in Australia (behind AFL and NRL) and just the second rugby union competition to return. Initially, all games were played behind-closed-doors, with restrictions on crowds being eased over time.[4][5]

Results

Year Final
Winner Score / Venue Runners-up
2020
Brumbies 		28–23
Canberra Stadium, Canberra
Reds
2021
Reds 		19–16
Lang Park, Brisbane
Brumbies

Media coverage

Television

During 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, with one game a round being simulcast on Nine's flagship free to air channel.[6]

Broadcasters

Super Rugby AU was shown by the following broadcasters:

Broadcaster Country(ies)
Digicel  Cook Islands
 Fiji
 Papua New Guinea
 Samoa
 Solomon Islands
 Tonga
 Tuvalu
 Vanuatu
ESPN
ESPN International 		 Argentina
 Bolivia
 Brazil
 Canada
 Chile
 Colombia
 Ecuador
 Guyana
 Paraguay
 Peru
 Suriname
 United States
 Uruguay
 Venezuela
Nine Network
Stan Sport 		 Australia
Sky Sport  New Zealand
SuperSport  South Africa
Telefónica  Spain
Wowow  Japan

Corporate relations

Sponsorship

The 2020 tournament was run by Rugby Australia with the sponsorship of Foxtel which provided television coverage on its Fox Sports channels with Vodafone (Australia) being the naming rights sponsor. Gilbert is the official supplier of all rugby balls. Ahead of the 2021 season, Foxtel and Vodafone ended their sponsorship agreements, with Nine Network and Stan Sports providing the television coverage. Ahead of the start of the 2021 season, Rugby Australia announced a naming right sponsorship deal with retail company Harvey Norman.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Harvey Norman announced as Super Rugby AU naming rights partner for 2021". Rugby.com.au. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Revealed: Rugby Australia announce 2021 Super Rugby AU draw". www.rugby.com.au. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Suncorp Stadium derby to open Super Rugby AU competition". Rugby Australia. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  4. ^ "PM opens door for Super Rugby AU crowds". Rugby Australia. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Brumbies get crowd boost for Super AU decider". ESPN.com. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  6. ^ Phillips, Sam (9 November 2020). "Nine, Rugby Australia confirm groundbreaking $100m broadcast deal". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 December 2020.