As the Super Rugby Pacific regular season draws to a close, attention turns to the play-offs.
Play-offs have been in effect in Super Rugby for as long as the tournament has existed, even back in the days of the original "Super 6".
The competition has come a long way in the subsequent 30 years since and the format of the competition has continued to follow suit, changing 10 times in that time.
The current competition format initially saw 12 teams - five New Zealand based sides, five Australian sides and two Pacific based sides - compete, however this reduced to 11 after the Melbourne Rebels removed themselves due to financial issues.
With 16 rounds of fixtures almost behind us, let's talk through how the play-offs work in Super Rugby Pacific.
How do the Super Rugby Pacific play-offs work?
Of the 11 teams competing in the regular season of Super Rugby Pacific, six teams qualify for the play-offs of the competition to determine the overall winner, known as the Finals Series.
The Finals Series consists of three stages, the quarter finals, semi finals and finals, with the quarter finals fixtures being determined by league position - first play sixth, second plays fifth and third faces fourth. Relatively simple so far.
This is where things become more complicated, as expected the three winners of the quarter finals qualify for the semi finals, being joined by the losing quarter finalist with the highest finishing league position, who move on as fourth seed.
Essentially meaning that the team who finishes top of the league table at the end of the season is guaranteed a place in the semi finals.
The highest seed from the quarter finals will host the fourth seed in their semi final, whilst the second seed will then host the third seed in the other semi final.
As always, the final is then contested by the two semi final winners to determine the overall Super Rugby Pacific champions. The highest ranked team will host the final.
Do teams get a trophy for finishing top of the Super Rugby Pacific table?
Though there is significant advantage to finishing at the top of the Super Rugby Pacific table, there is presently no trophy for any team other than those who win the final.
