1996 Super 12 season
Encyclopedia
The 1996 Super 12 season was the inaugural season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia
, New Zealand
and South Africa
. The season ran from February to May 1996, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams entered the playoff semi finals, with the first placed team playing the fourth and the second placed team playing the third. The winner of each semi final qualified for the final, which was contested between the Auckland Blues and Natal Sharks, with the Blues winning 45 – 21 to win the first Super 12 title.
This was the first season of professional rugby union in the Southern Hemisphere (the Northern Hemisphere had their first season a few months earlier due to the seasonal differences). The season was also the first of 10 under the deal between SANZAR
and News Corporation
which gave all broadcasting rights to News Limited for the Super 12, Tri-Nations, all in-bound tours and test matches and in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa as well as provincial competition matches. The deal was collectively worth $550,000,000 USD.
The teams from Australia and New Zealand were regionally-based franchises, a system that has continued to this day. South Africa used a different system for determining its Super 12 teams. The top four sides from the previous season of the country's domestic competition, the Currie Cup
, were granted berths in the Super 12. This system would continue through the 1998 competition; only in 1999 did South Africa adopt the same franchise system used by the other two participating countries.
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Natal Sharks
|
FB
15
André Joubert
RW
14
James Small
OC
13
Jeremy Thomson
IC
12
Dick Muir
LW
11
Cabous van der Westhuisen
FH
10
Henry Honiball
SH
9
Kevin Putt
N8
8
Gary Teichmann
(c)
OF
7
Wickus van Heerden
BF
6
Wayne Fyvie
RL
5
Mark Andrews
LL
4
Steve Atherton
TP
3
Adrian Garvey
HK
2
John Allan
LP
1
Ollie le Roux
Substitutions:
Bn
16
Jozuzi Joubert
Bn
17
Roland de Marigny
Bn
18
Robert du Preez
Bn
19
Dieter Kriese
Bn
20
John Slade
Bn
21
Federico Mendez
Coach:
South Africa Ian McIntosh
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The season ran from February to May 1996, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams entered the playoff semi finals, with the first placed team playing the fourth and the second placed team playing the third. The winner of each semi final qualified for the final, which was contested between the Auckland Blues and Natal Sharks, with the Blues winning 45 – 21 to win the first Super 12 title.
This was the first season of professional rugby union in the Southern Hemisphere (the Northern Hemisphere had their first season a few months earlier due to the seasonal differences). The season was also the first of 10 under the deal between SANZAR
SANZAR
SANZAR is the body which operates Super Rugby and Tri Nations competitions in rugby union. It is a joint venture of the South African Rugby Union, the New Zealand Rugby Union and the Australian Rugby Union, formed in 1996.Created shortly after rugby's move to professionalism in 1995, SANZAR's two...
and News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
which gave all broadcasting rights to News Limited for the Super 12, Tri-Nations, all in-bound tours and test matches and in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa as well as provincial competition matches. The deal was collectively worth $550,000,000 USD.
The teams from Australia and New Zealand were regionally-based franchises, a system that has continued to this day. South Africa used a different system for determining its Super 12 teams. The top four sides from the previous season of the country's domestic competition, the Currie Cup
Currie Cup
The Currie Cup tournament is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring , featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces...
, were granted berths in the Super 12. This system would continue through the 1998 competition; only in 1999 did South Africa adopt the same franchise system used by the other two participating countries.
Table
| Top four teams advance to finals |
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Australia Queensland RedsQueensland Reds The Queensland Reds represent Queensland in the sport of rugby union in the Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996 they were a representative team selected on merit from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland... |
11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 320 | 247 | 73 | 5 | 41 |
| 2 |  New Zealand Auckland Blues |
11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 408 | 354 | 54 | 9 | 41 |
| 3 | South Africa Northern Transvaal |
11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 329 | 208 | 121 | 6 | 38 |
| 4 | South Africa Natal Sharks |
11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 389 | 277 | 112 | 9 | 33 |
| 5 | Australia ACT Brumbies |
11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 306 | 273 | 33 | 4 | 32 |
| 6 | New Zealand Waikato Chiefs |
11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 291 | 269 | 22 | 4 | 28 |
| 7 | Australia NSW Waratahs New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs are an Australian rugby union football team, representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super 15 Super Rugby competition... |
11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 312 | 290 | 22 | 8 | 28 |
| 8 | New Zealand Otago Highlanders |
11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 329 | 391 | −62 | 6 | 26 |
| 9 | New Zealand Wellington Hurricanes |
11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 290 | 353 | −63 | 5 | 17 |
| 10 | South Africa Transvaal |
11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 228 | 299 | −71 | 4 | 16 |
| 11 | South Africa Western Province Stormers The Stormers, for sponsorship reasons referred to as DHL Stormers, are a South African rugby union team based in Cape Town competing in the Super Rugby competition . Despite their lack of silverware over the years, their home stadium, Newlands, typically draws the highest average attendance figures... |
11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 251 | 353 | −101 | 1 | 15 |
| 12 | New Zealand Canterbury Crusaders |
11 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 234 | 373 | −139 | 2 | 13 |
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 11
Week 12
Semifinals
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Final
| tyle="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align=center> | Auckland Blues | ||
| FB | 15 | Adrian Cashmore Adrian Cashmore Adrian Richard Cashmore in Tokoroa, New Zealand. He is a New Zealand rugby player who played for Auckland and Bay of Plenty provincially, and the Auckland Blues and Chiefs in Super Rugby. He also played professionally in Japan and for Welsh region the Ospreys in the Celtic League... |
|
| RW | 14 | Joeli Vidiri Joeli Vidiri Joeli Vidiri is a retired Fijian rugby union footballer who also played for the All Blacks. He played as a wing.-Career:... |
|
| OC | 13 | Eroni Clarke Eroni Clarke Eroni Clarke was a Samoan-born New Zealand rugby union player who played for Auckland, the Blues, the Highlanders and the All Blacks at international level. Clarke made 154 appearances for Auckland, making him the fifth most capped player in the union's history... |
|
| IC | 12 | Johnny Ngauamo | |
| LW | 11 | Jonah Lomu Jonah Lomu Jonah Tali Lomu, MNZM is a New Zealand rugby union player. He had sixty-three caps as an All Black after debuting in 1994. He is generally regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union. He has had a huge impact on the game... |
|
| FH | 10 | Carlos Spencer Carlos Spencer Carlos James Spencer is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who currently plays at fly-half for the Lions in the Super 14 and formerly for the New Zealand All Blacks. He is well known for his flamboyant, attacking play and ball handling skills. He has signed to play for the Lions for 2010 and 2011... |
|
| SH | 9 | Ofisa Tonu`u | |
| N8 | 8 | Zinzan Brooke Zinzan Brooke Zinzan Valentine Brooke is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer who played at number eight... (c) |
|
| OF | 7 | Andrew Blowers Andrew Blowers Andrew Francis Blowers is a rugby union player who played for Auckland Blues, Northampton Saints and Bristol. He played for the All Blacks between 1996 and 1999 in which he had played 11 tests and 7 games... |
|
| BF | 6 | Michael Jones | |
| RL | 5 | Charles Riechelmann Charles Riechelmann Charles Riechelmann was a Tongan-born New Zealand rugby union player. He played for Auckland, the Blues and the All Blacks at international level. He played six test matches for New Zealand in 1997, scoring three tries. He was also a part of the Blues 1996 and 1997 Super 12 winning teams.-External... |
|
| LL | 4 | Robin Brooke Robin Brooke Robin Matthew Brooke is a former New Zealand rugby player. He played for the All Blacks n the 1990s, playing many tests alongside younger brother Zinzan Brooke... |
|
| TP | 3 | Olo Brown Olo Brown Olo Max Brown was born 24 October 1967 in Apia, Samoa. He played 56 tests at prop for the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team from 1992 to 1998, missing only two tests in his career. He suffered neck and back injuries which ended his rugby playing days, and retired to become a lawyer.-External links:... |
|
| HK | 2 | Sean Fitzpatrick Sean Fitzpatrick Sean Fitzpatrick MNZM is a former rugby union footballer who represented New Zealand, and is widely regarded as one of the finest players ever to come from that country. He is also the son of former player Brian Fitzpatrick.... |
|
| LP | 1 | Craig Dowd Craig Dowd Craig Dowd born 26 October 1969 in Auckland, New Zealand is a former rugby union player and current coach. He played 60 test matches for New Zealand between 1993 and 2000, spending his entire provincial career with Auckland. He spent his entire Super 12 career, 64 matches, with the Auckland Blues,... |
|
| Substitutes: | |||
| Bn | 16 | Lee Stensness Lee Stensness Lee Stensness is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer who played for Manawatu, Auckland, the Blues and the All Blacks. He made his debut for the All Blacks in 1993.-Early career:... |
|
| Bn | 17 | Cameron Rackham | |
| Bn | 18 | Michael Scott | |
| Bn | 19 | Jason Chandler | |
| Bn | 20 | Kevin Nepia | |
| Bn | 21 | Andrew Roose | |
| Coach: | |||
| New Zealand Graham Henry Graham Henry Graham Henry is a New Zealand Rugby Union coach, and former head coach of the country's national team, the All Blacks. He played rugby union for Canterbury and cricket for Otago in the Plunket Shield. Henry was heavily criticized following the All Blacks quarterfinal exit at the 2007 Rugby World... |
|||
André Joubert
André Joubert is a former South African rugby union player. He was capped 34 times at fullback for the Springboks in the early 1990s, and amassed a total of 115 Test Points from 10 tries, 17 penalties and 7 conversions....
James Small (rugby player)
James Small is a former South African rugby union footballer who played on the wing for the Springboks. His international debut was against the All Blacks in 1992 and he made his final appearance against Scotland in 1997. He was part of the 1995 rugby world cup winning Springbok team, and famously...
Henry Honiball
Henry William Honiball is a former South African rugby union footballer. He played at fly-half for South Africa during the post-apartheid era, although he was physically and technically acquainted in any back position....
Gary Teichmann
Gary Hamilton Teichmann is a retired Rhodesian/Zimbabwean-born South African rugby union player. He played number eight and was the captain of the South African national team, the Springboks, between 1995 and 1999...
(c)
Mark Andrews (rugby player)
Mark Andrews is a former rugby player.He achieved his Junior Springbok colours in waterpolo while still at school. He switched to rugby as his main sport and achieved honours while at school and university...
Adrian Garvey
Adrian Christopher Garvey was a Zimbabwean-born South African rugby union player. He played as a prop.Garvey played for Old Miltonians, Coastal Sharks, Natal and Newport Gwent Dragons....
Ollie le Roux
Andre-Henri "Ollie" le Roux is a South African rugby union footballer who currently plays for Leinster.-Rugby career:...
Roland de Marigny
Roland de Marigny is an Italian rugby union footballer. His normal position is fullback though he can also play centre or fly-half.His parents originated from Mauritius....
Federico Mendez
Federico Mendez , also known as Freddie Mendez is an Argentine rugby union footballer.Méndez played professional rugby in South Africa, England and France...
South Africa Ian McIntoshIan McIntosh
Ian McIntosh is a Zimbabwean-South African rugby union coach. He served as head coach for the Springboks during the early 1990s.McIntosh grew up near Bulawayo....
Top ten points scorers
| Player | Team | Total | Points per game | Details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Semis | Final | ||||
| Matthew Burke |  Australia NSW Waratahs |
157 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 22 | DNQ | DNQ | 5 try; 27 con; 26 pen |
| John Eales John Eales John Eales AM is an Australian former rugby union player and the most successful captain in the history of Australian rugby.-Early life:... |
Australia Queensland Reds |
155 | 2 | 16 | 22 | 7 | 20 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 10 | DNQ | 25 con; 33 pen |
| Jannie Kruger |  South Africa Northern Transvaal |
139 | 15 | 2 | 39 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 20 | 15 | 18 | 10 | 6 | DNQ | 1 try; 16 con; 32 pen; 2 dg |
| Henry Honiball Henry Honiball Henry William Honiball is a former South African rugby union footballer. He played at fly-half for South Africa during the post-apartheid era, although he was physically and technically acquainted in any back position.... |
South Africa Natal Sharks |
136 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 9 | 13 | 2 | 16 | 29 | 15 | 13 | 4 | 11 | 3 try; 23 con; 25 pen |
| Joel Stransky Joel Stransky Joel Theodore Stransky is a former South African rugby union rugby player, most notable for scoring all of South Africa's points, including the famous dramatic winning drop goal, against New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. He played as a fly-half.-Early life:Stransky was born in... |
South Africa Western Province |
120 | DNP | 17 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 7 | 11 | 21 | 20 | 10 | 0 | DNQ | DNQ | 12 con; 34 pen |
| Gavin Lawless Gavin Lawless Gavin Lawless is a former South African rugby union player.Playing as fullback, he set a number of point scoring records, including the most tries and most points in a Super 12 match , the most penalties in a Currie Cup season , and the most conversions in a Currie Cup final Gavin Lawless is a... |
South Africa Transvaal |
111 | 0 | 3 | DNP | 11 | 16 | 18 | 5 | 25 | 13 | 14 | 6 | DNQ | DNQ | 4 try; 14 con; 21 pen |
| André Joubert André Joubert André Joubert is a former South African rugby union player. He was capped 34 times at fullback for the Springboks in the early 1990s, and amassed a total of 115 Test Points from 10 tries, 17 penalties and 7 conversions.... |
South Africa Natal Sharks |
101 | 18 | 2 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 5 | 11 try; 11 con; 8 pen |
| Jamie Cameron |  New Zealand Wellington Hurricanes |
91 | 23 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 19 | 7 | 8 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNQ | DNQ | 14 con; 21 pen |
| Ian Foster Ian Foster Ian Foster is a Distinguished Fellow and the Associate Division Director in the Mathematics and Computer Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory, where he leads the Distributed Systems Laboratory, and he is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Chicago... |
New Zealand Waikato Chiefs |
89 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 14 | 5 | DNQ | DNQ | 1 try; 18 con; 14 pen; 2 dg |
| Matthew Cooper Matthew Cooper (rugby union) Matthew Cooper is a former New Zealand international rugby union player. He made his All Black debut v Ireland on 6 June 1992, setting a then-world record of 23 points on test debut, with the last of his 8 caps coming on 3 July 1994 v France.... |
New Zealand Otago Highlanders |
86 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 14 | DNP | DNQ | DNQ | 4 try; 12 con; 14 pen |
Top ten try scorers
| Player | Team | Total | Tries per game | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Semis | Final | |||
| James Small James Small (rugby player) James Small is a former South African rugby union footballer who played on the wing for the Springboks. His international debut was against the All Blacks in 1992 and he made his final appearance against Scotland in 1997. He was part of the 1995 rugby world cup winning Springbok team, and famously... |
South Africa Natal Sharks |
13 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| André Joubert André Joubert André Joubert is a former South African rugby union player. He was capped 34 times at fullback for the Springboks in the early 1990s, and amassed a total of 115 Test Points from 10 tries, 17 penalties and 7 conversions.... |
South Africa Natal Sharks |
11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Joeli Vidiri Joeli Vidiri Joeli Vidiri is a retired Fijian rugby union footballer who also played for the All Blacks. He played as a wing.-Career:... |
New Zealand Auckland Blues |
10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | DNP | DNP | DNP | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Alistair Murdoch | Australia NSW Waratahs |
8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | DNP | DNP | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | DNQ | DNQ |
| Andrew Blowers Andrew Blowers Andrew Francis Blowers is a rugby union player who played for Auckland Blues, Northampton Saints and Bristol. He played for the All Blacks between 1996 and 1999 in which he had played 11 tests and 7 games... |
New Zealand Auckland Blues |
8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | DNP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ben Tune Ben Tune Ben Tune is an Australian rugby union player. He played most of his rugby career on the wing but later switched to outside centre.... |
Australia Queensland Reds |
8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | DNQ |
| Jonah Lomu Jonah Lomu Jonah Tali Lomu, MNZM is a New Zealand rugby union player. He had sixty-three caps as an All Black after debuting in 1994. He is generally regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union. He has had a huge impact on the game... |
New Zealand Auckland Blues |
8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | DNP | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | DNP | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Justin Swart | South Africa Western Province |
8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | DNQ | DNQ |
| Joe Roff Joe Roff Joe Roff is a retired Australian rugby union footballer and a product of the Tuggeranong Vikings Rugby Union Club in Canberra, who played on the wing or at fullback for Brumbies and Australia and played 5 tests as a centre in the early part of his test career... |
Australia ACT Brumbies |
7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | DNQ | DNQ |
| Jeremy Thomson | South Africa Natal Sharks |
7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | DNP | DNP | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Christian Cullen Christian Cullen Christian Mathias Cullen is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer. He played most of his rugby at fullback for New Zealand , for the Hurricanes in the Super 12, and for Manawatu, Wellington and later Munster at first-class level. He was nicknamed the Paekakariki Express... |
New Zealand Wellington Hurricanes |
7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | DNP | DNP | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | DNQ | DNQ |
| Eroni Clarke Eroni Clarke Eroni Clarke was a Samoan-born New Zealand rugby union player who played for Auckland, the Blues, the Highlanders and the All Blacks at international level. Clarke made 154 appearances for Auckland, making him the fifth most capped player in the union's history... |
New Zealand Auckland Blues |
7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |