Super Cup: Rugby Europe release more details on rugby's newest club comp

Rugby Europe have unveiled the calendar of the first season of the Super Cup, the first ever club competition solely for emerging rugby unions in Europe.

Starting in September 2021, the annual club competition will see a mix of professional club and franchise teams battling it out for the Super Cup title through an exciting competition format.

The eight teams are deployed in an Eastern and Western conference for the initial round-robin stage. Each participant will play home and away-fixtures in six rounds of action played between September and December.

The much-anticipated competition will begin with an all-Russian derby in Round 1 with Enisei-STM hosting Lokomotiv Penza. The opening weekend will also see the Portugese outfit, Lusitanos, entertain their Spanish rivals, Castilla y Leon Iberians and Dutch team Delta welcome the Brussels Devils to Amersfoort.

All 27 matches of the competition will be filmed and widely broadcast on TV and digital platforms throughout Europe and the world.

At its launch earlier this year, Rugby Europe described the Super Cup as a chance to "create a high-performance pathway for the development of pan-European rugby talent, that will be reflected in the competitiveness of the club and franchise teams, as well as in the Rugby Europe National Teams level of performance."

“In future years, it is Rugby Europe’s ambition to extend the Super Cup to new teams and new countries to increase the standards of the game, on and off the field, across the Continent and strengthen the player pathway of the national teams.”

MATCH SCHEDULE POOL PHASE:

ROUND 1

Delta - Brussels Devils

Sat 18th Sep - 15:30 (CET)

Lusitanos - Castilla y Leon Iberians

Sat 18th Sep - 18.00 (CET)

Enisei-STM - Lokomotiv Penza

Sun 19th Sep - 13.00 (CET)

Black Lion - Tel-Aviv Heat

Sat 16th Oct* - 15.00 (CET)

*This match has been postponed due to travel restrictions

ROUND 2

Lokomotiv Penza - Enisei-STM

Sat 25th Sep - 15:30 (CET)

Brussels Devils - Delta

Sat 25th Sep - 18.00 (CET)

Castilla y Leon Iberians - Lusitanos

Sun 26th Sep - 12.00pm (CET)

Tel-Aviv Heat - Black Lion

Sat 18th December - 19.00 (CET)

*This match has been postponed due to travel restrictions

ROUND 3

Enisei-STM - Tel-Aviv Heat

Sat 23th Oct - 13:30 (CET)

Delta - Lusitanos

Sat 23th Oct - 15:30 (CET)

Lokomotiv Penza - Black Lion

Sat 23th Oct - 17:30 (CET)

Brussels Devils - Castilla y Leon Iberians

Sun 24th Oct - 12:30pm (CET)

ROUND 4

Enisei-STM - Black Lion

Sat 30th Oct - 11.00 (CET)

Brussels Devils - Lusitanos

Sat 30th Oct – TBC

Delta - Castilla y Leon Iberians

Sat 30th Oct at 15.00 (CET)

Lokomotiv Penza - Tel-Aviv Heat

Sun 31st Oct – TBC

ROUND 5

Black Lion - Lokomotiv Penza

Sat 4th Dec - 13.00 (CET)

Lusitanos - Brussels Devils

Sat 4th Dec - 16.00 (CET)

Tel-Aviv Heat - Enisei-STM

Sat 4th Dec - 19.00 (CET)

Castilla y Leon Iberians- Delta

Sun 5th Dec - 12:30pm (CET)

ROUND 6

Castilla y Leon Iberians - Brussels Devils

Sat 11th Dec - 12.00pm (CET)

Black Lion - Enisei-STM

Sat 11th Dec - 14.00 (CET)

Lusitanos - Delta

Sat 11th Dec - 16.00 (CET)

Tel-Aviv Heat - Lokomotiv Penza

Sat 11th Dec - 19.00 (CET)

SEMI-FINALS AND FINAL:

At the end of the pool stage, the top two teams of each conference will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be played during April 2022, with the conference winners hosting the ties.

The Final will take place in May 2022 to crown the inaugural winner of the Rugby Europe Super Cup.