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Rugby Australia unveils landmark Super Rugby AUS to start this year
By Finn Morton
Australia’s four Super Rugby clubs will compete in a new competition starting this September, with Rugby Australia unveiling Super Rugby AUS on Tuesday. The new tournament aims to provide more competitive fixtures to these squads over a four-week period.
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The NSW Waratahs and Western Force will go head-to-head in the first fixture on September 13, before the Queensland Reds clash with the ACT Brumbies the next day. There are three regular season rounds before the grand final takes place on October 5.
Danger Park in Narrabri and Canberra’s Viking Park are the only two venues that have been confirmed so far. New South Wales will take on arch-rivals Queensland in Narrabri as part of the Santos Festival of Rugby in round two, before the Brumbies host the Tahs the following weekend.
Most of these fixtures will be fan-friendly double headers, with Rugby Australia announcing that this new competition will be held alongside the already-existing Super Rugby Men’s U19’s tournament, which was won by the Brumbies in 2024.
The Super Rugby Men’s U16 season will get underway two weeks later, getting underway on Saturday 27 September and finishing on Sunday 2 November.
Rugby Australia will confirm kick-off times and venues for Super Rugby AUS in the coming weeks, but as Ben Whitaker explained, it was a priority to create more competitive fixtures for the four senior squads.
“We have worked closely with the Super Rugby clubs to identify a suitable window within our domestic competition calendar to play more meaningful, quality matches,” Whitaker, General Manager Men’s High Performance and Competitions, said in a statement.
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“This first iteration of Super Rugby AUS will address that need, support the ongoing growth and development of the players and high performance staff, and give rugby fans more opportunities to watch their favourite Super Rugby teams in action.
“The Super Rugby Pacific season is relatively short and sharp, and the contracted players who aren’t involved with Wallabies can go a long time between games at that level, especially once club rugby finals commence in August.
“Super Rugby AUS will also be an opportunity to showcase the best emerging player and coaching talent out of club rugby, along with the national and Super Rugby pathway programs.”
Super Rugby AUS
ROUND 1
- NSW Waratahs vs Western Force – Saturday 13 September
- Queensland Reds vs ACT Brumbies – Sunday 14 September
ROUND 2
- NSW Waratahs vs Queensland Reds – 5.45pm AEST, Saturday 20 September at Dangar Park, Narrabri (Santos Festival of Rugby)
- Western Force vs ACT Brumbies – Sunday 21 September
ROUND 3
- ACT Brumbies vs NSW Waratahs – Saturday 27 September at Viking Park, Canberra
- Western Force vs Queensland Reds – Sunday 28 September
GRAND FINAL
- Sunday 5 October
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Feels like overkill (in a beating a live horse kinda way) but you’ll never know how good/not good unless you try it. Good luck.
What a rubbish idea. The Rugby Championship coincides with this, so the best players won’t even get minutes. Who turns up for a game of B teams?
This is very welcome, and long overdue news..
I think I have an idea how to get it from 3 to 15 rounds…. 2nd Grade!!
For sure good move to keep it super teams rather than creating something new, hopefully unearth some guns
This is a great idea, I have been thinking about this for a while. If you look back and look at the final for super rugby AU, there was a crowd of 25k. Australia Sports is very much dependent on winning culture and with a Australian rugby comp only, it will first of all guarantee an Australian winning the comp also help increase fan engagement. I think in the future there should be a double header between each team and maybe include some of the teams from Shute Shield/Hospital cup etc, maybe relegation also? I would love the opportunity to work with Rugby Australia one day, but unsure how without much experience in the management side of the market.
Big news for the game
Agree great idea.
The Australian sports public won’t turn out to watch their team lose to New Zealand teams. Imagine if the last time an Australian team won the NRL was in 2014, and it was dominated by New Zealand teams. It would not rate.
The experience the players will get will flow through to Super Rugby proper. The Australian teams were not far off the pace in 2025. If they get a bit better in 2026, due to more games, and get some wins hopefully that will start a virtuous cycle.