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Current season, competition or edition: 2023–24 Super Series | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2019 (6 years ago) (2019) |
| No. of teams | 7 |
| Country |  Scotland |
| Most recent champion(s) | Stirling Wolves |
| Most titles | 1 (Ayrshire Bulls, Watsonians, Stirling Wolves) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Official website | scottishrugby.org/super-series |
The SRUSuper Series, known as theFOSROC Super Series for sponsorship reasons, and prior to 2023 known asSuper 6 is a professional league for Scottishrugby union clubs, which began in 2019. As of 2023, the league consists of two competitions.[1]
Six clubs were awarded licences to play in the new Super 6 league by the Scottish Rugby Union.[2]
The idea of the Super 6 was to bridge a perceived gap between theScottish Premiership and the thenPro14 league (now theUnited Rugby Championship league) level to aid player progression. The six clubs will be turned into semi-professional clubs with a squad budget of £125,000 each. Every team will have a 35-man squad.[3]
The league is designed to bridge the gap between the amateur grade and the fully professionalUnited Rugby Championship teams.
Six core clubs contest the league, joined by the Scotland Under 20 development team from 2023. In 2019, the six core teams entered into a contract for 5 years and there is planned to be no relegation or replacement in that period.[1]
The top level of club rugby in Scotland consists of the two professional teams -Edinburgh Rugby andGlasgow Warriors - that play in theUnited Rugby Championship competition. They assign their players to the clubs below in a Pro-Draft; so that they can still play when not used by the professional sides.[5]
Location of teams in2022–23 Super 6 | Location of teams in2022–23 Super 6 within Edinburgh
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The Super 6 tournament began in November 2019 after the rugby world cup of that year.[6]
It was planned that the clubs would play 20 fixtures in total: 10 fixtures against one another home and away and then 2 play-off matches - which would conclude the Super 6 fixtures. A further 8 matches scheduled against non-Scottish clubs would then be played by the Super 6 clubs but this was to be outside the Super 6 competition.[3]
The first season was curtailed after the league finished and there were no play-off matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tournament did not run in season 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ayrshire Bulls became the inaugural Super 6 champions after defeating The Southern Knights at Dam Park in the playoff final.[7]
In November 2021, plans were announced that the tournament would be expanded in 2022 to include two new teams, including one from Glasgow and English basedRFU ChampionshipLondon Scottish.However, plans for this did not come to fruition in time for the 2023 Season[8]
There has been a number of controversies surrounding the creation of the new league:- some argued that the gap between the Scottish Premiership and Pro14 isn't that great. For a so-called 'amateur' league,Scottish Premiership sides often played well against professional sides.Glasgow Hawks famously beatingToulouse in February 1998 a case in point.[9]
The main criticism of the new league is the geographical split. No less than half the league's clubs are based in Edinburgh. There are no clubs from Scotland's biggest city, Glasgow - even though Glasgow Hawks did apply to join; andrugby union in the city markedly on the up withGlasgow Warriors regularly selling outScotstoun Stadium and providing thePro14 with their highest ever attendance for a final. Similarly there are no clubs from Aberdeen, Dundee or Inverness represented, although onlyDundee HSFP applied to join out of the clubs from those cities. This, it is argued, does not help the game grow in Scotland.[10]
Another argument is money. The initial money, capped by theScottish Rugby Union, will only provide players with essentially a part time wage. Thus, most will need to secure other employment. Again, sceptics may point to this as not helping the players develop.[10]
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area | Ass. Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Series core clubs | ||||
| Ayrshire Bulls | Millbrae | 8,502 | Ayr,South Ayrshire | Ayr RFC |
| Boroughmuir Bears | Meggetland | 11,789 | Edinburgh | Boroughmuir RFC |
| Heriot's Rugby | Goldenacre | 10,098 | Edinburgh | Heriot's Rugby Club |
| Southern Knights | The Greenyards | 16,024 | Melrose, Scottish Borders | Melrose RFC |
| Stirling Wolves | Bridgehaugh Park | 10,589 | Stirling, Scotland | Stirling County RFC |
| Watsonian | Myreside | 13,799 | Edinburgh | Watsonian RFC |
| Participating in the Super Series Championship only | ||||
| Futures XV (SCO U-20) | tba | tba | tba | SRU |
| Participating in Super Series Sprint, but not part of League | ||||
| Edinburgh Rugby A | tba | tba | tba | Edinburgh Rugby |
| Glasgow Warriors A | tba | tba | tba | Glasgow Warriors |
