Overview
- Five changes are in place: referee discretion on cards for penalty tries, free kicks for accidental offside and ruck delay, no joining a ruck after “use it,” pass-back permitted before a 50:22, and an expanded quick-tap channel.
- The TMO can intervene unprompted only for missed serious foul play or a clear, obvious infringement leading to a try, with all other reviews initiated by the referee.
- Finals seeding shifts so the highest‑ranked qualifying‑final loser advances as the No. 4 seed, removing the possibility of hosting a semifinal.
- The competition retains Super Point, allowing up to 10 minutes of sudden‑death extra time if scores are level at full time.
- The updates take effect from next week’s season start, with officials saying prior innovations have trimmed about four minutes of dead time per match over four years.