A new season of Super Rugby gets underway this weekend and there’s a little added bonus with 2023 also being a World Cup year.
Throughout its different iterations, it has been a competition dominated by the New Zealand sides but there have been plenty of high quality Australian teams taking part.
Now if we are being realistic, the top five Super Rugby teams of all time are probably going to just be different iterations of the all-conquering Crusaders team, which would not be the most diverse of lists to run with.
Instead, since we are Ladbrokes Australia, we’re going to give this a distinctly Australian feel by running through the five best teams we have seen this side of the Tasman since the 1996 season.
Naturally we’re going to include the four teams that won a title but picking the best of this bunch is no easy task, especially when you add in the teams that went close but just fell short.
So after plenty (some would say too much) consideration, here are our top five Aussie Super Rugby teams.
5 – 2004 ACT Brumbies
Yes this Brumbies side won the title and had plenty of Wallabies stars including George Gregan and Stephen Larkham, but when you stack them up against the other teams on this list, they fall just short.
On their day they produced some absolutely scintillating rugby on their way to an 8-3 record and the minor premiership.
Some of the highlights of that season included a 44-27 win over the Blues in Round 1, defeating the Stormers 33-15 in Cape Town and demolishing the Reds 51-8 in Canberra.
They did lose to the Crusaders 47-28 in Christchurch but they got their revenge on them in the big game at the end of the season.
In an end to end decider, the Brumbies outlasted their rivals from Christchurch for a 47-38 win to secure their second title.
Check out the replay of the Brumbies Grand Final win here.
4 – 1996 Queensland Reds
The only non-Grand Final winning side to feature on this list, the 1996 Queensland Reds were stacked with talent across the park.
Featuring Toutai Kefu, Tim Horan, Ben Tune and the incomparable John Eales, this was a side that easily could have won a title if one or two things went differently.
Despite losing their opening game 57-17 to the Highlanders, the Reds would rebound in impressive fashion, winning nine of their remaining ten games to finish on top of the standings and earn a home semi final at their spiritual home of Ballymore.
One of their biggest wins would come in Durban in the penultimate round when they outlasted a very strong Sharks side 21-20.
Unfortunately for them, it was not their night when the Sharks came to Brisbane two weeks, with the Reds unable to book a spot in the Grand Final going down 43-25.
However with the way the Blues (featuring one Jonah Lomu) dismantled the Sharks in the Grand Final a week later, it might not have been a happy ending then either.
3 – 2014 NSW Waratahs
While they may disagree with this statement north of the Tweed, this was a fun Waratahs team to watch under Michael Cheika.
Never one to hide his emotions, his efforts taking the Tahs to a home grand final and an eventual triumph earned Cheika the Wallabies job later that year.
One of his most famous moments came prior to that Grand Final when he encouraged his side to tee off on the Crusaders and demonstrated his point by bringing a golf club into the dressing room.
As for the team, there is no questioning the fact Cheika’s attitude permeated its way right through the team with their tenacious drive earning them 12 wins and top spot on the ladder, seven points clear.
Aussie fans were in for a treat with a Waratahs-Brumbies Semi Final however it was not quite the exciting contest many were hoping for, with a clinical performance from the hosts seeing them run away with a 26-8 victory.
Then came the Grand Final against the Crusaders and it was a game for the ages, Colin Slade gave the Crusaders a 32-30 lead four minutes from full time.
But it was not over as Bernard Foley had a chance to win the game and he dutifully obliged by nailing his seventh penalty of the game with 30 seconds left.
You can watch the full match replay here, or just skip to 1:21.06.
2 – 2001 ACT Brumbies
There is a very strong argument that this Brumbies side was the best individual team that Australian rugby has ever produced.
Even if you ignore this horrendous away jersey.
But it didn’t matter how they looked, that 1-15 lineup was full of top line talent starting with the front row lead by Jeremy Paul, all the way through the spine of Gregan and Larkham and fullback Andrew Walker.
They won eight and lost just three, finished with the most points in the competition and conceded the fewest, they were really good.
They belted the Reds in the Semi Final and when it came to the Grand Final, they dominated the Sharks, winning by 30 points on the night.
But when you match them up with the team below, you might just have to give the edge to the side we’re about to go through.
1 – 2011 Queensland Reds
When you examine this Queensland Reds team, there are plenty of stars in the lineup including James Horwill, Will Genia and Quade Cooper, but that’s not why they wind up on top of this list.
It was the entertaining brand of rugby that this team played on their way to the team’s only title win under the stewardship of Ewan McKenzie .
Quade Cooper had a breakout season directing play and every so often just deciding to do it himself.
With cult hero Digby Ioane on the wing, the Reds were full of personality, full of points and they gave Australia its best Super Rugby team ever.
And some of the best try celebrations to boot.
But the most impressive part of this young Reds team was the way they beat the Crusaders not just once, but twice in Brisbane.
While they would have loved to have won every game 50-40 they were able to play test match rugby when it mattered most and found ways to win outside of their preferred style.
In Round 15 they ground out a hard fought, 17-16 with a Cooper penalty on the final whistle to essentially secure the minor premiership and home field advantage.
Then in the Grand Final, there were no style points on offer, just a trophy, and Will Genia made sure it would be Queensland’s.
You can watch the full replay of the 2011 Grand Final here, which just about every Reds fan has done at least once in the last 12 years.