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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The Canterbury Crusaders and Auckland Blues will play for the lead in the New Zealand conference of rugby's Super 15 as the playoffs race becomes fierce in this weekend's penultimate round.
The Blues have lost their last three matches to see their lead in New Zealand slashed to two points and could relinquish first place to the Crusaders — with it automatic qualification for the playoffs — if they lose in the South Island city of Timaru on Saturday.
The Cape Town-based Stormers, leaders of the South African conference, will meet the Pretoria-based Bulls later Saturday in a match that will also bear heavily on the playoffs.
The Stormers lead in South Africa by six points from the Durban-based Sharks, with the defending champion Bulls a further two points behind and sixth overall.
South African teams currently occupy three places among the top-six, which will contest the playoffs in two weeks time. The Stormers are second overall on the championship table — a single point behind the Queensland Reds who play fellow-Australians the Western Force on Saturday.
The Sharks are fifth behind the Reds, Stormers, Blues and Crusaders, while the Bulls are sixth after posting five-straight wins in a dramatic late-season surge. The Bulls beat New South Wales last week to replace the Waratahs at sixth spot.
New South Wales has dropped to seventh, two points behind the Bulls, ahead of Saturday's clash with the Otago Highlanders, who are eighth and out of the playoffs race after two recent losses.
The Crusaders, seven-time Super rugby champions, will be without All Blacks captain Richie McCaw when they take on the Blues at one of the various home venues they have used since February's Christchurch earthquake.
Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder said his players would have to reach a new level to hold out the Blues.
"It's not a week for mediocrity and we need our guys to be switched on straight away," Blackadder said. "We've got two tough games coming up to determine who is going to win our conference."
All Blacks hooker Keven Mealamu returns to the Blues starting lineup to help his team stop its late-season free-fall. Coach Pat Lam said Auckland were underdogs "because we are playing the Crusaders on their home patch and we have been dealing with three losses.
"It will be a cauldron down there, it is sudden-death, there is a lot riding on this match," he said.
Blackadder said the battle for top spot in New Zealand will be fought out over the last two weeks of the season, not just in Saturday's match. If the Crusaders win, they will — at best — draw three points clear of the Blues, leaving the conference lead to be decided in the final round.
The Crusaders play the Wellington Hurricanes and the Blues play the Otago Highlanders in final-round derbies.
The Stormers have the chance to put the South African conference lead out of the Sharks' reach if they can beat the Bulls in Cape Town. It's far from an easy task and made more difficult by the continued absence of flyhalf Peter Grant with an ankle injury.
The Bulls will be without Springboks lock Bakkies Botha, who is prevented by injury from playing his 100th game. Botha's place will be taken by Danie Rossouw, who moves from the side of the scrum and whose place on the flank will be taken by Dewald Potgeiter.
"Bakkies was due to play in his 100th game so there is a lot of experience lost, but Danie will play in his 115th match," Bulls coach Frans Ludeke said. "Dewald started with this loose trio in ten of our matches this year, so slots into an established unit.
"We have good momentum and we will back ourselves in this one."
In other weekend matches, the Waikato Chiefs play a Wellington Hurricanes team rocked by coach Mark Hammett's midweek decision to sack All Blacks Ma'a Nonu and Andrew Hore. Nonu is expected to join the Chiefs next season.
The ACT Brumbies play the Melbourne Rebels, who are trying to fight their way out of last place. The Waratahs must beat the Highladers in Sydney on Saturday to keep their playoffs hopes alive, while the Reds face the Force in a match made more urgent by their loss to the Brumbies.
The Sharks play the Lions in Johannesburg, also needing to win to keep up their challenge for the playoffs and first place in the South African conference.
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The Blues have lost their last three matches to see their lead in New Zealand slashed to two points and could relinquish first place to the Crusaders — with it automatic qualification for the playoffs — if they lose in the South Island city of Timaru on Saturday.
The Cape Town-based Stormers, leaders of the South African conference, will meet the Pretoria-based Bulls later Saturday in a match that will also bear heavily on the playoffs.
The Stormers lead in South Africa by six points from the Durban-based Sharks, with the defending champion Bulls a further two points behind and sixth overall.
South African teams currently occupy three places among the top-six, which will contest the playoffs in two weeks time. The Stormers are second overall on the championship table — a single point behind the Queensland Reds who play fellow-Australians the Western Force on Saturday.
The Sharks are fifth behind the Reds, Stormers, Blues and Crusaders, while the Bulls are sixth after posting five-straight wins in a dramatic late-season surge. The Bulls beat New South Wales last week to replace the Waratahs at sixth spot.
New South Wales has dropped to seventh, two points behind the Bulls, ahead of Saturday's clash with the Otago Highlanders, who are eighth and out of the playoffs race after two recent losses.
The Crusaders, seven-time Super rugby champions, will be without All Blacks captain Richie McCaw when they take on the Blues at one of the various home venues they have used since February's Christchurch earthquake.
Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder said his players would have to reach a new level to hold out the Blues.
"It's not a week for mediocrity and we need our guys to be switched on straight away," Blackadder said. "We've got two tough games coming up to determine who is going to win our conference."
All Blacks hooker Keven Mealamu returns to the Blues starting lineup to help his team stop its late-season free-fall. Coach Pat Lam said Auckland were underdogs "because we are playing the Crusaders on their home patch and we have been dealing with three losses.
"It will be a cauldron down there, it is sudden-death, there is a lot riding on this match," he said.
Blackadder said the battle for top spot in New Zealand will be fought out over the last two weeks of the season, not just in Saturday's match. If the Crusaders win, they will — at best — draw three points clear of the Blues, leaving the conference lead to be decided in the final round.
The Crusaders play the Wellington Hurricanes and the Blues play the Otago Highlanders in final-round derbies.
The Stormers have the chance to put the South African conference lead out of the Sharks' reach if they can beat the Bulls in Cape Town. It's far from an easy task and made more difficult by the continued absence of flyhalf Peter Grant with an ankle injury.
The Bulls will be without Springboks lock Bakkies Botha, who is prevented by injury from playing his 100th game. Botha's place will be taken by Danie Rossouw, who moves from the side of the scrum and whose place on the flank will be taken by Dewald Potgeiter.
"Bakkies was due to play in his 100th game so there is a lot of experience lost, but Danie will play in his 115th match," Bulls coach Frans Ludeke said. "Dewald started with this loose trio in ten of our matches this year, so slots into an established unit.
"We have good momentum and we will back ourselves in this one."
In other weekend matches, the Waikato Chiefs play a Wellington Hurricanes team rocked by coach Mark Hammett's midweek decision to sack All Blacks Ma'a Nonu and Andrew Hore. Nonu is expected to join the Chiefs next season.
The ACT Brumbies play the Melbourne Rebels, who are trying to fight their way out of last place. The Waratahs must beat the Highladers in Sydney on Saturday to keep their playoffs hopes alive, while the Reds face the Force in a match made more urgent by their loss to the Brumbies.
The Sharks play the Lions in Johannesburg, also needing to win to keep up their challenge for the playoffs and first place in the South African conference.
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