Super Rugby’s administrators Sanzaar have confirmed a small change to the qualification process for the 2017 Super Rugby semi-finals.
In a change from 2016 the semi-final draw will be pre-determined (see below). The semi-final host teams will be the highest ranked winners from the respective quarter-finals.
As in 2016 the teams winning places in the quarter-finals will be: the four Conference winners – who will host quarter-final matches; and four wild card teams – determined by the tournament rules and final conference positions.
The teams will be ranked 1-8 based on the final number of competition points attained and the following order.
Rank 1-4: Conference winners determined by final number competition points
Rank 5-8: Wild cards determined by final number competition points
The quarter-final draw will be:
Quarter-final 1: 1 v 8
Quarter-final 2: 2 v 7
Quarter-final 3: 3 v 6
Quarter-final 4: 4 v 5.
Semi-final 1: Winner QF 1 v Winner QF 4
Semi-final 2: Winner QF 2 v Winner QF 3
The tournament kicks-off on Thursday 23 February with the Rebels hosting the Blues at AAMI Park in Melbourne. The fixture list will see two matches played in the Pacific Islands: Round 13 – Chiefs versus Crusaders in Suva, Fiji on Friday 19 May; and Round 15 – Blues versus Reds in Apia, Samoa on Friday 2 June.
