play-offs. The play-offs are made up of the top eight teams, and consist of a straight knockout tournament. Teams are seeded 1–8 and the lowest-seeded teams receive home advantage. The final will be held in a pre-arranged venue. Championship points are awarded using the bonus points system; 4 points for a win and 2 for a draw. Bonus points can be earned so long as teams can either score four or more tries in a game and or lose by seven points or less – should a team do both, two bonus points are gained. As for European qualification, the South African teams are eligible for European competition. Eight places are allocated for teams competing in the competition, despite the change of format. The Shield winner in each pool will gain qualification into the Champions Cup. The remaining four places are allocated to the next four highest-placed teams in the main table. With three fewer regular season fixtures than in the Pro14, but with an extra round of playoffs, the season is truncated slightly to 21 match weeks and thus can still be scheduled to same time period as previous models of the competition. Clashes between league matches and international weekends in November and during the Six Nations Championship have been reduced. Due to the travelling distance between Europe and South Africa, home South African games will always be played on a Saturday, allowing visiting teams to have a seven-day turnaround between fixtures and includes five "clean days" that do not involve any travel. Should the draw see European teams play both South African teams away, the schedule will see the away team play the two matches back-to-back across two weeks, acting as a "mini-tour". On 24 September 2021, URC confirmed that the top side in each regional pool after the end of the 18-game regular season would be awarded a trophy, a regional Shield. In Ireland, Wales and South Africa, this shield (the Irish Shield, Welsh Shield and South African Shield respectively) functions as an informal national championship title for the main professional sides, while in Scotland and Italy's shared pool, it will be a joint regional trophy. The concept is comparable to the Divisional Championships in the NFL which are also loosely geographically based. Winning a Shield will also guarantee qualification for the European Rugby Champions Cup, regardless of overall league position. Format history The league has used