The 2025 Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific Qualifying Finals fixtures have been confirmed, with the Chiefs, Crusaders and ACT Brumbies earning home ground advantage in the first week of the Finals Series.
The action begins in Christchurch on Friday night with the resurgent Crusaders hosting the Queensland Reds at Apollo Projects Stadium.
Their opponents - the Reds - led the competition after seven rounds but a crucial home defeat to the Hurricanes in Round 15 ended their top three aspirations.
The action shifts north to Hamilton on Saturday where the top-of-the-table Chiefs will take on the defending champion Blues at FMG Stadium Waikato.
For the Chiefs it presents a perfect opportunity to exact some revenge on the team that bested them in the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific Grand Final.
Meanwhile, having finished the regular season in sixth position, Vern Cotter’s Blues need to win three-straight Finals games away from home to defend their title.
The third Qualifying Final on Saturday night sees the third-placed Brumbies welcome the fourth-placed Hurricanes to Canberra.
The three winners from the Qualifying Finals will be joined in the semi finals by the highest-seeded losing team, coined the ‘lucky loser’.
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.
On Friday, the Crusaders host the Queensland Reds at 7.05pm, the Chiefs play the Blues at 7.05pm Saturday, while the Brumbies face the Hurricanes at 9.35pm Saturday.
Source: rugby.com.au
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