After the group rounds the teams finish in the top 4 places, move forward to the knockout rounds, with the grand finals being in week 14.
The 1st place team in each group have earned a home fixture in the Knockout Round and the Quarter Finals, and the 2nd place team will have a home fixture in the Knockout Round only.
Their opponents will be drawn completely at random from the teams who finished in 3rd & 4th place (possibly from the same group).
In the Quarter Finals, as mentioned, the teams who finished in 1st Place in the group rounds, will still have a home fixture, however their opponents will be selected at random, and not follow the traditional ladder system.
After the Quarter Finals, all remaining fixtures will be selected at random, similar to the normal Blackout Rugby National Cup.
Gold, Silver & Bronze Wooden Spoon
The Wooden Spoon knockouts will feature the teams that finish in 5th position in the group tables, and will be broken down into Gold (Cup & Plate), Silver (Bowl & Shield) and Bronze (Vase & Plaque, and Resin & Jonesy if required)
Tied Fixtures.
If after 80 minutes the scores are tied, the Blackout Rugby tie-breaking rules will be applied, which means there will be extra time followed by a kicking competition.