Super Rugby Pacific unveils 2027 schedule with pre-Anzac Day blockbuster headlining expanded season

Super Rugby Pacific has published its complete 2027 fixture list, with the competition expanding to 17 rounds and 80 regular-season games across a revamped ten-team format.

The season opens on Friday, 12 February, with the Crusaders hosting the Queensland Reds at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch. The following night, Brad Mooar’s Fijian Drua face the Highlanders in Fiji, before defending champions the Hurricanes travel to Auckland to meet Jason Holland’s Blues. Round one closes in Perth, where the Western Force host Jono Gibbes’ Chiefs.

The most eye-catching scheduling decision places the Queensland Reds against the Blues in Brisbane on Saturday, 24 April — the eve of the Wallabies hosting the All Blacks in a historic Anzac Day Bledisloe Cup clash. The back-to-back weekend is set to be the centrepiece of the competition calendar.

A broader push toward Sunday afternoon fixtures has also been built into the draw, a change that has been debated among fans and broadcasters for years. Michael Cheika’s NSW Waratahs will host the Crusaders in a Sunday afternoon contest at Allianz Stadium in round nine, while the ACT Brumbies will play at Corroboree Group Oval Manuka for the first time in 30 years — facing the Western Force in round two and the Queensland Reds in round nine at the venue.

The Fijian Drua, who rarely receive Friday night home fixtures, will host Clark Laidlaw’s Hurricanes in Suva during round twelve.

Super Rugby Pacific CEO Jack Mesley said the revised draw was designed with fans and the broader rugby calendar in mind. “We’re delighted to deliver a 2027 draw that gives fans more to look forward to than ever before — Sunday footy, an epic Easter weekend, Super Round back in Christchurch and a history-making Anzac weekend in Brisbane,” Mesley said.

Mesley also pointed to the added competitive weight the World Cup cycle brings to the early rounds. “The stakes will be even higher next year, with the opening half of the season shaping up as a shootout for Test jerseys ahead of the inaugural Anzac Bledisloe and the Rugby World Cup coming sharply into view beyond it.”

The 2027 finals series will operate on a sudden-death basis throughout, adding further pressure to every regular-season result from the opening round.