Super Rugby 2011 details revealed (read the draw)

The Super Rugby logo.

The Super Rugby competition next year will include 31 more games with an emphasis on local derbies, it was announced today.

Details of the competition were released at the Super Rugby launch in Sydney this afternoon which revealed several changes from this year's Super 14.

No longer referred to as the Super 15, Super Rugby changes include more games, a new finals format and home and away games for teams within the same country.

The competition is split into three conferences, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, and teams will play each side in their own conference twice, as well as playing six of the eight teams from the other two conferences.

Six teams will now make up the finals, the top teams from each conference as well as the next three best teams.

It's still possible for four teams from one country to reach the semifinals under the new format, if the three wildcard spots went to franchises from the same conference.

The new format means less travel for each franchise, playing just four matches overseas.

The season will also run much longer than the Super 14, finishing in July next year, the same for every other World Cup year, and in August every non World Cup year.

The number of matches played on New Zealand soil will also increase next year, with up to seven more games to be played under the new format.

There will be 20 local derbies in each country, up from just six in Asutralia last year.

A new logo was also revealed - a big blue S.

The Super Rugby season will begin with the Hurricanes playing the Highlanders on Friday February 18, followed by the Melbourne Rebels playing their first ever game against the Waratahs.

The Blues open their campaign against the Crusaders on Saturday February 19, while the Chiefs play away to the Brumbies.

Super Rugby Snapshot
- An increase in overall matches from 94 to 125 (an increase of 33%)
- A 50% increase in the length of the season in non-World Cup years - from 16 weeks to 24 weeks
- A 31% increase in the length of the season in World Cup years - from 16 weeks to 21 weeks 40 Super Rugby regular season matches played in each country each season as opposed to 26 in Australia under the Super 14 structure and 32 or 33 in South Africa and New Zealand
- There will be 20 regular season local derbies in each country as opposed to six in Australia, 10 in South Africa and10 in New Zealand under the Super 14 format
- Half of all regular season matches will be local derbies
- Each team will play 12 of its 16 regular-season games within its own country - with only four matches overseas

Finals Series Facts
- The top team in each Conference will automatically advance to the finals in positions 1, 2 or 3 (depending on their individual competition points totals)
- The other three teams to advance will be those with the highest number of competition points outside of the Conference winners
- The teams qualifying in 4th, 5th and 6th can come from any Conference they could all come from one Conference
- In week one of the finals the teams qualifying 1st and 2nd will rest - The 3rd placed team, as a Conference winner, will host the 6th placed team in a sudden death Qualifier
- The 4th placed team will host the 5th placed team in another sudden death Qualifier
- The two winners will play the top two sides in Semis the following week The winners of the Semis will meet in the Final