Super Rugby quarterfinals confirmed
After 17 rounds and 135 matches of the regular season the quarterfinalists for the 2016 Super Rugby tournament have been determined. The four Conference winners will host the four wildcard teams in the quarterfinals.
The Hurricanes won the hotly contested battle of the New Zealand Conference to finish as Conference winner and top tournament seed to secure its home quarterfinal. The Hurricanes beat the Crusaders 35-10 in Christchurch, while the Highlanders beat the Chiefs 25-15 in Dunedin.
The Emirates Lions 34-22 loss in Buenos Aires to the Jaguares saw them finish top of South Africa Conference 2 to qualify as tournament second seed.
The DHL Stormers finished as South Africa 1 Conference winners after beating the Kings 52-24 in Cape Town and enter the quarterfinals as third seed. The Australian Conference winner is the Brumbies who beat the Force in Canberra 24-10 to qualify as fourth seed, meaning the Waratahs missed out on quarterfinal qualification.
The wild card quarterfinalists are three teams from the Australasia Group: the Highlanders, Chiefs, Crusaders; and the Cell C Sharks from South Africa 2 who beat to the Sunwolves 40-29 to claim the one wild card spot from the South Africa Group.
2016 Vodacom Super Rugby Quarter-finalists and seedings:
Seed 1: Hurricanes – New Zealand Conference winner (53 points)
Seed 2: Emirates Lions – South Africa 2 Conference winner (52 points)
Seed 3: DHL Stormers – South Africa 1 Conference Winner (51 points)
Seed 4: Brumbies – Australia Conference Winner (43 points)
Seed 5: Highlanders – Wildcard Australasia Group (52 points)
Seed 6: Chiefs – Wildcard Australasia Group (51 points)
Seed 7: Crusaders – Wildcard Australasia Group (50 points)
Seed 8: Sharks – Wildcard South Africa Group (43 points)
2016 Vodacom Super Rugby Quarterfinal Draw
Friday, 22 July
Brumbies v Highlanders
(GIO Stadium, Canberra – Kick-off: 18h00)
Saturday, 23 July
Hurricanes v Cell C Sharks
(Westpac Stadium, Wellington – Kick-off: 19h35; 09h35 SA time)
Emirates Lions v Crusaders
(Emirates Airlines Park, Johannesburg – Kick-off: 16h30)
DHL Stormers v Chiefs
(DHL Newlands, Cape Town – Kick-off: 19h00)
The semifinals will be determined by the results of the quarterfinals. The highest seeded winner will play the lowest seeded winner; the second highest seeded winner will play the second lowest seeded winner. The two highest seeds will host semifinal matches.
