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Sport Nation
The Live Sport Bible is here!Super Rugby CEO defends controversial 'lucky loser' playoffs format
Sport Nation • June 8th, 2026 10:51 am
David Havili fends off a Blues defender | Photo: Photosport
With the competition entering its final stages for 2026, Super Rugby Pacific's much aligned playoffs format has - yet again - been put under the blowtorch.
This year's scapegoat are the Blues, who have booked a semi-final berth against the Hurricanes despite having been demolished 52-31 by the Crusaders in Christchurch last weekend in what was their fourth consecutive defeat, benefitting from being the 'lucky loser', which is awarded to the highest-seeded losing team from the qualifying weekend.
Addressing the situation on Sport Nation's Rugby Run, Super Rugby CEO Jack Mesley conceded the format isn't ideal, but the prospect of having the best teams play even fewer games in a compressed schedule was even less so - particularly for their stakeholders.
As it stands, every team in the competition is afforded two byes in the regular season. Adding another one as part of a format where the top two teams earn a week off would be a blow both commercially and for fans, Mesley notes.
"We play in a very tight window, which is a huge frustration for our fans, for everyone involved," Mesley told host Mark Watson.
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"So, in the same vein as you wanting to see our stars and our great rugby players playing as often as possible and you want to see them more, we've also got to balance this with how do we get more games in more markets.
"Currently when we've got two byes in a regular season, in a 16-week regular season, adding another bye for our top teams - if we did go down that route, we'd have our top teams not playing for three of 19 weeks.
"That is a missed opportunity for fans. It's a missed opportunity for all of us to create value for our partners. And so all of these things have pros and cons.
"I don't fundamentally disagree that there are other options. It is just up to all those options and trying to balance the pros and the cons of them."
Mesley points to the adjustment that was made to this year's structure as proof they were taking that feedback on board, with the 'lucky loser' now automatically dropping to the fourth-seed playoff team.
That avoids a repeat of last year's scenario, when the Chiefs were gifted a home semi-final despite losing to the Blues in their qualifying final.
"Hopefully what you've seen is that the new governance are willing to listen and review and take on board feedback.
"We made an adjustment last year because of the feedback about the Chiefs… so, we'll continue to listen and do some analysis and look at all of the options.
"It's also just got to be balanced."
Listen to the full interview below:
