Picture | Super Rugby Unlocked trophy revealed – and 5 fun facts

The Super Rugby Unlocked tournament, currently being contested by the Bulls, Stormers, Lions, Sharks, Cheetahs, Pumas and Griquas, has a new trophy.

SUPER RUGBY UNLOCKED | ROUND 6 LINE-UPS AND PREDICTIONS

The trophy was produced by the workshop of Gilles Raffle and the team at MascotOne.

Below, five interesting facts about the trophy which appears at this stage set to adorn the trophy cabinet at Loftus Versfeld for the next 12 months.

With just this weekend’s matches and next’s to be played, the Bulls hold a six point lead, albeit having played one more match than their closest pursuers, the Stormers and Sharks.

All Jake White’s men need to do in order to clinch the title will be to beat the struggling Pumas at fortress Loftus next Friday (19:00 kick-off).

TROPHY TOOK 300 HOURS TO PRODUCE AND STANDS 49CM TALL

The trophy’s core materials of brass and aircraft aluminium are edgy and lightweight, but tough and resilient, representing the evolution of the competition and the physical attributes it has demanded of the players. 

The base contains the name of every winning team, and from their collective rugby glory, seven arms emerge and spiral and twist upwards in flashes of silver, echoing the players and teams that have reached onwards and upwards towards rugby glory over 25 years.

The seven arms represent the seven South African teams that have competed for the trophy, with the front two arms forming the ‘V’ of Vodacom, the company that was there in 1996 when it all began.

At the pinnacle of the seven arms, a golden rugby ball rests at an angle as if placed on a kicking tee, ready for what comes next in the game of rugby.

It took 200 hours of 3D modelling, layout and design just to get the trophy to the physical production phase. In total, it took 300 hours to produce this 49cm tall trophy.