Rugby Europe Super Cup 2023 Welcomes New Face

For the first time, the Czechian Rugby Union will be involved in the European club competition with Bohemia Rugby Warriorw (BRW) taking part. The franchise will play its games at Marketa Stadium in Prague.

The franchise will be composed of experienced national senior team members and talented young players, with the aim of boosting the strength and depth of the player pool in the country.

The Warriors will be the ninth represented country involved in the Rugby Europe Super Cup, joining the already established teams from Belgium, Israel, Georgia, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and Spain.

New format:

The 2023 Rugby Europe Super Cup will continue to be an eight team tournament, as it has been the case for the previous two editions, featuring a mix of professional club and franchise teams.

Whereas the previous groups were based on regional conferences at the initial round robin stage, the pools will now reflect the ranking of teams from the last edition.

Pool A will feature two-time winners Black Lion, the Tel-Aviv Heat, Lusitanos and Castilla y Leon Iberians, while Pool B will be contested by the Brussels Devils, Delta, Romanian Wolves and Bohemia Rugby Warriors.

Specifically tailored for this season, the competition will commence in November after the Rugby World Cup, with 20 games played throughout November and December 2023. Each team will play five fixtures, regardless of their ranking.

The Round-robin phase will see each team play their pool opponents in either a home or away match during the first 3 weeks of November. At the end of the pool stage, three teams in Pool A and the winner of Pool B will qualify for the top semi-finals, while the 4 other teams will play bottom semi-finals. These games will be played the first weekend of December.

The competition will culminate with a “Grand Final” week-end on December 16-17 where all positions from #1 to #8 will be determined (4 games) and will crown this season’s Rugby Europe Super Cup winner.

The last game of the Black Lion will be confirmed in accordance with the schedule of their match in the EPCR Challenge Cup

Octavian Morariu, President of Rugby Europe said: “This third edition of the Rugby Europe Super Cup proves the attractiveness of the competition with the participation of the Bohemia Rugby Warriors which will allow more growth in a new rugby market.

The inclusion of the Black Lion in the EPCR Challenge Cup is also a great step forward in the creation of a pathway for European rugby and the development of players, which is something the game greatly needs, as we continue to expand our great game throughout the continent.”

Round 1 - November 4 - 5:

Pool A - Black Lion v Castilla y Leon Iberians

Pool A - Lusitanos v Tel-Aviv Heat

Pool B - Romanian Wolves v Bohemia Rugby Warriors

Pool B - Brussels Devils v Delta

Round 2 - November 11 - 12:

Pool A - Castilla y Leon Iberians v Tel-Aviv Heat

Pool A - Lusitanos v Black Lion

Pool B - Delta v Romanian Wolves

Pool B - Bohemia Rugby Warriors v Brussels Devils

Round 3 - November 18 - 19:

Pool A - Tel-Aviv Heat v Black Lion

Pool A - Castilla y Leon Iberians v Lusitanos

Pool B - Brussels Devils v Romanian Wolves

Pool B - Bohemia Rugby Warriors v Delta

Semi-Finals - December 2 - 3

Finals - December 16-17

Kick-off times will be confirmed in due course.

All 20 matches of the competition will be filmed and broadcast on linear TV and digital platforms throughout Europe and the world.

Rugby Europe is the regional governing body affiliated to World Rugby responsible for the promotion, development, administration and management of international competitions for the 47 member unions across Europe. The association organizes over 130 international games and 20 rugby tournaments each year, among which Men’s fifteen-a-side European Championships (Championship, Trophy, Conference 1 & 2, Development), the Rugby Europe Super Cup club competition, U20 and U18 European Championships and all the 7s Men and Women European competitions, World Cup and Olympics Qualifiers.