The world of Rugby has given us a massive offering this year after the World Cup in 2015. Super Rugby continues to be at the forefront of the sport not just in the Southern Hemisphere, but increasingly around the world, and this season proved why.
First-time champions, record-breaking successes and failures and a whole lot of rugby.
2016 saw the expansion and introduction of not only two new sides, but two new countries to the Super Rugby competition.
The Jaguares and Sunwolves made their debut from Argentina and Japan respectively, while the Kings made their return to the competition in South Africa to bump the total up to an unprecedented 18 teams.
It was a jam-packed season with more games, more teams, more travel and certainly more points.
Here’s all the in’s and out’s of Super Rugby in 2016.
After years and years slugging away behind the might of the Crusaders and Blues in the early years of Super Rugby, then sitting behind the Chiefs as they had their day in the sun, the Hurricanes finally won their first title.
Two unsuccessful attempts at the Grand Final wouldn’t deter the Canes, living off the mantra of third time lucky and putting last year’s final defeat behind them.
They finished on top of the entire competition with 11 wins from 15 games, beating out a stacked New Zealand conference (we’ll get to that) to sit in pole position for finals time.
Led by point-scoring machine Beauden Barrett, who had a competition high 223 points this year, the Canes were near unstoppable.
Not to mention that they didn’t concede a single try throughout the entire finals series. As much as they were a force in attack, their defence defined their title win.
I know it’s their only first season, but the Jaguares have nearly the entire Argentine nation team on their roster.
As a member of the Rugby Championship and a quality side in world rugby, Argentina are no slouches on the field, but they just couldn’t click in their debut year as the Jaguares.
They did pick up a win over the Cheetahs in their first match, but they’d lose their next seven in a row, including an eight-point loss to the Sunwolves in what was their only win of the whole season.
They did hit back in very stylish fashion, breaking the losing streak with a monster 73-27 win over the struggling Kings, but that success was short-lived as they lost four of their next five.
It wasn’t a bad season by any means, finishing above five other teams including the Reds who were Super Rugby champions not so long ago.
The Jaguares season was just a little more disappointing than expected. Their performances were solid but uninspiring and inconsistency hurt them in the long run.
How ridiculous was the New Zealand conference this year? Seriously.
Four of the top five sides in the Australasian Group were kiwi teams and only one New Zealand side failed to get 50 or more competition points for the season. In the whole Super Rugby comp, there were only two other sides that surpassed 50.
The worst New Zealand side finished just four points behind the best Australian side and three of the final four teams in the semis were from… yep – you guessed it, NZ.
The only reason a New Zealand side would lose throughout the year, was because they were facing another New Zealand side, it was ridiculous. Very rarely would they lose to anyone outside of their conference.
Their dominance over this year’s Super Rugby competition was something else and just shows off the vast wealth of talent in the country.
A topic of much discussion since early talks were in place for expansion. How many teams are too many teams?
While expansion is certainly good for the growth of the game as a whole, especially in Japan and Argentina where competition isn’t so fierce, the issues around talent gaps, demolition jobs and travel schedules come into play.
The competition stretches farther and wider than nearly any other in the world, in any sport for that matter. Teams play across countries, continents and hemispheres on a weekly basis.
The Sunwolves, Jaguars and Kings won just seven games combined across 45 fixtures between them. Even the Rebels, who finished mid-table in the Australian conference had seven wins themselves.
There’s a lack of experience in the Sunwolves lineup, and the stretching of talent across six teams in South Africa has hurt the Kings and the Cheetahs alike.
– Beauden Barrett finished the season as the leading point-scorer finishing with 223, including nine tries and a competition high 75 goals.
– There were four players tied on 10 tries at the end of the season, but it was Israel Folau for the Waratahs who tops the list for 2016. The code-hopping star crossed for 11 tries in the year.
– Charlie Ngatai and Huw Jones both equalled the record for most individual tries in a match with four. There are now 13 players to have equalled the feat.
– Despite finishing runner-up to the Canes, the Lions set a new Super Rugby record for most points scored in a season, racking up an incredible 577 at an average of 32 per game, also setting a new record for tries in a season with 81.
– At the other end of the standings, the Kings set a new all-time record for most points conceded in a single season. They let in a mammoth 684 points at an average of 45 per game and can also boast the worst ever points difference at -402.
– The Hurricanes conceded just 3 points in the final against the Lions, the lowest in any Super Rugby grand final.
– The Cheetahs equalled the Super Rugby record for most tries in a single game this year when they piled on 14 against the Sunwolves. They tie the Crusaders who did the same in 2002 against the Waratahs.
– The Cheetahs fell just four points short of equalling another record set by the same Crusaders side in the same game. The Cheetahs 92-17 win wasn’t quite enough to match the 96 points the Crusaders put on the Tahs.
– A high-scoring year in Super Rugby. A single player scored 20 points or more in a game no less than 18 times throughout the season. The best was a 28-point haul from Damian McKenzie, still well short of the all-time record of 50 held by Gavin Lawless.
Premiers: Hurricanes
Grand Final: Hurricanes 20 defeat Lions 3
Conference Winners:
Australia – Brumbies
New Zealand – Hurricanes
Africa 1 – Stormers
Africa 2 – Lions
Wooden Spoon: Sunwolves
Final Standings
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Hurricanes (P) | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 458 | 314 | 144 | 7 | 2 | 53 |
| 2 | Brumbies | 15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 425 | 326 | 99 | 3 | 0 | 43 |
| 3 | Highlanders | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 422 | 273 | 149 | 4 | 4 | 52 |
| 4 | Chiefs | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 491 | 341 | 150 | 6 | 1 | 51 |
| 5 | Crusaders | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 487 | 317 | 170 | 5 | 1 | 50 |
| 6 | Waratahs | 15 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 413 | 317 | 96 | 4 | 4 | 40 |
| 7 | Blues | 15 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 374 | 380 | −6 | 2 | 3 | 39 |
| 8 | Rebels | 15 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 365 | 486 | −121 | 2 | 1 | 31 |
| 9 | Reds | 15 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 290 | 458 | −168 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| 10 | Force | 15 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 260 | 441 | −181 | 0 | 5 | 13 |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Lions | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 535 | 349 | 186 | 7 | 1 | 52 |
| 2 | Stormers | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 440 | 274 | 166 | 5 | 4 | 51 |
| 3 | Sharks | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 360 | 269 | 91 | 2 | 3 | 43 |
| 4 | Bulls | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 399 | 339 | 60 | 4 | 0 | 42 |
| 5 | Jaguares | 15 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 376 | 427 | −51 | 1 | 5 | 22 |
| 6 | Cheetahs | 15 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 377 | 425 | −48 | 1 | 4 | 21 |
| 7 | Kings | 15 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 282 | 684 | −402 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 8 | Sunwolves | 15 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 293 | 627 | −334 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
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