Explainer: Super Rugby Pacific’s knockout stage ‘lucky loser’ format
The tournament organisers have introduced a new format for 2025.
The Super Rugby Pacific season enters the knockout stages, sort of, this weekend with a new format introduced for 2025.
The Chiefs, Crusaders, Brumbies, Hurricanes, Reds, and Blues finished in the top six positions respectably after 14 rounds of the regular season, earning them a place in the ‘Qualifying Finals’.
The lucky loser
Unlike the previous seasons of Super Rugby, the conclusion of the regular season has not been immediately succeeded by knockout matches.
This is because the competition organisers have implemented the ‘lucky loser’ concept, which means that the three winners from the Qualifying Finals will be joined in the Semi-Finals by the highest-seeded losing team.
The lucky loser will progress but drop one seeding for the Semi-Finals, to ensure a Qualifying Final match-up is not repeated in week two of the Finals Series.
The Qualifying Finals are 1 v 6 (Chiefs v Blues), 2 v 5 (Crusaders v Reds), and 3 v 4 (Brumbies v Hurricanes).
From, there the Semi-Finals will be 1 v 4 and 2 v 3, with the higher-seeded teams to host.
So in the event that all the top-seeded teams win their Qualifying Final – the Chiefs, Crusaders and Brumbies – then the Hurricanes would be the team that completed the semi-final line-up with a match-up against the Chiefs.
Then, the two winners of the Semi-Finals will progress to the Grand Final, which will be hosted by the higher-seeded team.
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2025 SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC QUALIFYING FINALS
Friday, June 6
Crusaders v Queensland Reds
Venue: Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch
Kick-off: 5.05pm AEST / 7.05pm NZST
Referee: Paul Williams
Assistant Referees: Angus Mabey and Mike Winter
TMO: Richard Kelly
Saturday, June 7
Chiefs v Blues
Venue: FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
Kick-off: 5.05pm AEST / 7.05pm NZST
Referee: Angus Gardner
Assistant Referees: Damon Murphy and Matt Kellahan
TMO: James Leckie
ACT Brumbies v Hurricanes
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
Kick-off: 7.35pm AEST / 9.35pm NZST
Referee: Nic Berry
Assistant Referees: Jordan Way and Jeremy Markey
TMO: Brett Cronan