Blues brothers Akira and Rieko Ioane celebrate their Super Rugby final win over the Chiefs. Photo: Brett Phibbs/Photosport
The defending champions the Blues will host the Chiefs in a repeat of this year's Super Rugby Pacific final, in the opening round of next year's competition.
The competition will kick off in Christchurch on Friday, 14 February with the Crusaders hosting the Hurricanes while the Highlanders are away to the Waratahs in Sydney the same evening.
The Blues will play the Chiefs at Eden Park the following day, while Moana Pasifika are away to the Force in Perth.
Moana Pasifika will also finally get to play at their home venue of North Harbour Stadium, when they host the Highlanders there on 28 February.
Moana Pasifika were without a permanent home stadium this year, playing games at Mt Smart Stadium, Hamilton and Nuku'alofa.
Following the demise of the Melbourne Rebels, the competition is reduced to 11 teams in 2025, with a bye each round. The Queensland Reds have the first round bye.
The 2025 season features 77 round robin matches across an extended 16-round regular season, culminating in a six-team finals format - reduced from the much maligned eight team format which has been used for the past two years.
Each of the 11 teams will play 14 regular season matches, consisting of seven home games and seven away games, along with two allocated byes.
The final round robin matches are scheduled for Saturday, 31 May.
