Super Rugby

The legendary duo of Dan Carter and Richie McCaw have moved on and there is a fresh look to the Crusaders in the opening two rounds of the 2016 Super Rugby season.

The Brumbies made it two wins from two this season as they beat the Waratahs 32-15 at the Gio Stadium.

The Crusaders responded to their opening-round defeat with a 28-13 win over the Blues on Friday.

Martin Landajo touched down twice as Argentinian debutants Jaguares won their inaugural Super Rugby match in style with a 34-33 comeback victory over the Cheetahs at Free State Stadium.

The Brumbies ran in seven tries to open their Super Rugby season in style with a 52-10 drubbing of the Hurricanes at Geo Stadium.

The Highlanders got off to a losing start in the defence of their Super Rugby title as they went down 33-31 to the Blues.

In their debut Super Rugby season, the Jaguares have quickly emerged as many people’s dark horses to lift the title.

The future is bright for Argentinean rugby.

It feels a long time ago that the Bulls were lifting back-to-back Super Rugby titles in 2009 and 2010 and the truth is, no South African franchise has looked remotely like lifting the southern hemisphere’s greatest club prize since.

After previewing the Africa 1, Africa 2 and New Zealand divisions of Super Rugby, we finally come to the Australian division.

Following on from our look at the two South African conferences last week, we now turn our attentions to Super Rugby’s Australasian conferences, starting with New Zealand.

Following hot on the heels of our preview of the Africa 1 conference, we now turn our attentions to the Africa 2 division.

London Irish have confirmed the signing of the Hurricanes' fly-half James Marshall for the 2016-17 season.

The 2016 Super Rugby season is creeping closer and excitement is building not only for the annual exhibition of expansive rugby, but also the new format.

Bath have moved to strengthen their back division options by signing former Leicester and London Irish player Dan Bowden.

Super Rugby is currently preparing itself for an exciting new era that will see it expand to an 18-team format in 2016, with two teams hailing from the previously unrepresented nations of Argentina and Japan.

There aren’t too many constants in the world of rugby union, but one is that when Israel Folau gets his hands on the ball, good things tend to happen.

Over the last few years, the Blues have gone from one of the most exciting and effective sides in Super Rugby to perennially sitting at the foot of the New Zealand conference.

Marcos Ayerza is as reluctant to end his Argentina career after the World Cup as to start ribbing Leicester's England stars over their premature tournament exit.

Arguably Super Rugby sits top of the club rugby hierarchy and showcases the best talent in the Southern Hemisphere, but since the 1990s the format of the competition has changed and next season we will now see 18 teams involved.