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FWC: BEL v SEN from 7am, SN ExtraSuper Rugby Pacific confirms expanded season & revamped finals format
Sport Nation • July 1st, 2026 1:39 pm
Hurricanes, 2026 Super Rugby Pacific Champions | Photo: Kerry Marshall/Photosport
Super Rugby Pacific has confirmed a new competition structure for 2027, with a longer regular season and a revised Finals Series.
The season will kick off on February 12, with the ten-team competition running across a 17-week regular season.
Each side will play 16 matches - two more than in 2026 - with byes reduced from two to one.
The top six teams will again qualify for the finals series, but the format has been adjusted. The teams finishing first and second will earn a week off and advance directly to the semi-finals, while third and fourth will host sudden-death elimination finals against fifth and sixth.
The winners of those matches will progress to the semi-finals as away teams.
What should 10-team Super Rugby competition look like? | Millsy & Guy
Super Rugby Pacific CEO Jack Mesley said the revamped structure was designed to deliver more matches, increase the importance of ladder position and create a more compelling finals race.
He believes the opening rounds will also carry added importance, with squads for the first Anzac Day Bledisloe Cup Test to be named after Round 9, putting national selection in focus from the start of the campaign.
"We’re delighted to have developed a structure that pushes the limits of our competition window to deliver more games and give every fan more opportunities to see their favourite teams in action," Mesley said in a statement.
"At the same time, our new-look finals series ensures teams will be more desperate than ever to finish in the top two to secure a week off, and the top four to host a home final, while every finals game will be a genuine do-or-die contest on the road to the championship.
"The introduction of the Anzac Bledisloe to our calendar will help ensure every match means more, with Test jerseys up for grabs from the moment we kick off in February."
The 2027 Grand Final will be played on June 26.
For more, listen to Jack Mesley's interview with Sport Nation's Millsy & Guy below:
