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Super Saders rule semis

The team that tops the Super rugby table is not necessarily the team which wins the Super rugby title but most often it is.

The history of the first 16 years of Super Rugby in the professional era tells us that. It excludes the early days of the Super 10 (1993 to 1995).

On four occasions the team that came first in the Round Robin did not win Super Rugby –  1996, 1998, 2000 and 2007. The Reds have come first three times and won the trophy once.

In finals of 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 the team that came top of the Round Robin played the team which came second. But then in 1999 the final was between the team that came 3rd and the team that came 4th – and the team that came 4th came forth and won the title.

That all changed in 2011 when the teams that came 1st and 2nd in the Round Roibin went automatically into semifinnals while the teams that came third to sixth played off for the right to make the sceimis.

Of the four teams in this year’s semis the Crusaders have been there most often.

The 2012 semifinalists in previous semifinals:

Sharks: 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2012

Crusaders: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

Chiefs: 2004, 2009, 2012

Stormers: 1999, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2012

Absent are frequent semifinalists, the Brumbies, who contested semifinals six times up to 2006, the Bulls, Blues and Hurricanes.

A table of semifinalists, including this year’s, would look like this:

15: Crusaders

7: Sharks

6: Bulls, Brumbies, Blues, Hurricanes

5: Stormers, Waratahs

4: Reds

3. Highlanders, Chiefs

2: Cats

New Zealand teams have made the semifinals 33 times, South African teams 20 times and Australian teams 15 times.

When it was the Super 12, every team made the semifinals at least once. Since then the Lions, the Cheetahs, the Force and the Rebels have not made a semifinal, though previously the Lions and the Cheetahs formed the Cats.

This year there is no Australian team in the semifinals. The same thing happened in 1998, 2007 and 2009. In 2001 there was no New Zealand team in the semifinals. In 2002 and 2003 there was no South African team in the semifinals.

The Crusaders have been semifinalists 11 times in a row.

Semifinal Winners

10: Crusaders

5: Brumnbies

4: Blues

3: Sharks, Bulls

2: Waratahs:

1: Highlanders, Hurricanes. Chiefs, Stormers, Reds

Team names have changed a bit but here is a synopsis of the  Super Rugby’s semifinalists.

1996:

Log position:   Queensland, Auckland, Northern Transvaal, Natal.

Semifinals:  

Natal beat Queensland 43-25 in Brisbane

Auckland Blues beat Northern Transvaal 48-11 in Auckland.

Final:  

Blues beat Natal 45-21

1997:

Log position:  Auckland Blues, ACT Brumbies, Wellington Hurricanes, Natal Sharks.

Semifinals:  

Brumbies beat Hurricanes 33-20 in Canberra

Blues beat Sharks 55-36 in Auckland.

Final:  

Blues beat Brumbies 23-7 in Auckland.

1998:

Log position:  Auckland Blues, Canterbury Crusaders, Coastal Sharks, Otago Highlanders

Semi finals:  

Blues beat Highlanders 37-31 in Auckland

Crusaders beat Sharks 36-32 in Christchurch

Final:  

Crusaders beat Blues, 20-13

1999:

Log position:  Reds, Stormers, Highlanders, Crusaders

Semifinals:  

Highlanders beat Stormers 33-18 at Newlands

Crusaders beat Reds 28-22 in Brisbane

Final:  

Crusaders beat Highlanders 24-19

2000:

Log position:  Brumbies, Crusaders, Highlanders, Cats

Semifinals:  

Brumbies beat Cats 28-5 in Canberra

Crusaders beat Highlanders 37-15 in Christchurch

Final:  

Crusaders beat Brumbies 20-19 in Canberra

2001:

Log position:  Brumbies, Sharks, Cats, Reds

Semifinals:  

Brumbies beat Reds 30-6 in Canberra

Sharks beat Cats 30-12 in Durban

Final:  

Brumbies beat Sharks 36-6 in Canberra

2002:

Log position:  Crusaders, Waratahs, Brumbies, Highlanders

Semifinals:  

Crusaders beat Highlanders 34-23 in Christchurch

Brumbies beat Waratahs 51-10 in Sydney

Final:  

Crusaders beat Brumbies 31-13 in Christchurch

The Crusaders won all 13 of their matches scoring. 30 or more points in every match

2003

Log position:  Blues, Crusaders, Hurricanes, Brumbies

Semifinals:  

Crusaders beat Hurricanes 39-16 in Christchurch

Blues beat Brumbies 42-21 in Auckland

Final:  

Blues beat Crusaders 21-17

2004:

Log position:  Brumbies, Crusaders, Stormers, Chiefs

Semifinals:  

Crusaders beat Stormers 27-16  in Christchurch

Brumbies beat Chiefs 32-17 in Canberra

Final:  

Brumbies beat Crusaders 47-38 in Canberra

2005:

Log position:  Crusaders, Waratahs, Bulls, Hurricanes

Semifinals:  

Crusaders beat Hurricanes 47-7 in Christchurch

Waratahs beat Bulls 23-13 in Sydney

Final:  

Crusaders beat Waratahs 35-25 in Christchurch

2006:

Log position:  Crusaders, Hurricanes, Waratahs, Bulls

Semifinals:  

Hurricanes beat Waratahs 16-14 in Wellington

Crusaders beat Bulls 35-15 in Christchurch

Final: 

Crusaders beat Hurricanes 19-12 in Christchurch

2007:

Log position:  Sharks, Bulls, Crusaders, Blues

Semifinals: 

Sharks vs Blues, 34-18 in Durban

Bulls vs Crusaders, 27-12 in Pretoria

Final:

Bulls vs Sharks, 20-19 in Durban

 

2008:

 

Log position:  Crusaders, Waratahs, Sharks, Hurricanes

 

Semifinals:  

Crusaders beat Hurricanes 33-22

Waratahs beat Sharks28-13 in Sydney

 

Final:  

Crusaders beat Waratahs 20-12

 

2009:

 

Log position:  Bulls, Chiefs, Hurricanes, Crusaders

 

Semifinals:  

Bulls beat Crusaders 36-23

Chiefs beat Hurricanes 14-10

 

Final:

Bulls beat Chiefs, 61-17

 

2010:

 

Log position:  Bulls, Stormers, Waratahs, Crusaders

 

Semifinals:  

Bulls beat Crusaders 39-24 in Soweto

Stormers beat Waratahs 25-6 at Newlands

 

Final:

Bulls beat Stormers 25-17 in Soweto

 

2011:

 

Log position:  Reds, Storerms, Crusaders, Blues, Waratahs, Sharks

 

Play-offs

Crudsaders vs Sharks, 36-8 in Nelson

Blues vs Waratahs, 26-13 in Auckland

Semifinals:  

Crusaders beat Stormers 29-10 at Newlands

Reds beat Blkues 30-13 in Brisbane

 

Final:

 

Reds beat Cruisaders, 18-13 in Brisbane

 

2012:

 

Log position:  Stormers, Chiefs, Reds, Crusaders, Bulls, Sharks

 

Play-offs:

Crusaders beat Bulls, 28-13 in Christchurch

Sharks beat Reds, 30-17 in Brisbane

 

Semifinals:  

Chiefs vs Crusaders in Hamilton

Stormers vs Sharks at Newlands

 

 Final: ?

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