Super 14 Trophy
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The Super 14 Trophy is a silver trophy awarded to the winner of the Super 14, a rugby union competition, final. Jens Hansen Gold and Silversmith in Nelson, New Zealand hand made the trophy. The same workshop made the gold ring (see One Ring) in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Three different silversmiths constructed the trophy. This required soldering together a number of silver sheets as well as sanding, buffing and polishing. The trophy is 49 cm high and weighs 2.7 kg.
The trophy was unveiled in Wellington for the first time on Tuesday, 7 February 2006. The public was able to view the trophy for the first time on 10 February when the Blues played the Hurricanes in the Super 14's opening match in Auckland. The 2006 Super 14 Season was the first season that the trophy was used.
The trophy is sterling silver and has the Super 14 logo on a globe, on a four-sided twisted spiral. Fraser Holland, the New Zealand Rugby Union sponsorship and marketing manager, oversaw the construction of the trophy. He said that the SANZAR unions were happy to have a new trophy to launch the expanded competition.
- "We also wanted to move away from the traditional cup-style trophy and have a dynamic trophy to reflect the spirit of the Super 14. I think the designers have certainly achieved that - it's a superbly crafted, iconic trophy with a definite international look about it," Holland said.
Like the Stanley Cup in the National Hockey League and the Super 12 trophy, the trophy is a rotating trophy, held only during the offseason and returned to the competition organisers in time for it to be awarded to the next season's champions. This is dissimilar to the Vince Lombardi Trophy, which is permanently awarded to each winner of the Super Bowl, which in turn means that a new trophy is created every season.
The trophy was first awarded to the Crusaders after winning the 2006 Super 14 Final.
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