Road to the playoffs
There is just one round left in the regular season of Super Rugby and eight teams are still in the hunt for a berth in the top six.
Two of the three conferences have been wrapped up already with the Chiefs and Stormers guaranteed their places, while the Brumbies and Reds are still locked in a tussle to finish as the top dogs in Australia.
The Chiefs and Stormers are in a battle to finish on top of the joint log that would secure both a home semifinal and home final for the top side.
The pressure is still on for the top eight teams as places three through eight have the chance to either reach the knock out phase or fall at the final hurdle.
Either New Zealand and South Africa could still have three teams feature in the top six, while Australia have a chance to sneak two in, but it look more likely that only the conference winner will go through.
The Highlanders sit in the middle of the table dividing the top eight and bottom six, as the Otago franchise has a bye this weekend and they will finish in ninth no matter what the outcomes are of any of the other matches.
There is also a fight to avoid the wooden spoon with the Lions requiring a victory over the Bulls to have the possibility of leapfrogging either of the Western Force or the Blues or even both of them.
With so many teams in contention there should be plenty of tension as the threat of being knocked out looms and there will also be the battle for a home playoff match and a home semifinal.
Chiefs:
Current position: New Zealand conference – first; global standings – first
Best possible finish: New Zealand conference – first; global standings – first
Worst possible finish: New Zealand conference – first; global standings – second
Remaining fixtures:
13 July: v Hurricanes, away
Stormers:
Current position: South African conference – first; global standings second
Best possible finish: South African conference – first; global standings – first
Worst possible finish: South African conference – first; global standings – third
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Rebels, home
Brumbies:
Current position: Australian conference – first; global standings – third
Best possible finish: Australian conference – first; global standings – second
Worst possible finish: Australian conference – second; global standings – eighth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Blues, home
Crusaders:
Current position: New Zealand conference – second; global standings – fourth
Best possible finish: New Zealand conference – second; global standings -fourth
Worst possible finish: New Zealand conference – third; global standings – eighth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Force, home
Bulls:
Current position: South African conference – second; global standings – fifth
Best possible finish: South African conference – second; global standings – fourth
Worst possible finish: South African conference – third; global standings – eighth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Lions, home
Sharks:
Current position: South African conference – third; global standings – sixth
Best possible finish: South African conference – second; global standings – fourth
Worst possible finish: South African conference – third; global standings – eighth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Cheetahs, home
Reds:
Current position: Australian conference – second; global standings – seventh
Best possible finish: Australian conference – first; global standings – third
Worst possible finish: Australian conference – second; global standings – eighth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Waratahs, home
Hurricanes:
Current position: New Zealand conference – third; global standings – eighth
Best possible finish: New Zealand conference – second; global standings – fourth
Worst possible finish: New Zealand conference – third; global standings – eighth
Remaining fixtures:
13 July: v Chiefs, home
Highlanders:
Current position: New Zealand conference – fourth; global standings – ninth
Best possible finish: New Zealand conference – fourth; global standings – ninth
Worst possible finish: New Zealand conference – fourth; global standings – ninth
Remaining fixtures:
13/14 July: Bye
Cheetahs:
Current position: South African conference – fourth; global standings – tenth
Best possible finish: South African conference – fourth; global standings – tenth
Worst possible finish: South African conference – fourth; global standings – eleventh
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Sharks, away
Waratahs:
Current position: Australian conference – third; global standings – eleventh
Best possible finish: Australian conference – third; global standings – tenth
Worst possible finish: Australian conference – fourth; global standings – twelfth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July, v Reds, away
Rebels:
Current position: Australian conference – fourth; global standings – twelfth
Best possible finish: Australian conference – third; global standings – eleventh
Worst possible finish: Australian conference – fifth; global standings – fourteenth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July, v Stormers, away
Blues:
Current position: New Zealand conference – fifth; global standings – thirteenth
Best possible finish: New Zealand conference – fifth; global standings – twelfth
Worst possible finish: New Zealand conference – fifth; global standings – fifteenth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Brumbies, away
Force:
Current position: Australian conference – fifth; global standings – fourteenth
Best possible finish: Australian conference – fourth; global standings – twelfth
Worst possible finish: Australian conference – fifth; global standings – fifteenth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Crusaders, away
Lions:
Current position: South African conference – fifth; global standings – fifteenth
Best possible finish: South African conference – fifth; global standings – thirteenth
Worst possible finish: South African conference – fifth, global standings – fifteenth
Remaining fixtures:
14 July: v Bulls, away
