Super Rugby Update

RUGBY UNION – Super Rugby

After five rounds of the 2016 Super Rugby competition, seven of last year’s top eight find themselves in finals positions on their respective conference ladders, with only the Waratahs of that eight not having won at least three matches thus far.

The Brumbies are sitting pretty at the top of the Australian conference, and they will host the Chiefs next week in a top-of-the-table clash that should provide a fairly strong indication of how they are progressing a third of the way through the season. At the other end of the ladder, the Reds are still winless after five matches, although they have played out a draw and two close losses, including a two-point defeat to the Waratahs last game.

The Brumbies ground out a 25-18 victory over the Cheetahs to remain top of the Australian conference

RESULTS – Round 5:
Hurricanes defeated Kings 42-20; Chiefs defeated Force 53-10; Rebels lost to Highlanders 3-27; Sunwolves lost to Bulls 27-30; Cheetahs lost to Brumbies 18-25; Sharks lost to Crusaders 14-19; Jaguares lost to Stormers 8-13; Reds lost to Waratahs 13-15.

CURRENT STANDINGS – after Round 5 of 17:

Australasian Group

South African Group

-A try bonus point is now awarded to a team for scoring 3+ tries more than their opponent
-A loss bonus point is also awarded to a team for losing by 7 points or less
-The finals series involves the four conference winners, the next three best teams from Australasia and the next one best team from South Africa

UPCOMING FIXTURES – Round 6:
Highlanders vs Force at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin (Fri, Apr 1 at 5:35pm)
Lions vs Crusaders at Emirates Airlines Park, Johannesburg (Sat, Apr 2 at 4:00am)
Blues vs Jaguares at QBE Stadium, Albany (Sat, Apr 2 at 5:35pm)
Brumbies vs Chiefs at GIO Stadium, Canberra (Sat, Apr 2 at 7:40pm)
Kings vs Sunwolves at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth (Sun, Apr 3 at 2:05am)
Bulls vs Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria (Sun, Apr 3 at 3:10am)
Waratahs vs Rebels at Allianz Stadium, Sydney (Sun, Apr 3 at 4:05pm)
Bye: Hurricanes, Reds, Sharks, Stormers

*All times AEDST except Bulls vs Cheetahs and Waratahs vs Rebels, which are AEST. Times, dates and venues subject to change