Editing Playoffs (section)

=== United Rugby Championship ===
The [[United Rugby Championship]] (URC), originally known as the Celtic League and later as Pro12 and Pro14, adopted a four-team playoff starting with the [[2009–10 Celtic League|2009–10 season]]. The format was essentially identical to that of the English Premiership. Through the 2013–14 season, the final was held at a ground chosen by the top surviving seed, with the caveat that the venue must have a capacity of at least 18,000. In [[2012–13 Pro12|2012–13]], top seed [[Ulster Rugby|Ulster]] could not use its regular home ground of [[Ravenhill Stadium|Ravenhill]] for that reason (the ground was later expanded to meet the requirement). The league changed to using a predetermined site for its championship final in [[2014–15 Pro12|2014–15]].

With the addition of two South African sides in [[2017–18 Pro14|2017–18]], the league split into two conferences and expanded its playoffs to six teams. The top team of each conference earns a bye into the semifinals, where they will host the winners of matches between the second- and third-place teams from the other conferences (with the second-place team hosting the third-place team from the opposite conference).

After the [[2020–21 Pro14|2020–21 season]], both South African sides left the league and were replaced by the country's four former Super Rugby franchises, with the competition being rebranded as the URC. The league split into four regionally based pools—one each for Ireland, South Africa, and Wales, plus a joint Italian–Scottish pool. While the top team of each pool at the end of the regular season will receive a trophy branded as a regional "Shield" and automatic qualification for the following season's European Rugby Champions Cup, all teams are combined into a single table for purposes of playoff qualification. The top eight teams advance to knockout playoffs, with the higher seed hosting all matches leading up to the championship final, which continues to be held at a predetermined site.