SuperLiga (rugby)

SuperLiga
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2018–19 Superliga season
Formerly Divizia Naţională
Sport Rugby union
Founded 1914 (1914)
Inaugural season 1914
Owner(s) Romanian Rugby Union
No. of teams 8
Country Romania
Most recent
champion(s)		 Timișoara (6th title)
Most titles Steaua (24 titles)
TV partner(s) Dolce Sport
Sponsor(s) CEC Bank
International cup(s) European Rugby Challenge Cup
Official website SuperLiga.ro

SuperLiga, officially known as the CEC Bank SuperLiga (for sponsorship reasons), is Romania's top level and professional men's rugby union competition. SuperLiga is run by Federația Română de Rugby (FRR – the Romanian Rugby Union) and it is contested by 8 teams at the start of 2018-2019 season, with the addition of the 2017-2018 champions and runners-up of the second tier Divizia Nationala de Seniori, ACS Tomitanii Constanța and SCM Gloria Buzau respectively. It was set up in 1914, a only two team competition by then (Tennis Club Român and Sporting Club, both from Bucharest), to expand and grow in the 1920s and 1930s (with a peak in the 1970s and 1980s), after Stadiul Român and seventeen more (other) teams were founded in Bucharest-only ever since. The championship took place on an annual basis, with some gap years caused by the two World Wars mostly.

The first team set up outside Bucharest (to play the top tier competition) was IAR Brașov in 1939, a team owned and run by the famous Braşov aircraft factory I.A.R. (Industria Aeronautică Română), but the first one to become champion of Romania was Universitatea Timișoara, only in 1972.

The European Champions Cup in its early years (1960s) used to be a Franco-Romanian affair, with Grivița Roșie (1964) and Dinamo (1967) grabbing their fair share of glory. In 1995 it was Farul Constanţa the team to represent Romania in the newly born Heineken Cup (splitting with Stade Toulousain the honour of playing on home ground the first ever match of the competition), but that was to be followed by no other participation of a Romanian side ever since (as for 2016). Nonetheless the Romanian teams turned to the European Challenge Cup but despite the downgrade they never actually advanced to the quarterfinals. To better cope with the strong clubs of the 6 Nations countries the Romanian Rugby Union pulled together an all-domestic franchise - Stejarii (The Oaks), to be later renamed Lupii (The Wolves) - but despite the healthy idea and some gleams of success, the mighty SuperLiga clubs forced the Romanian Rugby Establishment to back off and allow again the champion side to take part in the European Challenge Cup.

In the 2016-2017 season, Romania was represented by Timisoara Saracens in Challenge Cup, without great success, being the only team not scoring any point and managing only two tries in six matches. For the 2017-2018 season of Challenge Cup Timisoara Saracens did not qualify into the competition, being defeated in the European Rugby Continental Shield play-offs by Krasny Yar 35-39 on aggregate.

Current teams


Winners

Champions by year

See also

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