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 semifinals, with the first placed team playing the fourth and the second placed team playing the third. The winner of each semifinal 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 inbound tours and test matches and in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa as well as provincial competition matches. The deal was collectively worth $550 million USD."Showpiece event kicks off today, "New Straits Times", 1 March 1996. Retrieved on 18 September 2010.
The teams from Australia and New Zealand were regional teams, 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 system used by the other two participating countries.
Teams and personnel
Overview Union Team Stadia information Coach Stadia Capacity Australia ACT Brumbies Canberra Stadium, Bruce 25,000 Rod Macqueen Manuka Oval, Griffith 15,000 New South Wales Waratahs Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park 45,000 Chris Hawkins Queensland Reds Ballymore Stadium, Herston 24,000 John Connolly New Zealand Auckland Blues Eden Park, Kingsland 45,000 Graham Henry Growers Stadium, Pukekohe 12,000 Canterbury Crusaders Lancaster Park, Waltham 35,000 Vance Stewart Otago Highlanders Carisbrook, Dunedin 29,000 Gordon Hunter Waikato Chiefs Waikato Stadium, Hamilton 25,000 Brad Meurant Okara Park, Whangārei 30,000 Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua 20,000 Wellington Hurricanes The Showgrounds, Palmerston North Central 20,000 Frank Oliver McLean Park, Napier South 15,000 Athletic Park, Newtown 39,000 Yarrow Stadium, Westown 30,000 South Africa Natal Sharks Kings Park Stadium, Stamford Hill 52,000 Ian McIntosh Northern Transvaal Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Arcadia 50,000 John Williams Transvaal Ellis Park Stadium, Doornfontein 60,000 Western Province Newlands Stadium, Newlands 51,000 Alan Zondagh
Regular season Standings
Match grid
Matches Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Finals
Semi-finals
Final
FB 15 Adrian CashmoreRW 14 Joeli VidiriOC 13 Eroni ClarkeIC 12 Johnny NgauamoLW 11 Jonah LomuFH 10 Carlos SpencerSH 9 Ofisa Tonu'uN8 8 Zinzan Brooke (c)OF 7 Andrew BlowersBF 6 Michael JonesRL 5 Charles RiechelmannLL 4 Robin BrookeTP 3 Olo BrownHK 2 Sean FitzpatrickLP 1 Craig DowdSubstitutes:CE 16 Lee StensnessFH 17 Cameron RackhamSH 18 Michael ScottLK 19 Jason ChandlerPR 20 Kevin NepiaHK 21 Andrew RooseCoach:Graham Henry FB 15 André JoubertRW 14 James SmallOC 13 Jeremy ThomsonIC 12 Dick MuirLW 11 Cabous van der WesthuizenFH 10 Henry HoniballSH 9 Kevin PuttN8 8 Gary Teichmann (c)OF 7 Wikus van HeerdenBF 6 Wayne FyvieRL 5 Mark AndrewsLL 4 Steve AthertonTP 3 Adrian GarveyHK 2 John AllanLP 1 Ollie le RouxSubstitutes:WG 16 Joos JoubertFH 17 Roland de MarignySH 18 Robert du PreezFL 19 Dieter KrieseLK 20 John SladeHK 21 Federico MéndezCoach:Ian McIntosh
Statistics Points scorers PlayerTeamTotalPoints per gameDetails1234567891011SemisFinalMatt Burke NSW Waratahs157222019191168971422DNQDNQ5 try; 27 con; 26 penJohn Eales Queensland Reds1552162272016151016111010DNQ25 con; 33 penJannie Kruger Northern Transvaal139152398006201518106DNQ1 try; 16 con; 32 pen; 2 dgHenry Honiball Natal Sharks136003219132162915134113 try; 23 con; 25 penJoel Stransky Western Province120DNP17109157112120100DNQDNQ12 con; 34 penGavin Lawless Transvaal11103DNP11161852513146DNQDNQ4 try; 14 con; 21 penAndré Joubert Natal Sharks1011823000155255014511 try; 11 con; 8 penJamie Cameron Wellington Hurricanes9123131291978DNPDNPDNPDNPDNQDNQ14 con; 21 penIan Foster Waikato Chiefs891771001300716145DNQDNQ1 try; 18 con; 14 pen; 2 dgMatthew Cooper Otago Highlanders86220015051551014DNPDNQDNQ4 try; 12 con; 14 pen
Try scorers PlayerTeamTotalTries per game1234567891011SemisFinalJames Small Natal Sharks130131130110101André Joubert Natal Sharks111010031011021Joeli Vidiri Auckland Blues10002DNPDNPDNP1132010Alistair Murdoch NSW Waratahs81100DNPDNP01113DNQDNQAndrew Blowers Auckland Blues812012100DNP0001Ben Tune Queensland Reds8211100011010DNQJonah Lomu Auckland Blues8011DNP0210DNP0021Justin Swart Western Province811200201100DNQDNQJoe Roff ACT Brumbies700114000001DNQDNQJeremy Thomson Natal Sharks710012011DNPDNP010Christian Cullen Wellington Hurricanes7011DNPDNP211001DNQDNQEroni Clarke Auckland Blues71011100010101
References
Bibliography