Super 6 (rugby union)

The Super 6 is a semi-professional league competition for Scottish rugby union clubs.

Super 6
Current season, competition or edition:
2019–20 Super 6
SportRugby union
Founded2019
No. of teams6
Country Scotland
Level on pyramid1
Official websitehttp://www.scottishrugby.org/

This is intended to bridge the gap between the amateur grade and the professional Pro14 teams.

Six clubs contest the league. They entered into a contract for 5 years and there is planned to be no relegation in that period.

The top level of club rugby in Scotland are the two professional teams - Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors - that play in the Pro14 competition. They assign their players to the clubs below in a Pro-Draft; so that they can still play when not used by the professional sides.[1]

Location of teams in 2019–20 Super 6
Location of teams in 2019–20 Super 6 within Edinburgh

Concept

Six clubs were awarded licences to play in the new Super 6 league by the Scottish Rugby Union.[2]

The idea of the Super 6 is to bridge a perceived gap between the Scottish Premiership and Pro14 level to aid player progression. The six clubs will be turned into professional clubs with a squad budget of £125,000 each. Every team will have a 35 man squad.[3]

First season

The Super 6 will begin in November 2019 after the rugby world cup of that year.[4]

The clubs will play 20 fixtures in total: 10 fixtures against one another home and away and then 2 play-off matches - which will conclude the Super 6 fixtures. A further 8 matches scheduled against non-Scottish clubs.will be played by the Super 6 clubs but this will be outside the Super 6 competition.[3]

Controversy

There has been a number of controversies surrounding the creation of the new league:- some argued that the gap between the Scottish Premiership and Pro14 isn't that great. For a so-called 'amateur' league, Scottish Premiership sides often played well against professional sides; Glasgow Hawks famously beating Toulouse in February 1998 a case in point.[5]

The main criticism of the new league is the geographical split. No less than half the league's clubs are based in Edinburgh. There are no clubs from Scotland's biggest city, Glasgow - even though Glasgow Hawks did apply to join; and rugby union in the city markedly on the up with Glasgow Warriors regularly selling out Scotstoun Stadium and providing the Pro14 with their highest ever attendance for a final. Similarly there are no clubs from Aberdeen, Dundee or Inverness represented, although only Dundee HSFP applied to join out of the clubs from those cities. This, it is argued, does not help the game grow in Scotland.[6]

Another argument is money. The initial money, capped by the Scottish Rugby Union, will only provide players with essentially a part time wage. Thus, most will need to secure other employment. Again, sceptics may point to this as not helping the players develop.[6]

Clubs
Team Stadium Capacity City/Area
Ayrshire Bulls Millbrae Ayr, South Ayrshire
Boroughmuir Meggetland 3,000 Edinburgh
Heriot's Goldenacre 3,500 Edinburgh
Southern Knights The Greenyards 3,500 Melrose, Scottish Borders
Stirling County Bridgehaugh Park 4,000 Stirling, Scotland
Watsonian Myreside 6,000 Edinburgh

References
  1. https://www.theoffsideline.com/tenants-premeirship-pro-player-draft-unvieled/
  2. "Super6". Scottish Rugby Union.
  3. https://www.theoffsideline.com/super-6-update/
  4. https://www.scottishrugby.org/news/super-6-opening-season-to-start-after-rugby-world-cup-2019
  5. "Hawks 37 Toulouse 15 --Mike Blackie recalls a famous win". old.glasgowhawks.com.
  6. Black, Cammy (May 1, 2018). "The Super Six Pack". Scottish Rugby Blog.
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