Super Rugby Pacific unveils ‘lucky loser’ twist on new format for 2025: Planet Rugby

Super Rugby Pacific organizers have announced that the competition will undergo some changes with an extended regular season of 16 rounds.

The new format will also include Sunday afternoon games and a more competitive six-team play-off system with a “lucky loser” to be introduced in 2025.

The 2025 campaign will begin on February 14, a week earlier than previous years, to host the extra round of Super Rugby Pacific action.

Next year’s Super Rugby Pacific draw features family-friendly afternoon matches, including three Sunday afternoon matches, with a view to exploring additional Sunday matches.

Features of the Super Rugby Pacific 2025 competition format include:

– With the Melbourne Rebels no longer in existence, the following 11 teams will compete in the tournament: ACT Brumbies, Blues, Chiefs, Crusaders, Fijian Drua, Highlanders, Hurricanes, Moana Pasifika, NSW Waratahs, Queensland Reds and Western Force.

– All competing teams will play 14 regular season games, consisting of seven home games and seven away games, and will be allotted two byes.

– Teams will play four teams twice, with an emphasis on rivalry games, and the remaining six teams once.

– The top six teams in the standings at the end of the regular season will qualify for the three-week finals series.

– In the first week of the finals series, the qualifying finals will see teams seeded 1 v 6, 2 v 5 and 3 v 4, with the higher seeded teams hosting those matches.

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– The three winning teams of the qualifying final will advance to the semi-finals.

– They will be joined by the losing team with the highest seed (“lucky loser”), who will lose a ranking for the semi-final draw.

– The semi-finals will see teams seeded 1 v 4 and 2 v 3, with the seeded teams hosting those matches.

– The two winning teams of the semi-finals will advance to the grand final, which will be hosted by the seeded team.

Super Rugby Pacific also introduced a new chief executive, Sydney-based Jack Mesley, who started in the role in July and is looking forward to the season ahead.

“Excited to reveal the renovated structure”

“We are delighted to unveil the revamped structure, some new features and the start date for the next season of Super Rugby Pacific,” he said.

“The fans are always at the forefront, and while the full draw will be released soon, we wanted to give them an early look at what they can look forward to in 2025.

“The introduction of three Sunday afternoon games will make it easier for families to experience the excitement of Super Rugby Pacific and we can look to build on this offering in future seasons.

“We are particularly excited about the new finals series, which is designed to produce highly competitive fixtures while rewarding the teams that finish at the top of the table.”

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