Faster, closer, trending – Super Rugby Pacific 2025 gives cause for fans to be optimistic

Super Rugby’s digital popularity is increasing across the three participating countries. File photo: ANDREW KACIMAIWAI

Faster games, more viewers, greater jeopardy — Super Rugby Pacific is surging in popularity and engagement across three countries.

The organisers recently revealed positive trends in metrics released by data provider Opta for this year’s competition.

A feature of the data was the growth in digital viewers with the competition attracting 2.5 million social media followers, a 25% increase on the year before.

OFF-FIELD HIGHLIGHTS

Match attendance this year rose 6% year-on-year despite a fall in games from 84 to 77 caused by the Axing of the Melbourne Rebels last year.
In Australia, Stan Sport reported a 27% increase in viewing audience while free-to-air audiences on Nine grew by 13%.
In New Zealand, more than 1.83 million people tuned in on Sky Sport and Sky Open, while digital viewership on Sky Go and Sky Sport Now grew by more than 19 per cent.
In Fiji, concurrent viewing on the Walesi App peaked at 395,436, more than a third of that country’s population.

A new feature this year was the introduction of Fantasy Super Rugby Pacific which attracted more than 70,000 fans, and was won by an Auckland Blues fan living in Melbourne while an Irish resident was a close second.

PLEASING NEWS FOR ORGANISERS

“The momentum is clear,” Super Rugby Pacific CEO Jack Mesley says.

“Week after week, this season has produced edge-of-your-seat action — from high-scoring clashes to nail-biting finishes, stunning comebacks and teams rewriting history.

“From rising TV audiences and growth in match attendance this year, to the surge in digital activity through Fantasy and social media, all signs tell us that Super Rugby Pacific is heading in the right direction.”

Games sped up by around a minute over last season while static time fell by almost a minute. The introduction of a shot clock saw penalty kick times fall from 68 seconds last season to 42 seconds and conversion times 69 second to 55 seconds.

There was, on average, four more points scored per game in 2025 compared to 2024.

ON THE FIELD

Almost half of games (43.1 per cent) were won by seven points (converted try) or less.
It’s the second-highest scoring Super Rugby season of all time with an average of 57.8 points per game.
A historically low average of 2.1 penalty goal attempts per game.
Increased jeopardy within games with an average of 4.1 lead changes per match, 54.2% of games having a lead change in the second half and 26.4% of games changing the lead in the final 10 minutes.
6% of results were a reversal of 2024 games.
The gap of 31 competition points between the last-placed Highlanders and first-placed Chiefs (both NZ teams) is the smallest margin since 2004.
‘Hoodoos’ being broken: Queensland beat the Highlanders in NZ for the first time since 2012, ACT Brumbies won at Eden Park for the first time since 2013, the Hurricanes ended a six-game winless run against the Brumbies in Canberra, Moana Pasifika recorded inaugural victories over the Highlanders, Blues and Crusaders.