Super Rugby top eight confirmed
NEWS: The Super Rugby Pacific tournament has confirmed the eight teams that have qualified for the quarter-finals and the matches that will be played this weekend.
The final two positions, seventh and eight, were not decided until the final match day of round 15 (Saturday) and the regular season. Previously home wins by the Blues over the Highlanders and the Brumbies over the Melbourne Rebels the night before locked in the top six positions.
The Fijian Drua created history by claiming their first ever quarter-finals spot with a comprehensive win over the Queensland Reds in Suva on the final match day round. So it was down to the last match of the regular season to determine the last spot in the quarter-finals.
The top of the table Chiefs beat the Western Force, who had to win to secure a Finals berth, in Perth that secured the Reds the eighth and final spot in the quarter-finals. The Reds secured the positon ahead of the Highlanders due to a better points difference from all matches.
The rules for the Super Rugby Pacific Finals series dictate the following match schedules:
Quarterfinals: 1 v 8, 2 v 7, 3 v 6 and 4 v 5 with the top-ranked team hosting
Semi-Finals: top-ranked quarter-final winner hosts against lowest-ranked quarter-final winner & 2nd highest ranked quarterfinal winner hosts 3rd highest ranked winner
Final: top-ranked semi-final winner hosts the other semi-final winner
The teams to miss out on the quarter-finals are: Highlanders, Western Force, Melbourne Rebels and Moana Pasifika.
Source @SuperRugby
