WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Super Rugby enters its 30th year when the Highlanders and defending champion Crusaders meet Friday, having proved its durability and adaptability as the premier Southern Hemisphere club competition.
When the Hurricanes and Blues met on March 1, 1996 to launch a new tournament involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, rugby was newly professional and there was no guarantee the competition would last long in its initial form.
It cut across state lines in Australia and provincial lines in New Zealand and South Africa, disrupting established regional fan bases. Over the years it expanded from 12 to 15 to 18 teams, encompassed Argentina, Japan and the Pacific and survived the pandemic before arriving in its current 11-team form.
In 2020 South Africa pulled its four teams from the tournament, choosing to join competitions in a more congenial time zone in the Northern Hemisphere. Some feared that might be the death knell of the competition. But it has endured.
Organizers say there are no plans to expand the competition in the near future and no overtures are being made to South Africa to return.
“Super Rugby has had so many guises, so many changes,” chief executive Jack Mesley said in an interview with the New Zealand DSPN podcast. “We need fans of rugby in this region to understand our comp.
“Who are our teams? Who are our players? There are no secrets. Clubs, financially, are not necessarily in the strongest position. We’ve got a job to solidify and really contain and fortify what we have now.”
At its peak Super Rugby could claim to be the best club rugby competition in the world. It’s not anymore in terms of quality, and it can’t hope to match the crowds that attend elite club competitions in the Britain and Europe.
Crowds in Australia and New Zealand fluctuate according to the success of individual teams but the overall audience is not growing.
Rugby in Australia exists in one of the most competitive sporting markets in the world and at the moment Super Rugby is not competing with the “product” offered by the National Rugby League and the Australian rules Australian Football League.
More than 4.3 million people attended 213 NRL matches in 2025, an average of around 21,000 per game; and around 8.2 million attended AFL matches. Super Rugby saw an increase in attendances and viewership in Australia but it doesn’t come close to matching those numbers.
Super Rugby has introduced numerous law changes in recent seasons to make the game faster and more attractive. That’s the case again this year, with a number of amendments designed to increase the time the ball is in play, reduce interventions by the television match officials.
But engineering a faster game doesn’t always improve quality, nurture core skills or prepare players for test rugby.
“Over the last four years more than four minutes of ‘dead time’ has been eradicated from Super Rugby Pacific games — a result of law innovation combined with strong intent from match officials,” a statement from organizers said.
“These innovations for 2026 reflect the ongoing commitment of Super Rugby Pacific to deliver the most entertaining and engaging rugby competition in the world. We want to be a competition that encourages quick taps and faster restarts, that cuts down on unnecessary stoppages and that embraces positive, attacking rugby.”
The former French test referee Mathieu Raynal believes the changes go too far.
The Southern Hemisphere “want more passing, more tries, less time spent in mauls and scrums,” Raynal said, “whereas we (in France) defend these specific elements and are against directions being set by the Southern Hemisphere. Our championship works, our stadiums are full.
“We don’t want to follow directions coming from countries where stadiums are empty, where they are trying to recreate spectacle and bring people back to stadiums at any cost, even if it means sacrificing fairness and the principle of player safety.”
Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh dismissed Raynal’s criticism, pointing out the Southern Hemisphere countries have won nine of 10 Rugby World Cups — England's victory in 2003.
“You can’t win World Cups without having a really strong domestic league underneath it,” Waugh said. “We’ll continue to evolve in our market. We know we’ve got the most congested market. We’re the ‘canary in the coal mine.’ We’re here in the Southern Hemisphere and we’ll continue to challenge to make the game better.”
The challenge for Super Rugby still is in achieving the balance between a competition which appeals to casual fans and prepares players for tests.
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
FILE - Crusader players celebrate after defeating the Chiefs in the Super Rugby Pacific final between the Chiefs and the Crusaders in Hamilton, New Zealand, on June 24, 2023. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP, File)
Charlotte's surge to at least the play-in tournament and possibly the playoffs in the Eastern Conference has been fueled in large part by the 3-point shot.
And by season's end, it's well within reach that the top two 3-point shooters in the NBA this season — at least in terms of makes — both might be wearing Hornets uniforms.
Charlotte rookie Kon Knueppel leads the NBA with his Hornets-record 261 made 3s so far this season, and LaMelo Ball is currently third in the league with 243 makes from beyond the arc. Between them: the Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic, who is set to miss some time with a hamstring injury.
Knueppel already has the NBA record for 3s made by a rookie as well.
“He definitely needs to celebrate,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said.
If Knueppel and Ball finish 1-2 in the final standings for made 3s, they would become the second set of teammates in NBA history to hold down the top two spots on that list for a full season. The other, as one would likely guess, were the “Splash Brothers” — Golden State's Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who finished first and second in the season standings in four consecutive seasons from 2013-14 through 2016-17 (and nearly did it in 2012-13 as well).
Other pairings have come close. Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce were second and third in made 3s for Boston in 2001-02 (behind Ray Allen, the then-future Celtic who was playing for Milwaukee at the time). And in 1992-93, Phoenix's Dan Majerle tied Indiana's Reggie Miller for the made-3s title, with Suns teammate Danny Ainge finishing third.
Here's what we know so far regarding the NBA playoff field for this season.
— Eastern Conference playoff teams: Detroit, Boston, New York, Cleveland are in. At this point, Atlanta and Philadelphia would get the other two guaranteed spots but those are not clinched.
— East play-in teams: Nobody is locked into the play-in yet, but entering Friday, the four teams headed there are Toronto, Charlotte, Orlando and Miami.
— East eliminated teams: Milwaukee, Chicago, Indiana, Brooklyn and Washington.
— Western Conference playoff teams: Oklahoma City, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver and Houston are in. Minnesota is likely to grab the sixth and final guaranteed spot.
— West play-in teams: Phoenix is probably going to the play-in tournament. Portland, the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State definitely are.
— West eliminated teams: Memphis, New Orleans, Dallas, Utah and Sacramento.
— Hornets 127, Suns 107: Charlotte clinches no worse than a .500 record.
— Pistons 113, Timberwolves 108: Detroit closing in on East No. 1 seed.
— Thunder 139, Lakers 96: Luka Doncic hurt, Lakers tie 7th-biggest loss in team history.
— Cavaliers 118, Warriors 111: Cleveland on brink of clinching top-4 seed.
— Trail Blazers 118, Pelicans 106: Portland made 20 3s, New Orleans made nine.
— Spurs 118, Clippers 99: Victor Wembanyama sits, Spurs win 11th straight anyway.
— Indiana at Charlotte: A winning record this season is going to get Hornets’ coach Charles Lee some award votes.
— Minnesota at Philadelphia: Massive implications seeding-wise for both teams.
— Atlanta at Brooklyn: Hawks closing in on Southeast Division title, possibly No. 5 seed.
— Chicago at New York: Knicks nearing the 50-win mark yet again.
— Utah at Houston: The Rockets know they can’t afford a slipup in this spot.
— Toronto at Memphis: Raptors need a few wins down the stretch to avoid play-in.
— Boston at Milwaukee: Bucks coach Doc Rivers faces his former team, a day before expected Hall of Fame formal announcement.
— Orlando at Dallas: Magic coach Jamahl Mosley enjoyed a lot of nights when he was on the Mavs’ staff. He desperately needs one of those good nights here.
— New Orleans at Sacramento: A pair of teams building for the future.
— Washington at Miami: Bam Adebayo scored 83 against the Wizards last month. The rematch!
— San Antonio at Denver: Wembanyama vs. Nikola Jokic in potential West playoff pairing.
— Detroit at Philadelphia: Sorry, Detroit. Michigan-Arizona Final Four game tips off during this one.
Friday on NBA TV: Chicago-New York.
Saturday on Prime: San Antonio-Denver.
Saturday on NBA TV: Detroit-Philadelphia.
Oklahoma City (+135) is favored to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed by Boston (+550), San Antonio (+550), Denver (+1100), Cleveland (+1200) and New York (+1600). Detroit, on its way to the No. 1 seed in the East, is +2500.
— April 10: All 30 teams play their 81st games of the season.
— April 12: All 30 teams play their regular season finales.
— April 14, 15 and 17: NBA play-in tournament dates.
— April 18 and 19: NBA playoff series openers.
— May 2, 3 or 4: Conference semifinals begin.
— May 10: NBA draft lottery.
— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.
— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.
— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.
— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).
The Thunder had 14 different players score in their win over the Lakers on Thursday night. There have been only seven games in NBA history, including playoffs, where a team saw more players score at least one point in the same game.
The Spurs are 27-2 since Feb. 1 — and have picked up only 3 1/2 games on Oklahoma City (23-5) in that span. (By the way, the best record in the East since that date belongs to Atlanta at 20-6.)
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, left, struggles to field a pass as Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green defends in the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic warms up before an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) looks for a play against Utah Jazz guard John Konchar (55) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) holds the ball away from Utah Jazz guard John Konchar during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson, left, is fouled by Philadelphia 76ers center Adem Bona, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) dunks against the Atlanta Hawks in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Toronto Raptors centre Jakob Poeltl (front) is fouled by Orlando Magic centre Goga Bitadze (back left) as Magic forward Paolo Banchero (right) looks on during first half NBA action in Toronto on Sunday, March 29, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, right, drives against Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
