The United Rugby Championship playoffs are designed to produce a winner, even if 80 minutes of rugby is not enough to separate two teams.
With knockout rugby arriving and margins expected to be razor-thin, supporters may be wondering what happens if a quarterfinal, semifinal or the championship final ends level after regulation time.
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The answer includes extra time, and if necessary, one of the most dramatic methods of deciding a rugby match — a place-kick competition.
The URC released its official protocols ahead of the postseason, outlining exactly how tied matches will be settled.
Extra Time Comes First
If a playoff match is tied at the conclusion of normal time, teams will play two periods of extra time lasting 10 minutes each, plus any stoppage time.
Following the final whistle of regulation, players receive a five-minute break before extra time begins. Teams remain inside the playing enclosure, although coaching, medical and management staff are permitted onto the field to provide treatment, water and nourishment.
The teams then switch ends before the first extra-time period begins.
After the opening 10-minute period, there is a one-minute interval before the teams switch ends again and play the second period.
If one team is ahead at the end of extra time, it advances.
If not, the drama escalates.
Tries Still Matter
A tied score after extra time does not automatically trigger a kicking competition.
The URC's regulations state that a place-kick competition is only required if both the score and the number of tries scored remain equal after extra time.
Should one team have scored more tries during the match and extra time combined, that team would be declared the winner before a kicking competition becomes necessary.
Only when both categories remain tied does the contest move to rugby's version of a shootout.
How The Place-Kick Competition Works
Each team nominates three kickers from the players who remain on the field at the conclusion of extra time.
Players who have been substituted, sent off or remain in the sin bin are not eligible to participate.
Before the competition begins, the referee conducts two coin tosses. One determines which end of the field will be used for all kicks, while the other determines which team kicks first.
The nominated kickers are assigned numbers one through three and take turns kicking from designated positions on the field.
Each kicker takes two kicks during the opening phase of the competition.
The sequence proceeds as follows:
- Kicker 1 from Team A, then Kicker 1 from Team B
- Kicker 2 from Team A, then Kicker 2 from Team B
- Kicker 3 from Team A, then Kicker 3 from Team B
- Kicker 1 from Team A, then Kicker 1 from Team B
- Kicker 2 from Team A, then Kicker 2 from Team B
- Kicker 3 from Team A, then Kicker 3 from Team B
After all six kicks have been taken by each team, the side with the most successful kicks wins.
Sudden Death If Still Tied
If the teams remain level after the initial kicking phase, the competition enters sudden death.
The three kickers continue rotating in order, with each team taking corresponding kicks from the same position on the field.
The competition continues until one player successfully converts a kick while the opposing kicker misses the matching attempt.
At that moment, the successful kicker's team is declared the winner.
Additional United Rugby Championship Rules To Know
Several additional regulations govern the competition.
- Once a player places the ball on the kicking tee, the kick must be taken within one minute or it is automatically ruled unsuccessful.
- Only the kicker and the referee may approach the kicking area during attempts. All other players and staff must remain behind the halfway line or inside their designated technical zones.
- If a nominated kicker suffers an injury during the competition, he may be replaced only by another player who was on the field when extra time ended.
With knockout rugby often decided by the smallest margins, the possibility of extra time and a place-kick competition adds another layer of intrigue to what promises to be a dramatic URC playoff race.
Few situations in rugby produce more pressure than a season resting on a single kick.
United Rugby Championship Playoffs Round 1 Schedule
May 29, 2026
- 1:45 PM CT: Glasgow Warriors vs. Connacht Rugby, Scotstoun Stadium (Glasgow)
May 30, 2026
- 6:00 AM CT: Vodacom Bulls vs. Munster Rugby, Loftus Versfeld (Pretoria)
May 30, 2026
- 8:30 PM CT: DHL Stormers vs. Cardiff Rugby, DHL Stadium (Cape Town)
May 30, 2026
- 2:00 PM CT: Leinster Rugby vs. Fidelity SecureDrive Lions, Aviva Stadium (Dublin)
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