NEW Super 15 Format Explained - READ NOW!

The new Super 15 format is not as straight forward as before and the following will take some time digesting, but it will be important to understand all the changes to the old format when the tournament kicks off on 19 February:

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New Competition Format

The Super Rugby competition will not only expand to 15 teams in 2011, it will also undergo a significant format revamp. A new three-Conference system will be in place where the five teams within each country will make up nationally-based Conferences and play their four “local” rivals on a home and away basis (eight games in total).

They will also play four of the other five teams in each of the other two Conferences on a home or away basis (another eight games).

This leads to an overall program of 16 games per team in the regular season, as opposed to the current 13 – and separate Australian Conference, South African Conference and New Zealand Conference tables will chart the fortunes of teams in each country.

A three-week finals series involving six teams – as opposed to the current two- week playoffs for four teams – will further increase the length of the season.

At the end of the regular season matches, the top team in each Conference will qualify for the finals.

The other three teams to qualify will be the sides with the most number of competition points – regardless in which Conference they are based.

The Conference winners are also ensured of a home finals match. Therefore, at least one finals match will be played in each country each year.

Super Rugby Snapshot

• An increase in overall matches from 94 to 125 (an increase of 33%)
• A 50% increase in the length of the season in non-World Cup years – from 16 weeks to 24 weeks
• A 31% increase in the length of the season in World Cup years – from 16 weeks to 21 weeks
• 40 Super Rugby regular season matches played in each country each season as opposed to 26 in Australia under the Super 14 structure and 32 or 33 in South Africa and New Zealand
• There will be 20 regular season local derbies in each country as opposed to six in Australia, 10 in South Africa and10 in New Zealand under the Super 14 format
• Half of all regular season matches will be local derbies
• Each team will play 12 of its 16 regular-season games within its own country – with only four matches overseas

Finals Series Facts

• The top team in each Conference will automatically advance to the finals in positions 1, 2 or 3 (depending on their individual competition points totals)
• The other three teams to advance will be those with the highest number of competition points outside of the Conference winners
• The teams qualifying in 4th, 5th and 6th can come from any Conference – they could all come from one Conference
• In week one of the finals the teams qualifying 1st and 2nd will rest The 3rd placed team, as a Conference winner, will host the 6th placed team in a sudden death Qualifier
• The 4th placed team will host the 5th placed team in another sudden death Qualifier
• The two winners will play the top two sides in Semis the following week
• The winners of the Semis will meet in the Final

The full new format is also available at  -  http://www.supersport.com/rugby/super-rugby/news/110119/Super_Rugby_How_it_works