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NSW Waratahs must travel to their Eden Park bogey ground in Auckland to meet the Blues in the first week of the Super Rugby finals, after finishing fifth on the ladder.
The Waratahs (57 points) qualified for next Friday’s game after recording a 41-7 bonus-point win over domestic rival the Brumbies at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.
That left them level on points with the Sharks, but New South Wales secured fifth on a superior points for and against differential.
The Waratahs have an atrocious record at Eden Park, where they lost 31-17 in mid-April and have won just once, in 2009, in just over 80 years.
New Zealand will also host the other qualifier; the third-placed Crusaders (61) playing the sixth-placed Sharks in Nelson on Saturday.
The Sharks clinched sixth spot with a 26-23 victory over the defending champion Bulls (54), who they eliminated in a thrilling winner-take-all South African derby in Pretoria.
The Crusaders, who topped the New Zealand conference, beat the Sharks 44-28 at Twickenham in England in their regular season clash.
Queensland (66), who clinched top spot with a 19-11 win over the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday, will have a bye in the first week of finals along with the South African conference winners and overall second-placed Stormers (63).
A 44-34 win over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein in the competition’s last regular season game enabled the Stormers to leapfrog the Crusaders.
In the semi-finals, the Reds will host a game against the lowest ranked qualifier in Brisbane on July 2, while the Stormers will stage the other semi against the highest ranked qualifier early on July 3.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.