The South Pacific Championship (also known as SPC) was a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

competition that was introduced in 1986 and contested through to 1990. The competition featured six teams - three provinces from New Zealand;

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...

and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

, two Australian teams;

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, and one team representing Pacific Island rugby,

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...

. The South Pacific Championship was the predecessor of the Super 6 and

Super 10 The Super 10 was a rugby union football tournament featuring ten teams from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Tonga, and Western Samoa. The competition ran for three years from 1993 to 1995 and was the predecessor of Super 12 and Super 14, ...

, as well as the professional-era Super 12 and Super 14 tournaments that subsequently expanded to become the

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

competition.

Background

The AGC South Pacific Championship was organised by the New South Wales Rugby Union (

NSWRU The New South Wales Rugby Union, or NSWRU, is the governing body for the sport of rugby union within most of the state of New South Wales in Australia. It is a member and founding union of Rugby Australia. Within Australia it is considered ...

) on an invitational basis. The impetus for starting the competition was to provide regular matches for the New South Wales and Queensland teams in an attempt to compete against

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

football - which was expanding its domestic competition in Australia. The New Zealand provincial teams Auckland and Canterbury were invited into the competition due to their close links with the New South Wales and Queensland unions respectively. A third New Zealand team, Wellington, was invited due to having an international airport in the city. Fiji was also invited into the competition as, at the time, it was the most competitive of the Pacific rugby teams.

History

The South Pacific Championship was dominated by New Zealand teams and, most particularly, by Auckland. Canterbury won the first title in 1986 and shared the second title with Auckland in 1987, but then Auckland won outright for the next three seasons in a row. The competition collapsed five years after it began, when the NSWRU found itself in financial difficulties before the 1991 season was started. ;SPC Championship Winner: * 1986 Canterbury * 1987 Auckland and Canterbury * 1988 Auckland * 1989 Auckland * 1990 Auckland * 1991 ''No competition''

Relaunch

After the demise of the South Pacific Championship, with no tournament played in 1991, the competition was relaunched as the Super 6 in 1992. This followed a resurgence of rugby fortunes after the

1991 Rugby World Cup The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France: at the time, the five European countries who participated in the Five Nations Championship. This was ...

. The Super 6 title was won by Queensland (Australia) in 1992. In 1993, the competition was revamped and expanded into the Super 10. South Africa's top three provincial teams were included and a fourth New Zealand province was added.

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

, being the winner of the

Pacific Tri-Nations The Pacific Tri-Nations was the traditional rugby union series between Tonga, Fiji and Samoa. It was established in 1982 with the Samoan team, then known as Western Samoa, winning the tournament. In 2006 it was replaced by the IRB Pacific 5 Nation ...

, replaced Fiji. The Super 10 was won by Transvaal (South Africa) in 1993, and by Queensland (Australia) in 1994 and 1995. ;Super 6 Championship Winner: * 1992 Queensland ;Super 10 Championship Winner: * 1993 Transvaal * 1994 Queensland * 1995 Queensland

1986 season

;Standings

1987 season

;Standings

1988 season

;Standings

1989 season

;Standings

1990 season

;Standings

1992 Super 6

The South Pacific Championship was relaunched as the Super 6 in 1992. won the title, in an undefeated Super 6 season for the Australian province. The competition was the predecessor of the

that launched the following year in 1993 to include South African provinces. The Super 10 was, in turn, the predecessor of the Super 12, Super 14 and

tournaments in the professional era of rugby union which started in 1996. ;Standings ;Matches

References

Bibliography

* {{International rugby union Super Rugby Rugby union competitions in Australia Rugby union competitions in Fiji Rugby union competitions in New Zealand Rugby union competitions for provincial teams

Background

History

Relaunch

1986 season

1987 season

1988 season

1989 season

1990 season

1992 Super 6

See also

References

Bibliography