Super Rugby Pacific has continued its push to provide an entertaining spectacle as is possible, with five further law variations announced for the 2026 season.
Last year's tournament saw a focus on keeping the game moving, with referees urged to stop players from wasting time and ensure set-pieces were staged in a timely manner.
That proved a winner with fans, with the competition improving across a series of metrics that included broadcast figures and gameday attendances.
And tournament officials have gone further this season, with the blessing of World Rugby, on Monday announcing five further innovations that it is hoped will generate even more of the open, attacking play which has been at Super Rugby's core since its inception in 1996.
The five variations are as follows:
• It will no longer be mandatory for the referee to issue a yellow or red card to a player on the defending team when awarding a penalty try. Any sanction will be at the discretion of the referee. (Law 8.3)
• Accidental offsides and teams delaying playing the ball away from a ruck will result in free kicks rather than scrums. (Law 10.5 and Law 15.17)
• After the referee has called "use it" at the ruck, no additional players from the team in possession may join the ruck. (Law 15.17)
• Teams will be permitted to pass the ball back into their half before kicking a 50:22. (Law 18.8a)
• Players will be allowed to take quick taps within one metre either side of the of the mark, or anywhere behind the mark, if they are within that two-metre channel running parallel to the touchlines. (Law 20.2)
The variation on the 50/22 kick is particularly intriguing, with the idea being that defending teams will have to have at least some cover out wide at the back, even when the opposing team may have crossed the halfway line given they can now pass back beyond halfway and not forfeit their opportunity for a potentially pivotal touch-finder into the 22.
The removal of the obligatory yellow card for a penalty try, particularly from rolling mauls that are brought down illegally close to the line, should also be well received, with the double-whammy of a penalty try and the loss of a player for 10 minutes deemed by some as being too harsh an outcome.
"These innovations for 2026 reflect the ongoing commitment of Super Rugby Pacific to deliver the most entertaining and engaging rugby competition in the world," Super Rugby Pacific chief executive Jack Mesley said.
"From the members and fans, to the players and coaches, and the referees themselves, we continue to experience resounding support for the measured steps that we're taking to refine the game.
"We want to be a competition that encourages quick taps and faster restarts, that cuts down on unnecessary stoppages, and that embraces positive, attacking rugby.
"Super Rugby Pacific will continue to work closely with World Rugby and our stakeholders to evolve the game and produce the best version of rugby, and to strongly advocate that the innovations that are clearly working in Super Rugby Pacific be adopted more widely."
The six-team finals series has also undergone a minor tweak, with the "lucky loser" no longer dropping just one seeding if they are beaten in the opening round of the final.
Last year's playoffs saw the Chiefs upset at home by the Blues in week one of the finals, but still retain home advantage for the semifinals a week later, much to the ire of the Brumbies who, as the third seed beat the Hurricanes in Canberra, then had to travel to Hamilton to face the Chiefs.
The competition has also reaffirmed its commitment to fewer intrusions, with the video referee only to intervene for incidents of "severe foul play" or when there has been a "clear and obvious infringement leading to a try".
Officials state that the competition's law variations and restrictions on the role of the TMO have helped removed "more than four minutes of dead time" from Super Rugby Pacific games over the past four years.
