BUCS Super Rugby

Last updated

BUCS Super Rugby
BUCS Super Rugby Logo CYMK.svg
Sport Rugby union
First season2016-17
Administrator British Universities and Colleges Sport
No. of teams10
Country Great Britain
Most recent
champion(s)
Loughborough University
(2023-24 National Champions) [1]
University of Exeter
(2023-24 League Champions) [2]
Most titlesHartpury University BUCS - 3 National Championships
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toNorth A or South A
Official website www.bucs.org.uk/premier-sports/super-rugby.html

BUCS Super Rugby is the highest level of men's university rugby in Britain and a potential pathway for university players into elite rugby. [3] It comprises ten teams from universities in England and Wales. The league is named for its governing body, British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS).

Contents

History

BUCS Super Rugby was launched in 2016 as a new, top level of university rugby above the existing North A and South A leagues.

The eight teams in the inaugural 2016–17 season were those who finished in the top four of the North A and South A leagues in the preceding 2015–16 season.

The league expanded to nine teams in the 2017–18 season and ten teams in the 2018–19 season.

Current clubs

Season structure

The season has three phases:

League

The League season currently has 18 rounds and typically runs from September to March. League points are awarded in the following way:

In this points system winning teams get 4 or 5 points, drawing teams 2 or 3 points, and losing teams between 0 and 2 points.

Championship

The Championship competition has three rounds and typically takes place in April. It features the teams who finished in the top eight of the league.

Playoff

The team that finishes last in the league is not automatically relegated. Relegation from (and promotion to) BUCS Super Rugby is decided through a playoff in the format of a three-team, single-elimination tournament.

The playoff begins with a semi-final between the winners of the North A and South A leagues. The bottom placed BUCS Super Rugby team has a bye directly into the playoff game. The winner of the playoff game is the team that plays in the next season of BUCS Super Rugby.

North vs South Playoff BUCS Super Rugby Playoff
Bottom placed team in BUCS Super Rugby
North A champions Winner of North vs South Playoff
South A champions

Results

League and Championship

Final positionSeasonSeasonSeasonSeasonSeasonSeasonSeason
2016-172017-182018-192019-20*2021-222022-232023-24
1Hartpury (CH)ExeterExeter (SF)DurhamDurham (RU)Loughborough (RU)Exeter (RU)
2Exeter (RU)NorthumbriaHartpury (CH)ExeterExeter (CH)Exeter (CH)Loughborough (CH)
3Loughborough (SF)Cardiff Met (RU)Bath (SF)Leeds BeckettCardiff Met (SF)DurhamHartbury (SF)
4DurhamLeeds Beckett (SF)Cardiff MetCardiff MetLoughborough (SF)Bath (SF)Durham
5Bath (SF)Hartpury (CH)Leeds Beckett (RU)HartpurySwanseaHartpuryBath (SF)
6NorthumbriaLoughboroughNorthumbriaLoughboroughCardiffCardiff (SF)Cardiff Met
7Cardiff MetBath (SF)DurhamSwanseaHartpuryCardiff MetLeeds Beckett
8Leeds BeckettDurhamCardiffBathLeeds BeckettNottinghamNottingham
9-Nottingham TrentLoughboroughCardiffBathSwanseaCardiff
10--Nottingham Trent (R)NorthumbriaNorthumbria (R)Leeds BeckettSwansea
Green background (rows 1 to 8) are teams that progressed to the Championship tournament.
Red background is a team that was relegated after losing a playoff to a North A / South A team.
(CH) Champions. (RU) Runners-up. (SF) Losing semi-finalists. (R) Relegated
* No Championship tournament was held in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Promotion and relegation

Alumni with international caps

Inclusion criteria: Played in a senior international test after playing in BUCS Super Rugby

Place in the BUCS Rugby Union pyramid

BUCS Super Rugby is the top division of men's university rugby in Britain. It sits in the Premier tier of the BUCS Rugby Union pyramid, along with North A, North B, South A and South B.

PremierBUCS Super Rugby
North ASouth A
North BSouth B
Tier 1Scottish 1ANorthern 1AMidlands 1AWestern 1ASouth Eastern 1A
Tier 2Scottish 2ANorthern 2ANorthern 2BMidlands 2AMidlands 2BWestern 2AWestern 2BSouth Eastern 2ASouth Eastern 2B
Tier 3Scottish 3ANorthern 3ANorthern 3BMidlands 3AMidlands 3BWestern 3AWestern 3BSouth Eastern 3ASouth Eastern 3B
Tier 4Scottish 4ANorthern 4ANorthern 4BMidlands 4AMidlands 4BWestern 4AWestern 4BSouth Eastern 4ASouth Eastern 4CSouth Eastern 4B
Tier 5Northern 5ANorthern 5BMidlands 5AWestern 5ASouth Eastern 5ASouth Eastern 5B
Tier 6South Eastern 6A

Media coverage

Some BUCS Super Rugby matches are streamed live on the BUCS Sport YouTube channel. In the 2018-19 season some matches were broadcast on FreeSports.

See also

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