ONLINE
2016 Vodacom Super Rugby play-offs have been confirmed after the last round of matches over the weekend.
The Emirates Lions will face the Crusaders this weekend in Johannesburg, the DHL Stormers host the Chiefs in Cape Town and the Cell C Sharks have to travel to Wellington, New Zealand, for a clash against the Hurricanes after the Vodacom Super Rugby quarter-final draw was confirmed on Sunday morning.
In the last match of the round, which kicked off just before midnight SA time on Saturday, July 16, the Emirates Lions lost 34-22 to the Jaguares in Buenos Aires, which placed them second overall on the combined standings.
Earlier on Saturday the DHL Stormers finished as Africa Conference 1 winners after beating the Southern Kings 52-24 and they enter the play-offs as third seeds. The Cell C Sharks won their Friday evening match 40-29 against the Sunwolves in Durban to clinch their wildcard qualification spot.
The Vodacom Bulls won their last campaign fixture 43-17 against the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday, but the Pretoria side missed out on a place in the knockout phase.
The Hurricanes clinched the New Zealand Conference with their 35-10 win over the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday to finish as overall log leaders and first seeds, while the Highlanders beat the Chiefs 25-15 in Dunedin.
The Australian Conference winner is the Brumbies who beat the Western Force 24-10 to qualify as fourth seeds. This weekend the four conference winners will host the four wildcard teams in the much-anticipated quarter-finals.
The semi-finals will be determined by the results of the quarter-finals. 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 semi-final matches.
The quarter final matches are:
Friday, July 22: Brumbies vs Highlanders, GIO Stadium, Canberra at 18:00.
Saturday, July 23: Hurricanes vs Cell C Sharks, Westpac Stadium, Wellington at 19:35.
Saturday, July 23: Emirates Lions vs Crusaders, Emirates Airlines Park, Johannesburg at 16:30.
Saturday, July 23: DHL Stormers vs Chiefs, DHL Newlands, Cape Town at 19:00.
Credit: SARU
