The Rugby Europe Super Cup is reaching its fifth staging, denoting a fresh phase for the franchise tournament since the Black Lion, who have secured the title four times, have chosen to abstain, paving the way for a different victor to surface.
Following Tel-Aviv Heat’s exit after 2023, the Georgian federation decided against entering its franchise in the Super Cup and instead directed its efforts solely towards the EPCR Challenge Cup.
Given the Georgian franchise’s absence, there are now six teams involved in the competition: the Lusitanos from Portugal, the Castilla y León Iberians from Spain, the Romanian Wolves from Romania, the Delta from the Netherlands, the Brussels Devils from Belgium, and the Bohemia Rugby Warriors from the Czech Republic.
The Super Cup, which began in 2021, was designed to act as a link between club and international levels, providing players with opportunities to engage in high-quality rugby before representing their national teams.
Portugal’s noteworthy performance in the 2023 World Cup was significantly influenced by their Super Cup experience — an effect also evident in Georgia, where the Lelos demonstrated substantial progress owing to the competition. Twelve members from their notable 2022 triumph against Wales had previously played for Black Lion.
For individuals such as Tomás Appleton, Luka Matkava, Nuno Sousa Guedes, Luka Ivanishvili, and Manuel Cardoso Pinto, the Super Cup offered a crucial avenue for their advancement as international-level players, as highlighted by Patrice Lagisquet, the former head coach of Portugal.
“The Super Cup has considerably aided the advancement of rugby in Portugal by enabling us to expose new and emerging players to this standard of training and these types of matches.”
While the majority of participating franchises remain amateur, the Castilla y León Iberians and Lusitanos have been striving towards semi-professional structures, affording players a more professional setting. The Iberians have assigned sports grant agreements to 32 players, as confirmed by José Antonio Barrio, Spain’s director of rugby, in a recent discussion with RugbyPass.
Barrio addressed the competition’s significance for both the Iberians and the Spanish national squad.
“We are collaborating closely with World Rugby regarding playing opportunities for our Iberian franchise. The Rugby Europe Super Cup is presently our primary competition, but the contracted players will still have a ten-game period to occupy, and we are optimistic that a resolution can be achieved soon.”
For the Brussels Devils, this year’s competition serves as preparation for the World Rugby Repechage, with Belgium’s head coach, Laurent Dossat, working in conjunction with the franchise’s manager, Sébastien Guns. Although a large portion of Belgium’s prominent players compete in France, several will join the Devils to accumulate playing minutes before the repechage, as Guns communicated to the Belgian media outlet Sportipik.
“It brings about some changes, as we will be able to involve some of our international players who are not receiving adequate playing time at their [French] clubs, and they will participate in these matches.”
However, not all federations are progressing in the same manner. The Dutch Delta has undergone a comprehensive transformation, with a collection of local clubs now managing the franchise, instead of the federation itself. Following the issues surrounding World Cup qualification, Rugby Nederland transferred control and ownership to Haagse RC, RC ‘t Gooi, The Dukes, RFC Haarlem, and RC Eemland.
Concerning the format, the six participants will compete within a single group in a round-robin system, unlike previous seasons. Following five rounds, the leading four teams will proceed to the semi-finals, hosted by the higher-ranked teams. The victors will subsequently compete in the final to potentially be crowned Super Cup champions towards the end of January.
The Super Cup commences on October 12, with the subsequent two rounds unfolding over the following two weekends before a hiatus in November. The concluding two pool rounds are planned for the initial two weekends of December, while the semi-finals are scheduled for January 17–18.
Matches will be broadcast on Rugby Europe TV and RugbyPass TV, and tickets can be purchased through each federation’s official website.
