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Super Rugby's quarter-final line-up is confirmed

Lukhanyo Am and his Sharks team-mates celebrate beating the Stormers on Saturday in Cape Town (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

After 18 rounds and 120 matches of the regular season, the quarter-finalists for the 2019 Super Rugby tournament have been confirmed by SANZAAR.

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After a very competitive season, the configuration of the quarter-finals was only determined after the very last match of the season when the Bulls beat the Lions to earn a bonus point win in Pretoria.

The Crusaders finished the regular season as New Zealand Conference winners for the third year in a row – and the highest ranked team in the tournament – finishing on 58 points after 11 wins.

The Jaguares won the South African Conference for the first time finishing with 11 wins and 51 points. In the Australian Conference, the Brumbies finished top with 10 wins and 48 points.

The last quarter-final host spot is taken by the Hurricanes who finished second in New Zealand Conference with 53 points.

The four next best wildcard teams – based on total tournament points and regardless of conference – have been ranked five to eight: Bulls 41 points (South African Conference), Sharks 37 points (South African Conference), Chiefs 36 points (New Zealand Conference) and Highlanders 36 points (New Zealand Conference).

The quarter-finalists and their rankings are:

1. Crusaders – New Zealand Conference Winners
2. Jaguares – South African Conference Winners
3. Brumbies – Australian Conference Winners
4. Hurricanes
5. Bulls
6. Sharks
7. Chiefs
8. Highlanders

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2019 Super Rugby Quarter-final Draw

QF1: Crusaders [1] versus Highlanders [8]
QF2: Hurricanes [4] versus Bulls [5]
QF3: Jaguares [2] versus Chiefs [7]
QF4: Brumbies [3] versus Sharks [6]

Quarter-final Match Schedule (all times local)

Fri, June 21: Crusaders v Highlanders, Christchurch Stadium Christchurch @ 19:35
Sat, June 22: Hurricanes v Bulls, Westpac Stadium, Wellington @ 19:35
Fri, June 21: Jaguares v Chiefs, Jose Amalfitani Stadium, Buenos Aires @ 19:05
Sat, June 22: Brumbies v Sharks, GIO Stadium, Canberra @ 20:05

Semi-final Draw:
Pre-determined draw as follows (highest ranked team to host):

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SF1: Winner QF1 v Winner QF2
SF2: Winner QF3 v Winner QF4

WATCH: Episode three of Rugby Explorer, the RugbyPass series hosted by Jim Hamilton, takes a trek through South Africa

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Flankly 1 hour ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

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LONG READ England need to face a few home truths if they are to relearn that winning habit England need to face a few home truths if they are to relearn that winning habit
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