The fixtures for the 2017 Super Rugby quarter-finals have been officially confirmed, and are as follows.
Friday July 21
QF4 – Brumbies vs Hurricanes, GIO Stadium, 7:45pm AEST
Saturday July 22
QF2 – Crusaders vs Highlanders, AMI Stadium, 5:35pm AEST
QF1 – Lions vs Sharks, Emirates Airlines Park, 10:30pm AEST
Sunday July 23
QF3 – Stormers vs Chiefs, DHL Newlands, 1am AEST
The Brumbies will try to become the first Australian team to defeat a New Zealand team this season when they host the Hurricanes on Friday night.
It doesn’t seem likely though – despite being made to travel due to the conference system, the ‘Canes are short-priced $1.26 favourites.
Just a week after copping their first Super Rugby loss of the year the Crusaders will find themselves in an all-New Zealand tussle with the Highlanders.
Meanwhile the Lions, who have finished as first seed thanks to the Saders’ stumble, are heavy favourites to do away with the Sharks.
The fixture will actually mean those two sides meet twice in two weeks – the Lions defeated the Sharks 27-10 on Sunday to close out their season.
Lastly, the Chiefs go in as narrow favourites against the Stormers, but will have to overcome the travel factor to get a win.
The winner of QF1 (Lions vs Sharks) will play the winner of QF4 (Brumbies vs Hurricanes) in the semi-finals, and the winner of QF2 (Crusaders vs Highlanders) will play the winner of QF3 (Stormers vs Chiefs), with the highest-ranked team to host in both matches.
The winners of the semis will then play off in the final for the 2017 Super Rugby championship, again with the highest-ranked team to host.
The Lions, having swooped in to take top spot in the standings in the last round, have a clear path to a home final and potentially a first Super Rugby title.
Odds are they will have to beat both the Hurricanes and the Crusaders to do it, but they’ll have a home crowd on their side in both battles if so.