A redrawn Super Rugby Pacific format has unveiled less teams but more season games punctuated by an Anzac Day Test match between Australia and New Zealand.
A 10-team format with two extra rounds and streamlined finals series.
The Auckland-based Moana Pasifika have been dropped after the side went into liquidation during the 2026 season.
(NZ Rugby confirmed there has been interest in forming a new team beyond the 2027 competition which will have to be raised with Rugby Australia.)
The 2027 season kicks off on Friday, February 12, with a longer 17-week regular season.
The extra week combined with reduction in byes from two to one will see each team play 16 season games, the organisers says.
For the finals, the top six teams will qualify but the top two teams will get a week off and advance directly to the semi-finals which they will host.
The third and fourth placed teams will host sudden death games with the winners progressing as away teams.
The grand final will be played on Saturday, June 26, 2027.
After round nine, the Test squads for the Anzac Day Test will be named.
The Test is set to replace the three-day Super Round which proved a sell-out in Christchurch with its new stadium this year.
REDRAWN FOR ANZAC TEST
Super Rugby Pacific CEO Jack Mesley says the new format is designed to make the most of a 20-week competition window.
“We’re delighted to have developed a structure that pushes the limits of our competition window to deliver more games,” he says.
“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.
“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,” he says.
The 2027 Anzac Day clash will be held on Sunday, April 25, at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane; click here for that story.
