Super Rugby Pacific Playoff Push Heats Up With Three Rounds To Go
Super Rugby Pacific Playoff Push Heats Up With Three Rounds To Go
With three rounds left, the Super Rugby Pacific playoff race heats up. Don’t miss key clashes, playoff drama and streaming details for fans in N. America.
Three rounds left. So much to play for.
The end of the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific regular season is nigh, and from top-of-the-table tussles to scraps between teams battling for playoff spots, you don’t want to draw your attention away from your screen anytime soon.
- Subscribe To FloRugby To Watch Champions Cup In 2024-25
- 100 Best Rugby Players In The World: Here's The Full List
- The 25 Best Rugby Clubs In The World On May 14 | FloRugby Rankings
With the league leaders off for Round 14, a lot of positioning in the league ladder could change between the five fixtures going on this weekend — and there’s only one place to find it if you’re a Super Rugby Pacific superfan in North America.
Here’s a look at one big thing you need to know about every Super Rugby Pacific match this weekend, with all matches being streamed live in the United States and Canada, exclusively on FloRugby.
NOTE: The Chiefs are on a bye this week.
Highlanders At Hurricanes
Canes’ Precarious Place
With stunning back-to-back victories against the current top two teams in the Super Rugby Pacific table prior to their bye last week, the Hurricanes are doing exactly what they need to do to keep their playoff hopes going.
Now past the bye and in the sixth, and final, playoff spot, the job for Clark Laidlaw’s men is simple — win (and win decisively) and they’re in.
They’ll be favored at the Sky Stadium this weekend against a Highlanders squad they beat in Dunedin in Round 5 and have won eight straight matches against, but they’ve benefitted from good timing, as well; a COVID-19 outbreak within the squad after its electric win over the Chiefs in Round 12 forced some players to miss extended time due to illness, but in-form players, such as wing Bailyn Sullivan, who lit up the Chiefs for four tries, are active and playing in the starting XV.
A defeat for the Highlanders, meanwhile, could mathematically eliminate the team from qualifying for the playoffs at 10th place currently on 18 points, and if there’s a time for something miraculous to happen on their end after dropping three matches in a row, it’s now.
Crusaders At New South Wales Waratahs
Tahs Go From Bad to Worse
Last week, in a situation where they had to perform, the New South Wales Waratahs saw just about everything go wrong.
Not only did the Tahs lose at home at the death to a hated rival in the Queensland Reds (and squandered a 14-point lead while doing it), but much-ballyhooed code-switching star Joseph-Aukuso Su’ali’i fractured his jaw and was concussed in an accidental collision with teammate Andrew Kellaway, forcing him into surgery and likely knocking him out for the remainder of the regular season.
That’s not good news in what already has been a disastrous stretch for the Tahs, who’ve lost three in a row and are seeing their finals chances slip through their fingers in eighth place, four points back of the Hurricanes.
That’s also not the Crusaders’ problem, either, as they come off the wrong end of a comeback in their own right by giving up a 16-point lead — and a chance to go top — in a titanic clash with the Chiefs last week.
A five-point round could rocket them back into first place with the Chiefs on bye, however, and with a major opportunity to pounce on potential home-field advantage for the playoffs, the Crusaders (who’ll be without dynamo Will Jordan, who is nursing a short-term knee injury) could strike against a reeling opponent.
Western Force At Fijian Drua
Can Force Find Form?
It’s never exactly a good time to go winless in four straight matches, but it’s especially hair-raising when you’re in the midst of fighting for a spot in the playoffs.
The Western Force’s surprise season, which has seen the club jostle all year for what could be a first trip to the final in its 20-year history, is losing its luster fast, as the Perth-based squad has only managed to scrounge together a draw in the past month — and those shared points came four rounds ago.
Battered by the Brumbies last weekend at HBF Park, the Force are on the brink at four points back of the top 6 in ninth place with a bye week still to come in their regular season’s final two matches, making their trip to Fiji this weekend a must-win to end all must-wins.
The Force’s chances to finally break through their rut are helped both by the fact that the Fijian Drua are merely playing for pride now as the first team officially eliminated from playoff contention — being an insurmountable 11 points back of the final places with two fixtures left to be played — and that the Force slaughtered the Drua (52-15) in Round 6 off the back of a hat-trick from England international Nic Dolly, who’ll start on the front row in Lautoka.
Blues At Moana Pasifika
More Moana Magic?
Who would’ve thought that a late-season Blues-Moana Pasifika clash would’ve been this crucial before the season?
Between the Blues’ fall and re-rise as defending Super Rugby Pacific champions and Moana’s transformation as a legitimate threat to reach the final under All Blacks icon Ardie Savea, a fixture many would’ve passed over at the beginning of the season suddenly has become one of the most important matches in the playoff race to date.
The Blues had one of the finest nights yet of their repeat bid in Round 13 against the Fijian Drua, getting full points and leaping into the top 6 with a 34-5 beatdown, led by their monsters up front.
Props Marcel Renata, Joshua Fusitu’a and Angus Ta’avao all scored tries.
One of the clubs the Blues surpassed in the table was Moana Pasifika (on a bye last week), which would love nothing more than to win its third straight match — and first back-to-back wins over New Zealand teams in team history — while getting a major burst of confidence against the trophy holders.
Ardie Savea will captain the side again, as brother Julian Savea will be available off of the bench, but the Blues also get a big boost through the return of wing Caleb Clarke, who missed four games due to a thigh injury.
Queensland Reds At Brumbies
Brumbies In Prime Position
It was supposed to be a weekend of celebration last round for the Brumbies, who got the late bonus point on the road in Perth against the Western Force and propelled themselves to the all-important top two spots in the Super Rugby Pacific table in the process.
However, a nasty off-the-ball collision that impacted Wallabies fly-half Noah Lolesio late in the first half — which saw him carried off the pitch in a neck brace and stretcher — tempered the mood.
The good news is that Lolesio appears to be OK, as Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham said that Lolesio was cleared of any spinal injuries or fractures (and likely will be back to action after the team’s bye next week), but his side still will be a bit short-handed without his presence and playmaking in the marquee match of the weekend against an Aussie rival in the Queensland Reds.
Ten players in the Brumbies squad this week either grew up in Queensland or have represented the Reds at some point in their careers, making the match especially personal for some, as the Brumbies not only try to pick up a big derby win, but build some extra distance between them and the Reds, as they currently loom in fourth place, seven points behind the second-place Brumbies.
Written by Briar Napier
How To Watch Rugby Matches In The United States On FloRugby
FloRugby and FloSports also are the U.S. home to:
FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays.