The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be either a single game, a series of games, or a tournament, and may use a single-elimination system or one of several other different playoff formats. Playoff, in regard to international fixtures, is to qualify or progress to the next round of a competition or tournament.
The Blues is a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Auckland, who play in the Super Rugby competition. Like New Zealand's four other Super Rugby teams, the Blues were established by the NZRU in 1996. One of the most successful teams in Super Rugby history, the Blues won the competition in its first two seasons, 1996 and 1997, and again in 2003, as well as an all Australasian competition in 2021, additionally, the team were finalists in 1998 and 2022 and semi-finalists in 2007 and 2011.
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Auckland Warriors, and are officially known as the One New Zealand Warriors for sponsorship reasons. The Warriors are coached by Andrew Webster and captained by Tohu Harris. The Warriors are based at Mount Smart Stadium in the Auckland suburb of Penrose.
The Top 14 is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism of LNR. There is promotion and relegation between the Top 14 and the next level down, the Rugby Pro D2. The fourteen best rugby teams in France participate in the competition, hence the name Top 14. The competition was previously known as the Top 16.
The Championship, known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a professional rugby league competition. It is the second-tier competition organised by the Rugby Football League, the governing body for the sport in England, and consists of 14 teams, with promotion to the Super League and relegation to the third-tier competition, League One. The league announced a two-year sponsorship deal with the bookmaking company Betfred ahead of the 2018 season. The current champions are Leigh Centurions, winners of the 2022 season after beating Batley Bulldogs in the Million Pound Game to win promotion to Super League 2023.
The golden point, a sudden death overtime system, is used to resolve drawn matches in a number of sports. The term is borrowed from soccer's now-defunct golden goal.
There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the single elimination, the best-of- series, the total points series more commonly known as on aggregate, and the round-robin tournament.
Bonus points are group tournament points awarded in rugby union tournaments in addition to the standard points for winning or drawing a match. Bonus points were implemented in order to encourage attacking play throughout a match, to discourage repetitive goal-kicking, and to reward teams for "coming close" in losing efforts.
The Chicago Griffins RFC rugby union team was founded in 1973. The team competes in the National Division I Midwest League, USA Rugby's top tier, after the demise of the USA Super League and play their home games at Riis Park in Chicago, Illinois, US.
In a sports league, the ranking of a team is the place where it is within the division. Generally, ranking is based on won-lost record of games, with the team with the best record at the top, and the worst record at the bottom. Another common method is a points-based ranking system, where a team is awarded a certain number of points per win, fewer points per tie, and none for a loss.
The 2008–09 Top 14 Competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). It ran from late August 2008 through the final at Stade de France on June 6, 2009, in which Perpignan lifted the Bouclier de Brennus with a 22–13 win over Clermont.
National League 2 North is one of three level four leagues in the English rugby union system and provides semi-professional competition for teams in the northern half of England, the North. The remainder of England is covered by the two counterpart leagues National League 2 East and National League 2 West. The champion club is promoted to National One. Relegation is to either the Regional 1 Midlands or North Premier leagues, depending on where the teams are based. Hull are the current champions.
The 2011 Rugby Super League season was be the sixteenth season of the Rugby Super League, the United States' premier division of rugby union. The regular season commenced March 12, 2011 with the Utah Warriors playing the Denver Barbarians. On April 30, 2011; the regular season ended, followed by the RSL playoffs, for which the top four clubs qualified. San Francisco Golden Gate won the playoffs and were crowned champions. They also had the best regular season and repeated as premiers.
The 2011–12 Rugby Pro D2 was the second-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Top 14, for the 2011–12 season. It ran alongside the 2011–12 Top 14 competition; both competitions are operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).
The División de Honor Femenina, currently known for sponsorship purposes as the Liga Iberdrola, is the top Spanish league competition for women's rugby union clubs. The league began in 2010 and consists of eight teams. Clubs are relegated to and promoted from Regional Championship's.
The 2015–16 Rugby Pro D2 was the second-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Top 14, for the 2015–16 season. It ran alongside the 2015–16 Top 14 competition; both competitions are operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).
The 2016–17 Rugby Pro D2 was the second-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Top 14, for the 2016–17 season. It ran alongside the 2016–17 Top 14 competition; both competitions are operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).
Divizia Națională de Seniori is the second level of Romanian league competition for rugby union clubs. Divizia Națională de Seniori is run by Federația Română de Rugby. The top three teams of each group will play promotion playoffs and the remaining three teams play relegation playoffs.
BUCS Super Rugby is the highest level of men's university rugby in Britain and a potential pathway for university players into elite rugby. It comprises ten teams from universities in England and Wales. The league is named for its governing body, British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS).
The 2022–23 Top 14 competition is the 124th French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).
United States 
