Following the completion of the regular season in Super Rugby the top 6 teams have been determined and the 4 teams that will play in the qualifiers next weekend.
By finishing the season as the competition’s two highest-ranked conference winners, the Chiefs (66 points, 12 wins) and the Bulls (63 points, 12 wins) have earned the week off and progress straight to the Super Rugby Semi Finals where they await the winners of the qualifying matches.
The match officials for the 2 games have also been decided.
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The Crusaders enter the Super Rugby Finals as the top-ranked ‘Wildcard’ team and secured a home final with a 25-17 win over the Hurricanes.
They welcome the Reds to Christchurch in a re-match of the 2011 Super Rugby Final.
The Reds only needed one point on Saturday to overtake the Cheetahs and move into fifth spot and they beat the Waratahs 14-12.
The Brumbies claimed the Australian Conference but with 60 points and 10 wins, they finish as the third-ranked conference winner and are subsequently thrust into a showdown with the sixth-ranked Cheetahs who had a bye in the final round of the regular season.
Super Rugby – Play Off 1: Crusaders vs Reds
Date: Saturday 20 July, 2013
Venue: AMI Stadium, Christchurch, New Zealand
Kick-off: 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 17:35 AEST, 07:35 GMT)
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Garratt Williamson (New Zealand), Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
TMO: Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
Super Rugby – Play Off 2: Brumbies vs Toyota Cheetahs
Date: Sunday 21 July, 2013
Venue: Canberra Stadium, Canberra, Australia
Kick-off: 08:10 SA Time (16:10 AEST, 18:10 NZ Time, 06:10 GMT)
Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Rohan Hoffmann (Australia), James Leckie (Australia)
TMO: Matt Goddard (Australia)
The Chiefs and Bulls have a bye next week but return for the Semi-finals.
The Chiefs will host the first Semi-final and they will play the lowest ranked qualifier between the Brumbies, Crusaders, Cheetahs or Reds.
The Bulls will host the second Semi-final and they will play the highest ranked qualifier between the Brumbies, Crusaders, Cheetahs or Reds.
If the Chiefs beat the lowest ranked qualifier in their Semi-final then they will host the Super Rugby final in Hamilton.
If the Chiefs lose their Super Rugby Semi-final and the Bulls beat the highest ranked qualifier then the Bulls will host the Super Rugby final in Pretoria.
In the unlikely event that the Chiefs and the Bulls lose their Semi-finals then the highest ranked qualifier will host the final and they will play the second highest ranked qualifier.
Gooooooooo Crusaders!
Goooooooooo Cheetahs!
The disappointing part of not winning on Saturday for me was the fact that if the Chiefs win their semi-final then if we get through we have to travel. This makes it harder for the players obviously but also reduces the potential revenue that Bulls would get by hosting a final. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves first have to try and win the semi-final. And after all is said and done I’m sure that at the start of the season many of us would have gladly accepted us ending 2nd on overall log and hosting a semi-final, its just having come into the last round at the top of the log that its a pity we couldn’t stay there.
This is the stage where it can be confusing if one not following things close enough, in terms of who Bulls may face in the semi-final the only thing am sure of is the Bulls won’t face the Cheetahs as they ended in 6th so if they win they get to play Chiefs. If Crusaders (4th) and Brumbies (3rd) win then we face Brumbies; if Crusaders and Cheetahs win we play Crusaders, if Reds (5th) and Brumbies (3rd) win we play Brumbies; if Reds (5th) and Cheetahs (6th) win we play Reds. So we could face Crusaders, Brumbies or Reds. Surely the best possible outcome for the Bulls and South Africa is for the Reds and Cheetahs to win – would think it would be better facing the Reds than the other two and this way we also end up with two teams in the semi-finals and then if Cheetahs manage to defeat Chiefs and we manage to beat Reds at home we could face the Cheetahs at home, phew that’s a lot to consider, sorry if you all had it figured it out already just the first time have checked it out and it took typing it out to make it a little less clearer than mud
So I guess for next weekend I say GO REDS, GO CHEETAHS!
The Bulls could still get a home final, if the Crusaders and Brumbies win their play-off qualifiers this weekend. That would see the No 1-ranked Chiefs hosting the lowest-ranked qualifier, which, because of the conference system, would be the Crusaders. If the Crusaders beat the Chiefs in Hamilton and the Bulls beat the Brumbies in Pretoria, the Bulls would then host the final. However, if the Cheetahs beat the Brumbies, they would play the Chiefs in the semi-finals with the Bulls playing the Crusaders or Reds. Wins for the Chiefs and Bulls would result in a Hamilton final.
May our teams do well!
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