Cape Town - The new trophy that will be presented to the inaugural Vodacom Super Rugby champions on 9 July, 2011 has been unveiled by SANZAR.

The trophy is made from solid stainless steel, stands 65 cm tall, weighs 18 kilograms and will be the symbol of Vodacom Super Rugby success from 2011 and beyond.

The trophy design is inspired by the core elements of rugby - tradition, physical toughness, camaraderie and skill.

The trophy was designed by leading Sydney-based consultancy, Blue Sky, and manufactured by Box & Dice, a specialised prototype and production company, also based in Sydney. The two companies have worked on a number of multi-award winning design projects, amongst them the Sydney 2000 Olympic Torch.

“The shape of the trophy is centred around three curved legs, each representing the Conferences involved in the Super Rugby competition,” said SANZAR CEO, Greg Peters.

“Bold colours on each leg correspond to the Conferences with gold for Australia, black for New Zealand, and green for the South African Conference.

“The legs of the trophy reach upward referencing the arms of players in a line-out, and the legs also create the shape of a rugby ball in the centre of the trophy. A new feature is the incorporation of the SANZAR logo under the base of the trophy.

The Super Rugby champions’ trophy is the focal element of a ‘family’ of silverware produced for the Super Rugby competition.

“Already, the respective Conference winners – the Reds (Australia), Stormers (SA) and Crusaders (NZ) have been presented with similar, scaled-down trophies for their achievements during the regular season,” Peters said.

“The champions trophy is the ‘big one’, and will become the ultimate symbol of Super Rugby supremacy in the years to come”.

The trophy was made using the latest materials and manufacturing processes, with the respective components cast in solid stainless steel before being polished to a mirror finish.