As Super rugby reaches the eleventh round the Crusaders are almost running away from the rest of the field and their nearest rival is seven points behind.
The Rebels are now four points ahead of the Waratahs in the Australian Conference but in South Africa things are a lot tighter.
The Bulls have a one point lead over the Lions and Sharks while the lowest placed South African Conference team are the Stormers who are just four points behind the Bulls. As luck would have it the Bulls play the Stormers this weekend and the Cape Town side have not lost to the Pretoria side at home for eight years.
While the Crusaders and Rebels are taking control of their conferences anything could happen in the South African conference in terms of the play offs.
In our current form rankings which is based upon the last five matches, points scored, matches won and points conceded the Crusaders have risen back to the top despite them having a bye last week.
The Hurricanes are still keeping the pressure on the Crusaders in the form table as well as the overall standings.
The Brumbies back to back wins over the Lions and the Stormers has moved them up to third place in the form rankings.
Super rugby form guide
1 Crusaders – W – W – W – W – D – L – W – W – W – B
2 Hurricanes – W – L – W – W – D – W – L – W -B – W –
3 Brumbies – L – W – L – L – W – L – B – L – W – W –
4 Chiefs – L – L – L – L – D – W – W -B – W – L –
5 Jaguares – L – W – W – L – L – B – L – W – W – B
6 Reds B – L – L – L – W – W – L – W – L – W –
7 Bulls – W – L – W – W – B – L – W – L – W – B
8 Lions – W – L – L – W – W – W -B – L – L – W –
9 Waratahs – L – W – B – W – L – W – L – L -B – W –
10 Blues – L – L – L – W – B – W – W – W – L – L –
11 Highlanders – W – W – L – L – D – L – B – L – L – W –
12 Rebels – W – B – W – W – L – L – W – W – L – L –
13 Stormers – L – W – W – B – W – L – L – L – W – L –
14 Sharks – W – W – L – L -B – W – L – W – L – L –
15 Sunwolves – L – L – W – L – L – L – W – L – B – L –
Crusaders v Lions Super Rugby Preview
The Crusaders have played the Lions 21 times in Super rugby since 1998 and the Crusaders have won 17 matches, drawn none and lost 4 times.
The Crusaders 17 wins out of 21 matches gives them a record of winning 81% of their matches against the Lions regardless of venue.
This weekend the match will be played in Christchurch which is home for the Crusaders and the venue where the teams have met 7 times.
In those 7 matches played in Christchurch the Crusaders have won all 7. This gives the Crusaders a record of winning 100% of their matches against the Lions at home.
The Crusaders played the Lions twice in Nelson in the early days and both teams won one match each.
The average score when the Crusaders play the Lions in Christchurch is : Crusaders 42 Lions 19.
The Crusaders have won the last three matches against the Lions regardless of the venue.
The Lions have not beaten the Crusaders in New Zealand soil 2001 when they won 31-32 in Nelson. s
Average score: Crusaders 34 Lions 24
Last five results
Sat, 04 Aug 2018 Final Crusaders v Lions 37-18 Christchurch
Sun, 01 Apr 2018 Crusaders v Lions 14-8 2:1 4-1 Johannesburg
Sat, 05 Aug 2017 Final Crusaders v Lions 25-17 Johannesburg
Sat, 23 Jul 2016 Elim Crusaders v Lions 25-42 Johannesburg
Fri, 01 Apr 2016 Crusaders v Lions 43-37 Johannesburg
Crusaders overall record against the Lions
Played 21, Wins 17 , Losses 4, Draws 0
Match Officials and details
Date : Friday 26 April
Venue : AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Kick Off local: 19:35
Referee: Paul Williams
Assistant Ref 1:Mike Fraser
Assistant Ref 2:James Munro
TMO : Aaron Paterson
Teams
Crusaders
15 David Havili, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Braydon Ennor, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Mitchell Drummond, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Billy Harmon, 6 Whetukamokamo Douglas, 5 Sam Whitelock (captain), 4 Quinten Strange, 3 Michael Alaalatoa, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements: 16 Ben Funnell, 17 Harry Allan, 18 Oliver Jager, 19 Michael Dunshea, 20 Jordan Taufua, 21 Ereatara Enari, 22 Mitchell Hunt, 23 Ngane Punivai
Lions
Ruan Combrinck; Sylvian Mahuza, Lionel Mapoe, Elton Jantjies, Aphiwe Dyantyi; Shaun Reynolds, Nic Groom; Warren Whiteley (c), Cyle Brink, Kwagga Smith, Marvin Orie, Stephan Lewies, Carlu Sadie, Robbie Coetzee, Sti Sithole
Replacements: Jan-Henning Campher, Nathan Mcbeth, Johannes Jonker, Wilhelm Vd Sluys, Marnus Schoeman, Ross Cronje, Franco Naude, Tyrone Green.
Sunwolves v Highlanders Super Rugby Preview
The Sunwolves have played the Highlanders just once before in Super rugby and the Highlanders won that match.
The final score in that match was Sunwolves 15 Highlanders 40 and the match was played at Invercargill.
This weekend the match will be played in Tokyo and as they have only met once before and that was in New Zealand this will be the first time that the Highlanders have played in Japan.
This season the Sunwolves have played 5 matches at home (Tokyo and Singapore included) and they have yet to win.
Against New Zealand sides the Sunwolves have played three matches and won one. They beat the Chiefs but lost to the Blues and Hurricanes.
Average score: Sunwolves 15 Highlanders 40
Last result
Sat, 22 Apr 2017 Sunwolves v Highlanders 15-40 Invercargill
Sunwolves overall record against the Highlanders
Played 1, Wins 0, Losses 1 , Draws 0
Match Officials and details
Date : Friday 26 April
Venue : Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, Tokyo
Kick Off local: 19:00
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe
Assistant Ref 1:Angus Gardner
Assistant Ref 2:Shuhei Kubo
TMO : Minoru Fuji
Teams
Sunwolves
15 Ryohei Yamanaka, 14 Gerhard Van den Heever, 13 Josh Timu, 12 Rahboni Warren Vosayaco, 11 Semisi Masirewa, 10 Hayden Parker, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Hendrik Tui, 7 Dan Pryor (captain), 6 Grant Hattingh, 5 Luke Thompson, 4 Mark Abbott, 3 Hiroshi Yamashita, 2 Nathan Vella, 1 Pauliasi Manu
Replacements: 16 Shota Horie, 17 Alex Woonton, 18 Takuma Asahara, 19 Tom Rowe, 20 Ben Gunter, 21 Kaito Shigeno, 22 Yu Tamura, 23 Jason Emery
Highlanders
15 Matt Faddes, 14 Sio Tomkinson, 13 Rob Thompson, 12 Teihorangi Walden, 11 Tevita Li, 10 Josh Ioane, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Elliot Dixon, 7 James Lentjes, 6 Luke Whitelock (captain), 5 Tom Franklin, 4 Jackson Hemopo, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Daniel Lienert-Brown
Replacements: 16 Ash Dixon, 17 Sef Fa’agase, 18 Siate Tokolahi, 19 Josh Dickson, 20 Shannon Frizell, 21 Kayne Hammington, 22 Bryn Gatland, 23 Dillon Hunt
Hurricanes v Chiefs Super Rugby Preview
The Hurricanes have played the Chiefs 34 times in Super rugby since 1996 and the Hurricanes have won 17 matches, drawn 2 and lost 15 times.
The Hurricanes 17 wins out of 34 matches gives them a record of winning 50% of their matches against the Chiefs regardless of venue.
This weekend the match will be played in Wellington which is home for the Hurricanes and the venue where the teams have met 16 times. In those 16 matches played in Wellington the Hurricanes have won 12 matches.
and lost 4. This gives the Hurricanes a record of winning 75% of their matches against the Chiefs at home.
The average score when the Hurricanes play the Chiefs in Wellington is : Hurricanes 28 Chiefs 21.
The Hurricanes have won the last two matches against the Chiefs in Wellington and the Chiefs have not won in the city since 2017.
Average score: Hurricanes 23 Chiefs 22
Last five results
Fri, 15 Mar 2019 Hurricanes v Chiefs 23-23 Hamilton
Fri, 20 Jul 2018 Elim Hurricanes v Chiefs 32-31 Wellington
Fri, 13 Jul 2018 Hurricanes v Chiefs 24-28 Hamilton
Fri, 13 Apr 2018 Hurricanes v Chiefs 25-13 Wellington
Fri, 09 Jun 2017 Hurricanes v Chiefs 14-17 Wellington
Hurricanes overall record against the Chiefs
Played 34 , Wins 17 , Losses 15 , Draws 2
Match Officials and details
Date : Saturday 27 April
Venue : Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Kick Off local: 19:35
Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge
Assistant Ref 1:Mike Fraser
Assistant Ref 2: Brendon Pickerill
TMO :Shane McDermott
Teams
Hurricanes
15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Wes Goosen, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Chase Tiatia, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara (captain), 8 Reed Prinsep, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Kane Le’aupepe, 4 James Blackwell, 3 Ben May, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 Fraser Armstrong.
Replacements: 16 Ricky Riccitelli, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 19 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 20 Sam Henwood, 21 Richard Judd, 22 James Marshall, 23 Salesi Rayasi
Chiefs
15 Solomon Alaimalo, 14 Sean Wainui, 13 Tumua Manu, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 Ataata Moeakiola, 10 Marty McKenzie, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Tyler Ardron, 7 Lachlan Boshier, 6 Luke Jacobson, 5 Mitchell Brown, 4 Michael Allardice (captain), 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Atu Moli
Replacements: 16 Liam Polwart, 17 Tevita Mafileo, 18 Sosefo Kautai, 19 Taleni Seu, 20 Jesse Parete, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Stephen Donald, 23 Alex Nankivell
Waratahs v Sharks Super Rugby Preview
The Waratahs have played the Sharks 20 times in Super rugby since 1998 and the Waratahs have won 12 matches, drawn 2 and lost 6 times.
The Waratahs 12 wins out of 20 matches gives them a record of winning 60% of their matches against the Sharks regardless of venue.
This weekend the match will be played in Sydney which is home for the Waratahs and the venue where the teams have met 10 times.
In those 10 matches played in Sydney the Waratahs have won 9 matches and lost 1. This gives the Waratahs a record of winning 90% of their matches against the Sharks at home.
The average score when the Waratahs play the Sharks in Sydney is : Waratahs 34 Sharks 17.
The Waratahs won the first match between these teams in Sydney in 1998. The teams met again in Sydney in March 2000 and the Sharks won. Since then the Waratahs have gone unbeaten at home and have won 8 matches in a row against the Sharks.
The Sharks therefore have not won in Sydney since 2000.
Average score: Waratahs 27 Sharks 22
Last five results
Sat, 03 Mar 2018 Waratahs v Sharks 24-24 Durban
Sat, 11 Mar 2017 Waratahs v Sharks 14-37 Durban
Sat, 16 May 2015 Waratahs v Sharks 33-18 Sydney
Sat, 29 Mar 2014 Waratahs v Sharks 10-32 Durban
Sat, 24 Mar 2012 Waratahs v Sharks 34-30 Sydney
Waratahs overall record against the Sharks
Played 20 , Wins 12 , Losses 6 , Draws 2
Match Officials and details
Date : Saturday 27 April
Venue : Western Sydney Stadium
Kick Off local: 19:45
Referee: Nic Berry
Assistant Ref 1:Damon Murphy
Assistant Ref 2:Amy Perrett
TMO : George Ayoub
Teams
Waratahs
15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Cam Clark, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Karmichael Hunt, 11 Curtis Rona, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Michael Wells, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Jack Dempsey, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Jed Holloway, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Damien Fitzpatrick, 1 Harry Johnson-Holmes
Replacements:16 Tolu Latu, 17 Rory O’Connor, 18 Chris Talakai, 19 Tom Staniforth, 20 Lachlan Swinton 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Lalakai Foketi, 23 Alex Newsome
Sharks
15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 S’bu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Philip van der Walt, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Tendai Mtawarira (c)
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Mzamo Majola, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Ruan Botha, 20 Jacques Vermeulen, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Robert du Preez, 23 Marius Louw
Stormers v Bulls Super Rugby Preview
The Stormers have played the Bulls 31 times in Super rugby since 1996 and the Stormers have won 18 matches, drawn 1 and lost 12 times.
The Stormers 18 wins out of 31 matches gives them a record of winning 58% of their matches against the Bulls regardless of venue.
This weekend the match will be played in Cape Town which is home for the Stormers and the venue where the teams have met 15 times.
In those 16 matches played in Cape Town the Stormers have won 11 matches , drawn 1 and lost 3. This gives the Stormers a record of winning 73% of their matches against the Bulls at home.
The average score when the Stormers play the Bulls in Cape Town is : Stormers 24 Bulls 17.
Between 1998 and 2011 the Stormers won four out of 8 matches and drew one. The Bulls won three matches in that period but since then the Bulls have been winless.
This means that the Stormers have won their last 7 matches consecutively at home against the Bulls in Cape Town.
The Bookies have given the Bulls a 2 point start for this Match – click HERE to see the latest odds.
Average score: Stormers 23 Bulls 23
Last five results
Sat, 16 Feb 2019 Stormers v Bulls 3-40 Pretoria
Sat, 05 May 2018 Stormers v Bulls 29-17 Cape Town
Sat, 31 Mar 2018 Stormers v Bulls 23-33 Pretoria
Sat, 15 Jul 2017 Stormers v Bulls 41-33 Pretoria
Sat, 25 Feb 2017 Stormers v Bulls 37-24 Cape Town
Stormers overall record against the Bulls
Played 31, Wins 18 , Losses 12, Draws 1
Match Officials and details
Date : Saturday 27 April
Venue : Newlands, Cape Town
Kick Off local: 15:05
Referee: Glen Jackson
Assistant Ref 1:Nick Briant
Assistant Ref 2:Divan Uys
TMO : Marius Jonker
Teams
Stormers
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Kobus van Dyk, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Ernst van Rhyn, 21 Justin Phillips, 22 Joshua Stander, 23 Seabelo Senatla.
Bulls
15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Jade Stighling, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Johnny Kotze, 10 Handre Pollard (captain), 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Hanro Liebenberg, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Jannes Kirsten, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Lizo Gqoboka
Replacements:16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Wiehahn Herbst, 19 Thembelani Bholi, 20 Paul Schoeman, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Divan Rossouw
Jaguares v Brumbies Super Rugby Preview
The Jaguares have played the Brumbies just two times in Super rugby since 2017 when they first met and the Jaguares have won 1 matches and lost 1 match.
In the two meetings between these teams whoever was playing at home finished the match as the losing team.
Therefore in matches between these sides the home team has never won which goes strongly against regular Super rugby trends. Home advantage has meant nothing in these matches.
The last time the Jaguares hosted the Brumbies in Buenos Aires they lost: Jaguares 15 Brumbies 39.
The Jaguares had a bye last week while the Brumbies beat the Stormers in Cape Town.
Average score: Jaguares 20 Brumbies 30
Last two results
Sun, 22 Apr 2018 Jaguares v Brumbies 25-20 Canberra
Sat, 27 May 2017 Jaguares v Brumbies 15-39 Buenos Aires
Jaguares overall record against the Brumbies
Played 2 , Wins 1 , Losses 1 , Draws 0
Match Officials and details
Date : Saturday 27 April
Venue : Estadio José Amalfitani, Buenos Aires
Kick Off local: 18:40
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
Assistant Ref 1:AJ Jacobs
Assistant Ref 2:Federico Anselmi
TMO : Santiago Borsani
Teams
Jaguares
15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Jeronimo De La Fuente (c), 11 Santiago Carreras, 10 Domingo Miotti, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Tomas Lezana, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti Pagadizaval, 3 Santiago Medrano, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements: 16 Julian Montoya, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Enrique Pieretto Heilan, 19 Rodrigo Bruni, 20 Javier Ortega Desio, 21 Felipe Ezcurra, 22 Bautista Ezcurra, 23 Juan Cruz Mallia
Brumbies
15 Tom Banks, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Tom Wright, 11 Toni Pulu, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Matt Lucas, 8 Pate Samu, 7 Tom Cusack, 6 Jahrome Brown, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Folau Fainga’a, 1 James Slipper
Replacements: 16 Connal Mcinerney, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Leslie Leuluaialii-Makin, 19 Darcy Swain, 20 Murray Douglas, 21 Joe Powell, 22 Irae Simone, 23 Andy Muirhead
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