Super Rugby (rendered in the current competition logo as "
SupeRugby", also colloquially referred to as "
Super 15") is the pre-eminent professional men's
rugby union football competition in the
Southern Hemisphere and
Japan. Building off various Southern Hemisphere competitions dating back to the
South Pacific Championship in 1986, with teams from a number of southern nations, Super Rugby officially started with the
1996 season with 12 teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The competition was known as Super 12 through to the end of the
2005 season; the name was changed to Super 14 with the addition of two teams for the
2006 season; with expansion to 15 teams in the three countries for the
2011 season, the competition was rebranded as Super Rugby (no number included). By 2006, matches were being broadcast in 41 countries.