From semis to finals
Semifinals were introduced into Super Rugby in 1996. They are, of course, lucrative matches building up to the excitement of the Final.
Last Saturday there were two semifinals, each with a clear-cut winner and so we start the week that will climax with the Super Rugby Final in Sydney on Saturday.
The home team will be the Waratahs who topped the Super Rugby table. Their opponents will be the Crusaders, the team that came second and the most frequent winners of the title.
The team that tops the Super Rugby log is not necessarily the team which wins the Super rugby title but most often it is. The history of the first 18 years tells us that.
On five occasions the team that came first in the Round Robin did not win Super Rugby - 1996, 1998, 2000, 2007 and 2012. The Reds have come first three times and won the trophy once.
In finals of 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 2014 the team that came top of the Round Robin played the team which came second.
But then in 1999 the final was between the team that came third and the team that came fourth - and the team that came fourth came fourth and won the title.
That all changed in 2011 when the teams that came first and second in the Round Robin went automatically into semifinals while the teams that came third to sixth played off for the right to make the semifinals.
That system persisted, and the semifinalists in 2014 were the teams which came first (Waratahs), second (Crusaders), third (Sharks) and fourth (Brumbies). That was neat. And it stayed neat as first and second won and will play in the Final.
Of the four teams in this year’s semifinals the Crusaders have been there most often.
The 2014 semifinalists in previous semifinals:
Waratahs: 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2014
Crusaders: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Sharks: 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014
Brumbies: 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014
A table of semifinalists, including this year’s, would look like this:
Teams come and go but the Crusaders are forever, it seems.
16: Crusaders
8: Sharks, Brumbies
7: Bulls
6. Blues, Hurricanes, Waratahs
5: Stormers
4: Reds
3. Highlanders, Chiefs
2: Cats
New Zealand teams have made the semifinals 34 times, South African teams 22 times and Australian teams 18 times.
When it was the Super 12, every team made the semifinals at least once. Since then the Lions, the Cheetahs, the Force and the Rebels have not made a semifinal, though previously the Lions and the Cheetahs formed the Cats.
Semifinal Winners
11: Crusaders
5: Brumbies
4: Blues
3: Sharks, Bulls, Waratahs
2. Chiefs
1: Highlanders, Hurricanes. Stormers, Reds
Team names have changed a bit but here is a synopsis of the Super Rugby’s semifinalists.
1996:
Log position: Queensland, Auckland, Northern Transvaal, Natal.
Semifinals:
Natal beat Queensland 43-25 in Brisbane
Auckland Blues beat Northern Transvaal 48-11 in Auckland.
Final:
Blues beat Natal 45-21
1997:
Log position: Auckland Blues, ACT Brumbies, Wellington Hurricanes, Natal Sharks.
Semifinals:
Brumbies beat Hurricanes 33-20 in Canberra
Blues beat Sharks 55-36 in Auckland.
Final:
Blues beat Brumbies 23-7 in Auckland.
1998:
Log position: Auckland Blues, Canterbury Crusaders, Coastal Sharks, Otago Highlanders
Semi finals:
Blues beat Highlanders 37-31 in Auckland
Crusaders beat Sharks 36-32 in Christchurch
Final:
Crusaders beat Blues, 20-13
1999:
Log position: Reds, Stormers, Highlanders, Crusaders
Semifinals:
Highlanders beat Stormers 33-18 at Newlands
Crusaders beat Reds 28-22 in Brisbane
Final:
Crusaders beat Highlanders 24-19
2000:
Log position: Brumbies, Crusaders, Highlanders, Cats
Semifinals:
Brumbies beat Cats 28-5 in Canberra
Crusaders beat Highlanders 37-15 in Christchurch
Final:
Crusaders beat Brumbies 20-19 in Canberra
2001:
Log position: Brumbies, Sharks, Cats, Reds
Semifinals:
Brumbies beat Reds 30-6 in Canberra
Sharks beat Cats 30-12 in Durban
Final:
Brumbies beat Sharks 36-6 in Canberra
2002:
Log position: Crusaders, Waratahs, Brumbies, Highlanders
Semifinals:
Crusaders beat Highlanders 34-23 in Christchurch
Brumbies beat Waratahs 51-10 in Sydney
Final:
Crusaders beat Brumbies 31-13 in Christchurch
The Crusaders won all 13 of their matches scoring. 30 or more points in every match
2003
Log position: Blues, Crusaders, Hurricanes, Brumbies
Semifinals:
Crusaders beat Hurricanes 39-16 in Christchurch
Blues beat Brumbies 42-21 in Auckland
Final:
Blues beat Crusaders 21-17
2004:
Log position: Brumbies, Crusaders, Stormers, Chiefs
Semifinals:
Crusaders beat Stormers 27-16 in Christchurch
Brumbies beat Chiefs 32-17 in Canberra
Final:
Brumbies beat Crusaders 47-38 in Canberra
2005:
Log position: Crusaders, Waratahs, Bulls, Hurricanes
Semifinals:
Crusaders beat Hurricanes 47-7 in Christchurch
Waratahs beat Bulls 23-13 in Sydney
Final:
Crusaders beat Waratahs 35-25 in Christchurch
2006:
Log position: Crusaders, Hurricanes, Waratahs, Bulls
Semifinals:
Hurricanes beat Waratahs 16-14 in Wellington
Crusaders beat Bulls 35-15 in Christchurch
Final:
Crusaders beat Hurricanes 19-12 in Christchurch
2007:
Log position: Sharks, Bulls, Crusaders, Blues
Semifinals:
Sharks vs Blues, 34-18 in Durban
Bulls vs Crusaders, 27-12 in Pretoria
Final:
Bulls vs Sharks, 20-19 in Durban
2008:
Log position: Crusaders, Waratahs, Sharks, Hurricanes
Semifinals:
Crusaders beat Hurricanes 33-22
Waratahs beat Sharks 28-13 in Sydney
Final:
Crusaders beat Waratahs 20-12
2009:
Log position: Bulls, Chiefs, Hurricanes, Crusaders
Semifinals:
Bulls beat Crusaders 36-23
Chiefs beat Hurricanes 14-10
Final:
Bulls beat Chiefs, 61-17
2010:
Log position: Bulls, Stormers, Waratahs, Crusaders
Semifinals:
Bulls beat Crusaders 39-24 in Soweto
Stormers beat Waratahs 25-6 at Newlands
Final:
Bulls beat Stormers 25-17 in Soweto
2011:
Log position: Reds, Stormers, Crusaders, Blues, Waratahs, Sharks
Play-offs:
Crusaders vs Sharks, 36-8 in Nelson
Blues vs Waratahs, 26-13 in Auckland
Semifinals:
Crusaders beat Stormers 29-10 at Newlands
Reds beat Blues 30-13 in Brisbane
Final:
Reds beat Crusaders, 18-13 in Brisbane
2012:
Log position: Stormers, Chiefs, Reds, Crusaders, Bulls, Sharks
Play-offs:
Crusaders beat Bulls, 28-13 in Christchurch
Sharks beat Reds, 30-17 in Brisbane
Semifinals:
Chiefs beat Crusaders, 20-17 in Hamilton
Sharks beat Stormers, 26-19 at Newlands
Final:
Chiefs beat Sharks 37-6 in Hamilton
2013:
Log Position: Chiefs Bulls, Brumbies Crusaders, Reds, Cheetahs
Play-offs:
Crusaders beat Reds, 38-9 in Christchurch
Brumbies beat Cheetahs, 15-13 in Canberra
Semifinals:
Chiefs beat Crusaders. 20-19 in Hamilton
Brumbies beat Bulls, 26-23 min Pretoria
Final:
Chiefs beat Brumbies, 27-22 in Hamilton
2014:
Log Position: Waratahs, Crusaders, Sharks, Brumbies, Chiefs, Highlanders
Playoffs:
Sharks beat Highlanders, 31-27 in Durban
Brumbies beat Chiefs, 32-30 in Canberra
Semifinals
Crusaders beat Sharks, 38-6 in Christchurch
Waratahs beat Brumbies, 26-8 in Sydney.
Paul Dobson