Super Rugby Aotearoa will introduce a golden point tiebreaker and several other law changes when it kicks off next week.
Crusaders' captain Scott Barrett. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The five team New Zealand competition will also allow players to be replaced after they're shown a red card.
While the new red card rules will allow a team to replace a player who has been sent off, they won't be able to do so for 20 minutes.
The golden point system will work along the same lines as the National Rugby League's.
If the scores are level after 80 minutes of play the first team to score during a 10-minute period of extra time will win.
New Zealand Rugby's head of professional rugby Chris Lendrum said the competition provided an opportunity to trial innovations.
"We want this competition to look and feel different," he said.
"Draws can often leave everyone feeling a little empty and after feedback from our coaches and players we have added the golden point rule.
"We've seen the excitement it can generate in other codes and we think adds a real edge."
If a team loses via golden point, they can still earn bonus points for scoring three or more tries than the opposition in either regular time or extra time.
The new-look competition kicks off on Saturday, 13 June when the Highlanders play the Chiefs in Dunedin, with the Blues playing the Hurricanes at Eden Park on Sunday, 14 June.