Last minute scramble for semis
2008-05-15 10:30
Wellington - Some of the most bitter domestic rivalries in southern hemisphere rugby will be revived in the final round of the Super 14 tournament, adding an extra element to a desperate 11th-hour scramble for the semi-finals.
The Waratahs and Reds will clash in Australia's most storied derby, Blues and Hurricanes meet on Friday in New Zealand in direct competition for a semi-final spot and teams based in Johannesburg and Cape Town, Bloemfontein and Pretoria will square off in South Africa.
The Crusaders, who host the Highlanders in another of the last-round derbies, have already secured a home semi-final and are entitled to be almost indifferent to the last phase of the playoff contest.
They have a 12-point lead at the top of the table, will finish first by a distance and have only to find out which of the six teams immediately behind them will finish fourth and meet them in a semi-final at Christchurch on May 23.
None of the other teams in the competition have the opportunity to relax in the final round. Even derby clashes between the Bulls and Cheetahs, Force and Brumbies, which have no bearing on the playoffs race, will be hard-fought over stakes of pride and local bragging rights.
New South Wales' long-established rivalry with Queensland will make its last step toward the playoffs a treacherous one. The Reds can't make the playoffs but they can take some consolation from sabotaging the Waratahs' semi-finals push.
"These New South Wales-Queensland games continue to be special," said Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie, who will step down when his team's season ends.
Semi-final contention
"I enjoyed them as a player and I enjoy them as much now as a coach. This Saturday night will be no different," he said. "We have shown this year we are able to manage the emotion and the pressure of the occasion. We've always fronted up. We have also managed external pressures as well. We've managed a lot of criticism and still been able to perform on the weekend. We won't be sidetracked."
The Hurricanes, second with 40 points, the Waratahs, third with 39 points, and the Stormers, fourth with 37 points, round out the current top four, but each faces a difficult last-round match and could drop from semi-final contention.
The Hurricanes faces the Blues which, in sixth place with 36 points, retains a playoff chance in a match which has additional significance as an All Blacks trial.
Such is the delicate balance of the final round that a win with a bonus point by the Hurricanes would clinch a home semi-final regardless of other weekend results. But a Hurricanes loss without a bonus point could see it miss the playoffs altogether.
"The Blues are coming on really well," Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper said. "They're similar to us, they have firepower everywhere.
Opening round
"Their scrum and lineouts are really coming to their own and we're the same. I think our stats are very similar, tries are very similar which brings it to a big game (on Friday)."
The Stormers face the Lions, who beat the Chiefs in round 13 for their second win of the season, their first since the tournament's opening round.
"It's going to be a huge challenge for us to play at altitude (in Johannesburg), coming from sea level (in Cape Town)," Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus said. "The way the Lions played against the Chiefs, we know it is going to be tough but it is in our hands."
The fifth-placed Sharks and seventh-placed Chiefs meet at Durban in a sudden-death match, the winner of which will still have to depend on other results to reach the semi-finals.
"I guess the way we are looking at this game is that, mathematically, we have got a chance," Chiefs coach Ian Foster said. "The fact is this game is going to be like a playoff game anyway.
"We know we are going to be turning up at Durban with pretty much a full crowd and a fired up team with lots to play for."
- AP