This stage of the competition has seen this fixture before, as recently as last season in the 2012 Super Rugby Semi-Final which the Chiefs won 20-17. There will be some great match up's on the cards; Afeaki/Tamafuna vs Wyatt Crockett, Brodie Retallick vs Sam Whitelock, Matt Todd vs Sam Cane and Kerr-Barlow vs Ellis it is set to be the 'test match' of the New Zealand conference. However it all may come down to the battle of the fly halves Carter versus Cruden & who outshines their New Zealand counter part. In Hamilton when the Chiefs play the Crusaders the average score is Chiefs 22 Crusaders 24. These teams met just two weeks ago and the Crusaders won the match 43-15 in Christchurch not Hamilton. In Hamilton the Chiefs have won their last two matches against the Crusaders 28-19 (in May) and 20-17 (Jul 2012) and boast a 5 wins & 1 loss all season at home. The Crusaders on the other hand have played 8 away matches in 2013 and won just three matches giving them a r...

The Brumbies have no chance at fortress Loftus, that's the talk of Pretoria and they do believe that, since the Bulls have yet to lose a match at home this term. I'm yet to believe that a Bye before your Semi-Final, be it at home, is really beneficial to the home side. In my opinion it might rest the body but breaks any momentum you might have built up till this point in the competition. Having won 9 of the last 10 & only the Stormers loss show some form for the South African outfit. The Bulls & the Brumbies have the advantage of knowing who their final opponents will be hours before they run on the field, which could work as motivation in both camps in different ways. The Bulls know if they win then the final is at Loftus next week and they'll know who they'll be playing, the Brumbies on the other hand know that should the Chiefs lose they can host next weeks final in Canberra should they defeat the Bulls. The Brumbies beat the Cheetahs 15-13 in Canberra a...

This Sunday South Africa's Cheetahs make their inaugural appearance in the qualifiers. They are searching for their first victory in five trips to Canberra when they take on the Brumbies. It will be the Australian Conference winning Brumbies' first playoff game since 2004 when they downed the Crusaders in the final. News from the Australian Capital Territories side is that George Smith will start as he is fully recovered from the knock he received against the British and Irish Lions and after coming off the bench last weekend against the Force he will be fit and ready to start. "George has all that experience, has played in play-offs and won the competition before so any bit of advantage we can get going into this knockout stage of the competition is going to be vital." Brumbies World Cup-winning Springbok coach Jake White said. The Bloemfontein-based Cheetahs are the only team of the remaining six teams in this years competition yet to win this tournament and c...

Richie McCaw makes his first appearance of the season in Saturday's Super Rugby qualifier between Crusaders and Reds. What could add extra spice to the tie is that the All Blacks skipper comes up against old foe Quade Cooper. The fact that McCaw is back (i.e. on the bench) should not & will not detract from the match-up but does signal intent from the seven times champions. Rugby will undoubtedly relish when the referee's assistant lifts up the numbers 6 (George Whitelock) to be replaced by number 19 (Richie McCaw). The Reds have an appalling record in Christchurch they run the risk of losing seven in a row this Saturday, the last time they defeated the Crusaders in New Zealand was 36-23 in 1999. Interestingly the Reds have beaten all four New Zealand sides they have played this season and will be the first Australian team to defeat all 5 New Zealand franchises in one campaign. The Reds 2011 final victory was in Australia, and its much better reading, as their record at...