Rugby Europe Super Cup launched

A new club competition for Europe’s emerging nations will kick off in September.

The Rugby Europe Super Cup will feature teams from Belgium, Georgia, Israel, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia and Spain.

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Eight teams will compete in the first season and the goal is to expand it in future years.

It’s Rugby Europe’s first club competition, and has been created by the regional governing body and World Rugby.

Sir Bill Beaumont, the World Rugby chairman, said: “World Rugby’s strategic mission is to make rugby a global sport for all. The Rugby Europe Super Cup is an exciting growth opportunity across Europe, where rugby appetite and potential is significant.

“Importantly, this competition will bridge the gap between domestic and international competition for the nations involved, reflecting our ambition to increase the overall competitiveness of the international game.”

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Rugby Europe president Octavian Morariu added: “The launch of the Rugby Europe Super Cup is the result of a long process to create the key milestone in the progression of our unions.

“Thanks to this annual competition, players will experience the high-performance level regularly and the national teams will benefit from this permanent training.”

Rugby Europe Super Cup – The Format

The eight clubs competing will be split into two conferences for the initial pool stage.

The Eastern Conference

Black Lion (Georgia)

Tel Aviv Heat (Israel)

Enisei-STM (Russia)

Lokomotiv Penza (Russia)

Russian side Enisei-STM have previously competed in the European Challenge Cup (Getty Images)

The Western Conference

Brussels Devils (Belgium)

Delta (Netherlands)

Lusitanos (Portugal)

Castilla y Leon Iberians (Spain)

Teams will be play home and away against the other clubs in their conference – six matches in total – between September and December.

The top two teams in each pool at the end of the group stages will progress to the semi-finals, with the conference winners hosting the April fixtures. Then the final will take place in May.

Round One 18-19 September 2021

Round Two 25-26 September 2021

Round Three 23-24 October 2021

Round Four 30-31 October 2021

Round Five 4-5 December 2021

Round Six 11-12 December 2021

Semi-finals April 2022

Final May 2022

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