Current season, competition or edition: 2025 Super Rugby Women's season | |
 | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2018; 7 years ago (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 |
Super Rugby Women's is an annualprofessionalwomen's rugby union club competition organised byRugby Australia. It is contested by four clubs from Australia and one club from Fiji, who play a single series ofround-robin matches to determine the four participants of asingle-elimination tournament. The competition replaced the representativeNational Women's Championship with five teams owned by the AustralianSuper Rugby franchises, and began play in the2018 season as an amateur league known as theSuper W. The2022 season saw the addition of a team from Fiji, and the introduction of salaries for players. The league adopted its current name in the2024 season. TheNew South Wales Waratahs are the current champions (2024) and hold the most titles with five.
The league commenced in the2018 season as an amateur league.[1] Buildcorp were named as the league'snaming rights partner,[2] whileGilbert were named as the official supplier of the league'srugby 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 the2019 season, theWestern Force were replaced by a team representingRugbyWA.[3]
The2020 season was suspended following the fifth and final round of the regular season, due tolockdowns imposed by various state governments in late March, following theoutbreak 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 in2021,[7] which was played almost entirely atCoffs 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 continuingCOVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales.[11][12]
On 2 October 2024, Rugby Australia confirmed that theMelbourne Rebels will not compete in the Super Rugby Women's competition in 2025, withRugby 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 orRugby Victoria to sustain the program in 2025.[13]
 | This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is: Fijiana Drua location, stadium and capacity are listed as TBA after the season has concluded.. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(May 2024) |
FiveSuper Rugby franchises, including five from Australia and one from Fiji, will field teams in the2025 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACT Brumbies | Canberra | Canberra Stadium | 25,011 |
| Viking Park | 7,000 | ||
| Fijian 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 |
| 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 | ||
| # | 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 |
During the 2020 season all matches were televised live by affiliate partnersFox Sports. Following Rugby Australia's broadcast deal withNine Network, all games will be broadcast on streaming serviceStan Sport, with one game a round being simulcast on Nine's flagship free to air channel.[14] All matches are streamed live byStan Sport.
Notes
Citations
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...
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.
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.
Unbeaten in four straight seasons, the NSW Waratahs clinched another Super W title...
...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.
... 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...
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.
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.
