Stats and facts for the Vodacom Super Rugby semi-finals.
JAGUARES vs BRUMBIES (Buenos Aires, Saturday, 01:05am)
– The Jaguares have won their last two Super Rugby games on the bounce against the Brumbies, each by a margin of exactly five points.
– The spoils are split one win apiece between the Jaguares and Brumbies when playing in Argentina in Super Rugby; the Brumbies picked up a 24-point win in their first-ever meeting in the country.
– The Jaguares have won 10 of their last 12 Super Rugby games on the bounce in Argentina (L2), including their last five – their longest home-winning streak in the competition.
– The Jaguares have won their last five games on the bounce against Australian opposition; however, four of those five wins were decided by a single-digit margin.
– The Brumbies have won their last seven Super Rugby games on the bounce; the last time they won more was an eight-game stretch across the 2004 and 2005 campaigns, which included lifting the Super Rugby trophy in 2004.
– The Brumbies have won only two of their previous seven post-season games away from home in Super Rugby (L5), with both of those wins coming in South Africa (vs Bulls in 2013, vs Stormers in 2015).
– The Jaguares have made 26 kicks in play per game in Super Rugby 2019, more than any other team in the competition and eight per game more than the Brumbies.
– The Brumbies have scored 42 first-half tries in Super Rugby 2019, more than any other team in the competition and 15 more than the Jaguares (27).
– The Jaguares’ Guido Petti Pagadizaval (81) has won more lineouts (including steals) than any other player in Super Rugby 2019; however, Brumbies duo Rory Arnold (78) and Sam Carter (69) are ranked second and third, respectively.
– Thomas Banks (Brumbies) has scored seven tries in his last eight Super Rugby games outside Australia, including one in each of his last three such fixtures.
CRUSADERS vs HURRICANES (Wellington, Saturday, 09:35am)
– The Crusaders have won their last four Super Rugby games on the bounce against the Hurricanes; the only previous time either team managed to win more games in succession in this fixture was a seven-game stretch for the Crusaders from 2005-08.
– This will be the sixth finals meeting between the Crusaders and Hurricanes in Super Rugby; the Crusaders have won each of the previous five by an average margin of 20 points per game.
– The Crusaders have won their last seven post-season games in succession in Super Rugby; only once in the competition’s history has any team won more (9 – Crusaders from 1998 to 2003).
– The Crusaders are undefeated in their last 29 Super Rugby games on home turf (W28, D1); their last defeat in such a fixture came in Round 17, 2016 by the Hurricanes.
– The Hurricanes have won only one of their nine previous finals games away from home in Super Rugby, with five of their eight defeats in that span coming at the hands of the Crusaders.
– The Hurricanes have won their last four New Zealand derbies in Super Rugby despite leading at half time only twice in that time.
– The Crusaders have scored more points (33), made more carries (126), gained more metres (506), and made more clean breaks (15) per game than any other team in Super Rugby 2019.
– The Hurricanes have conceded just five tries within the final quarter of games this Super Rugby season, fewer than any other team in the competition.
– Sevu Reece (Crusaders) has made 36 clean breaks in Super Rugby 2019, eight more than any other player in the competition and 14 more than Hurricanes best Jordie Barrett (22).
– The Hurricanes’ Ardie Savea has won 28 turnovers this Super Rugby campaign, five more than any other player in the competition and 11 more than Crusaders best Matt Todd (17).
Photo: Masanori Udagawa/Getty Images
