2022 Super Rugby Pacific season

2022 Super Rugby Pacific season
Countries Australia (5 teams)
 Fiji (1 team)
 New Zealand (5 teams)
Pacific Islands (1 team)
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and knockout
ChampionsCrusaders (11th title)
Matches played91
Tries scored626 (6.88 per match)
Top point scorer(s)New Zealand Stephen Perofeta, Blues (129)
Top try scorer(s)New Zealand Leicester Fainga'anuku, Crusaders
New Zealand Will Jordan, Crusaders
New Zealand Sevu Reece, Crusaders (all 10)
Official websiteOfficial site
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The 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season (known as Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific in Australia and DHL Super Rugby Pacific in New Zealand) is the 27th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous seasons were replaced with Super Rugby Unlocked, Super Rugby Aotearoa and Super Rugby AU in 2020, and Super Rugby Aotearoa, Super Rugby AU, and Super Rugby Trans-Tasman in 2021. The 2022 edition will revert to a 12-team competition, with a single pool replacing the geographical conference system, as well as introducing a new name for the reformatted competition.[1][2] The season is expected to run from 18 February, with the final to be played on 18 June - culminating before the start of the mid-year international window.[3]

With the exclusion or withdrawal of the Argentine Jaguares, the Japanese Sunwolves, and the South African Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers sides at the conclusion of the 2020 Super Rugby season,[4][5][6] three new teams were announced to make up the 12 team tournament. The Fiji Rugby Union's domestic team, the Fijian Drua, having previously competed in the Australian National Rugby Championship from 2017 to 2019, were announced as one addition to the competition.[7] The newly created Moana Pasifika franchise, representing players from Samoa and Tonga and other Pacific Islands, also successfully put forth a bid to join the competition. The Force also returned to Super Rugby, following their exclusion at the end of the 2017 Super Rugby season[8] and following on from their inclusion in Super Rugby AU and Super Rugby Trans-Tasman in both 2020 and 2021.[9]

The competition was again affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the competitions fixtures being revised in December 2021, due to border restriction in New Zealand.[10] Then in January, the Force announced their Round 1 and Round 4 home matches would be swapped to away matches, due to border restrictions in Western Australia.[11] In February, it was announced that the New Zealand sides (and Moana Pasifika) would enter a bio-bubble in Queenstown, New Zealand due to the threat of COVID-19 with all NZ-based matches being played at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin or Wakatipu Rugby Club, Queenstown.[12] Despite this, it was announced that the Round 1 match between Moana Pasifika and the Blues would be postponed due to COVID-19 cases within the Moana Pasifika squad.[13]

  1. ^ "Super Rugby 2022: New Zealand Rugby, Rugby Australia reportedly agree on new competition format". Newshub NZ. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  2. ^ "SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC FORMAT CONFIRMED". superrugby.co.nz. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Super Rugby Pacific confirms draw for 2022 season". Rugby.com.au. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Jaguares players encouraged to sign offshore as Super Rugby future remains uncertain". Stuff.co.nz. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Sunwolves to be cut from Super Rugby after 2020 season". skysports.com. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  6. ^ "New Zealand Rugby says goodbye to South Africa in historic Super Rugby move". Stuff.co.nz. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Rugby: Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua receive licences to join revamped Super Rugby competition". skysports.com. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Western Force culled from Super Rugby competition". Daily Telegraph. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  9. ^ "Moana Pasifika, Fiji on course to join Super Rugby in 2022". rnz.co.nz. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Revised Super Rugby Pacific draw confirmed". SANZAAR. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Force travel east for opening Super Rugby Pacific Rounds". Western Force. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  12. ^ "New Zealand teams to relocate to Queenstown for opening rounds". SANZAAR. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  13. ^ "Moana Pasifika versus Blues match postponed". SANZAAR. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.