There is just one round left in the regular season of Super Rugby and eight teams are still in the hunt for a berth in the top six.
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Two of the three conferences have been wrapped up already with the Chiefs and Stormers guaranteed their places, while the Brumbies and Reds are still locked in a tussle to finish as the top dogs in Australia.
The Chiefs and Stormers are in a battle to finish on top of the joint log that would secure both a home semifinal and home final for the top side.
The pressure is still on for the top eight teams as places three through eight have the chance to either reach the knock out phase or fall at the final hurdle.
Either New Zealand and South Africa could still have three teams feature in the top six, while Australia have a chance to sneak two in, but it look more likely that only the conference winner will go through.
The Highlanders sit in the middle of the table dividing the top eight and bottom six, as the Otago franchise has a bye this weekend and they will finish in ninth no matter what the outcomes are of any of the other matches.
There is also a fight to avoid the wooden spoon with the Lions requiring a victory over the Bulls to have the possibility of leapfrogging either of the Western Force or the Blues or even both of them.
With so many teams in contention there should be plenty of tension as the threat of being knocked out looms and there will also be the battle for a home playoff match and a home semifinal.
Chiefs:
Current position: New Zealand conference – first; global standings – first
Best possible finish: New Zealand conference – first; global standings – first
Worst possible finish: New Zealand conference – first; global standings – second
Remaining fixtures:
13 July: v Hurricanes, away
Stormers:
Current position: South African conference – first; global standings second
Best possible finish: South African conference – first; global standings – first
Worst possible finish: South African conference – first; global standings – third
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Rebels, home
Brumbies:
Current position: Australian conference – first; global standings – third
Best possible finish: Australian conference – first; global standings – second
Worst possible finish: Australian conference – second; global standings – eighth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Blues, home
Crusaders:
Current position: New Zealand conference – second; global standings – fourth
Best possible finish: New Zealand conference – second; global standings -fourth
Worst possible finish: New Zealand conference – third; global standings – eighth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Force, home
Bulls:
Current position: South African conference – second; global standings – fifth
Best possible finish: South African conference – second; global standings – fourth
Worst possible finish: South African conference – third; global standings – eighth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Lions, home
Sharks:
Current position: South African conference – third; global standings – sixth
Best possible finish: South African conference – second; global standings – fourth
Worst possible finish: South African conference – third; global standings – eighth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Cheetahs, home
Reds:
Current position: Australian conference – second; global standings – seventh
Best possible finish: Australian conference – first; global standings – third
Worst possible finish: Australian conference – second; global standings – eighth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Waratahs, home
Hurricanes:
Current position: New Zealand conference – third; global standings – eighth
Best possible finish: New Zealand conference – second; global standings – fourth
Worst possible finish: New Zealand conference – third; global standings – eighth
Remaining fixtures:
13 July: v Chiefs, home
Highlanders:
Current position: New Zealand conference – fourth; global standings – ninth
Best possible finish: New Zealand conference – fourth; global standings – ninth
Worst possible finish: New Zealand conference – fourth; global standings – ninth
Remaining fixtures:
13/14 July: Bye
Cheetahs:
Current position: South African conference – fourth; global standings – tenth
Best possible finish: South African conference – fourth; global standings – tenth
Worst possible finish: South African conference – fourth; global standings – eleventh
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Sharks, away
Waratahs:
Current position: Australian conference – third; global standings – eleventh
Best possible finish: Australian conference – third; global standings – tenth
Worst possible finish: Australian conference – fourth; global standings – twelfth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July, v Reds, away
Rebels:
Current position: Australian conference – fourth; global standings – twelfth
Best possible finish: Australian conference – third; global standings – eleventh
Worst possible finish: Australian conference – fifth; global standings – fourteenth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July, v Stormers, away
Blues:
Current position: New Zealand conference – fifth; global standings – thirteenth
Best possible finish: New Zealand conference – fifth; global standings – twelfth
Worst possible finish: New Zealand conference – fifth; global standings – fifteenth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Brumbies, away
Force:
Current position: Australian conference – fifth; global standings – fourteenth
Best possible finish: Australian conference – fourth; global standings – twelfth
Worst possible finish: Australian conference – fifth; global standings – fifteenth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Crusaders, away
Lions:
Current position: South African conference – fifth; global standings – fifteenth
Best possible finish: South African conference – fifth; global standings – thirteenth
Worst possible finish: South African conference – fifth, global standings – fifteenth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Bulls, away
Well, what a crappy game from my Bulls on Friday night, Sharks were all over them like a bad, scratchy rash!
… but the Stormers, Cheetahs and Lions can’t feel too happy about their performances either!
Sharks were bloody good, and those freegin Sharks fans must all still be strutting around in their Sharks garb, having added 2 or 3 stupid little Sharkie stickers to the bumpers of ALL their vehicles!
Stormers won, but heck what a crap game… and if I see Langbek once more prancing around midfield, I might just puke. Flok kan die man nie sy basiese werk flippen doen nie?
Cheethas were crappy… and the wet whether only goes so far to excuse that performance.
Lions… well what can one say, they started like the world was on fire and the only way to save it was to score tries, then they started to conspire against themselves, eventually squandering a 24-point lead and falling behind on the scoreboard, only to save some face and come back with a late try and a penalty to nail it shut. All in all still not good enough!
Yes the Sharks had a really good game, pity they can’t produce 2 or 3 good performances in a row against top opposition, arguably why they will never win the title under the current management.
Things look good for three SA teams to reach the play-off’s, holding thumbs
Interesting that position 6 (playing the Waratahs) is better than 5 (playing the Crusaders) in the current flawed conference set-up
Also hoping for the Stormers to top the log and score that bonus point against the Rebels, almost sounds impossible with their current mindset.
(Soos die coach moet hul almal net blerrie wakker word vir ‘n slag)
I see Flip van der Merwe is out for this weekend, with a hip injury… just received the Bulls media release
gbs @ 1
think the way the stormers went about their business on saturday, was disappointing. yes, the weather did not allow for running rugby, but then, no-one asked of them to put the cheetahs away by 50 points. they just never looked interested in the prospect of going top of the log, but rather attempted boring me to death. i can just imagine how frustrating this game was for anyone who wasnt supporting either the cheetahs or stormers.
as i said earlier on the stormers/cheetahs thread, i’ve seen teams play much better rugby in worse conditions. the ab vs wallabies bledisloe cup encounter (1996) comes to mind. one of the most awesome displays of rugby in poor conditions that i have ever seen!!
JUST want to say, thought about it this afternoon… how many Bok capped players are in the Stormers line up atm? As supposed to the Bulls and the Sharks?
Or, wait, here is another question for you… how many capped Boks (good or bad, old or new) were in the Cheetahs game for their match this weekend? Or the Lions?
And, of course, I am talking about full caps, no mid-week, touring squad crap?
Stormers 6, Cheetahs 3. I know it’s not exactly equal, but if you consider the log positions, this all puts into perspective how GOOD this Stormers team is.
Especially if you weigh it against the 9 starters for the Sharks (and then Im not counting the MULTIPLE WC French international). Or if you consider the 14 of the Bulls…
It wasn’t very fun to watch, especially as a Stormers fan… but I suppose we can walk away with the win and move on from there. Crap, in the semi’s or the Final, 4 tries doesn’t count for NIL! winning habits, no matter the conditions, the injuries, the media pressure about the style of play etc. (note the Waratahs), does.
On that note, sharks played SUPER well! If Deysel and Alberts come back… they might just make it to the Finals. No jokes.
And good one on the Lions. Getting one last win for old times sake.
GG (sometimes pronounced GiGi, hehehehe)
i have no quarrels with the win bru, but with the way we played
my greatest fear is that we’d meet someone like the bulls or crusaders in the play-offs and that we (when we need to) wont be able to shift into a higher gear (or score tries when we need to). we have maybe one of the best backlines of the competition, but we struggle to score tries!! maybe i’m jesy pessimistic, but i cant see us go all the way!!
ok guys, i’m out
cheers!!
Howzit all, just a quick check in, sitting in Swakopmund at the moment – and first chance to log on for a while. Been deep in the bush for the last couple of weeks, so no telly, internet or phone. Its been blissfully quiet!!!! Glad to see my boys have done well in my absence, all be it not prettily, I sense!
Back to the wilderness the day after tomorrow for a few days, and then home for the weekend. Hopefully we’ll be able to catch up for the last game of the round robin. Sharks seem to be peaking just at the right time – could it be their year, I wonder?
Cheers all, will check in tomorrow if I can.
I reckon Nic mallett and Naas Botha know a bit about rugby, hey?
Well … they thought that the Stormers had an excellent win against the Cheetahs under trying circumstances this weekend … and I agree!
kwaailight @ 9
i for one am not doubting the pedigree of either naas or mallett (although i cant agree with their “excellent win”)
as mallett said on numerous occassions during the incoming tours: the springbok have a plan a, and thats it … nothing more!! if plan a doesnt work, we’re in trouble, theres nothing else to fall back onto.
same thing i fear with the stormers … should we get into a situation in the play-offs where we’ve conceded a try or 2 and need to hit back to stay in the game; i’m afraid i cant see where that try will come from (how we’ll go about creating it). theres nothing there, just individual brilliance from time to time!! (and that with players like aplon, habana, jdv, joe petersen etc etc etc!!).
see that mark boucher have announced his retirement from international cricket due to the eye injury sustained yesterday … now, i for one didnt always agree on his selection, but this not something i would wish on anyone.
best wishes for the future mark!! hope everything will turn out well!!
see that the proteas have declared on 282/9, still 30 runs behind somerset’s score.
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