Rugby Europe unveils The Super Cup

Rugby Europe has unveiled their first-ever club competition The Super Cup that will kick-start from September.

The competition will see eight teams divided into two Conferences equally with The Black Lion (Georgia), The Tel-Aviv Heat (Israel), Enisey-STM (Russia) and Lokomotiv Penza (Russia) in the Eastern Conference.

The Western Conference will have Belgium's The Brussels Devils, Netherlands' The Delta, Portugal's The Lusitanos and Spain's The Castilla Y Leon Iberians.

The tournament will have six rounds between September and December with each team playing home and away-fixtures. The top two teams from each group will progress to the semi-finals which will be scheduled in April 2022 with the final to be played in May.

World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont believes the competition will help increasing the "overall competitiveness of the international game".

“World Rugby’s strategic mission is to make rugby a global sport for all. The Rugby Europe Super Cup launched today 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.

"I would like to extend my thanks to all involved and look forward to the Rugby Europe Super Cup kicking off.”

President of Rugby Europe Octavian Morariu is confident that the competition will enhance the sport to the next level in the region.

"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.

"This is also an opportunity for Rugby Europe to promote European Rugby and open new territories for sponsors and media. "

Rounds:

Round 1: 18-19 September 2021
Round 2: 25-26 September 2021
Round 3: 23-24 October 2021
Round 4: 30-31 October 2021
Round 5: 4-5 December 2021
Round 6: 11-12 December 2021

Semi-finals: April 2022

Final: May 2022