For the Vodacom Super Rugby matches involving South African teams in round 13.
VODACOM BULLS vs CRUSADERS (Pretoria, Friday, 7:10pm)
– The Bulls have won five of their last six Super Rugby matches against the Crusaders at home (L1), although they succumbed to a 62-24 defeat in their last such fixture.
– The Bulls have won only one of their last 12 Super Rugby games against New Zealand opposition, and have lost their last four such fixtures on the bounce.
– The Crusaders have won seven of their last eight Super Rugby matches in South Africa (L1), including the last four on the bounce.
– The Crusaders (87%) boast the best tackle-success rate in Super Rugby 2019, just one percentage point higher than the Bulls (86%).
– Handre Pollard has kicked 48 goals so far this Super Rugby season, the most of any player in the competition.
CHIEFS vs SHARKS (Hamilton, Saturday, 9:35am)
– The Sharks have won two of their last three Super Rugby games against the Chiefs, and will now be looking to snare back-to-back wins against them for the first time since 2008-09.
– The Chiefs have won their last four Super Rugby games against the Sharks when hosting on the day, although just one of those four wins came by a margin of greater than eight points.
– The Sharks are undefeated in their last four regular season Super Rugby games against New Zealand opposition (W3, D1).
– Only the Crusaders (+71) have a better points differential in the 20 minutes after half-time than the Sharks (+27) in Super Rugby 2019.
– Anton Lienert-Brown has made 28 offloads in Super Rugby 2019, nine more than any other player.
LIONS vs WARATAHS (Johannesburg, Satuday, 3:05pm)
– The Lions have won their last four Super Rugby games on the bounce against the Waratahs, this after having lost six games in succession against them prior to that run.
– The Lions have won 10 of their last 12 Super Rugby games against Australian opposition, but were defeated 31-20 by the Brumbies in their last fixture. The last time they lost back-to-back games to Australian opposition was in May 2014.
– The Waratahs have lost their last three games on the bounce away from home in Super Rugby. However, each of those three defeats has come by a margin of no greater than seven points.
– The Lions boast a 91% success rate at both the lineouts and scrums in Super Rugby 2019, making them one of only two teams (Rebels) with a success rate of 90% or higher at both set pieces this season.
– Kurtley Beale has made 14 break passes this Super Rugby campaign, more than any other player in the competition.
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
