Crusaders – Queensland Reds

3 June 2022

• The Crusaders have won their last 10 consecutive Super Rugby games against the Queensland Reds, including a 28-15 win when they met in the final regular season round of the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season.
• This will be the fourth post-season meeting between the Crusaders and Queensland Reds in Super Rugby competitions and the first since 2013; the Crusaders have won two of their past three finals meetings, although the Reds were successful in their only Grand Final meeting (18-13 in 2011).
• The Crusaders have won their last 10 consecutive finals games in Super Rugby, leading at half-time on the day in all 10 of those fixtures; their last post-season defeat came at the hands of the Lions in 2016 (42-25).
• The Crusaders have won 13 of their last 14 Super Rugby games against Australian opposition (L1), including their last three on the bounce and haven’t lost at home to an Australian outfit since the opening round of the 2015 campaign against the Melbourne Rebels (20-10).
• The Queensland Reds have won two of their last three Super Rugby finals games (L1) and have won two of their last three finals games against New Zealand opposition (L1) despite scoring more than 18 points in a game only once in that period.
• The Queensland Reds have lost their last eight Super Rugby games away from home against teams based outside Australia, scoring more than 20 points in a game only twice in that span.
• The Crusaders have made 71 dominant tackles in the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season, the most of any team in the competition and 37 more than the Queensland Reds (34, =9^th).
• The Queensland Reds have made 47 turnover tackles in the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific campaign, the joint-most of any team in the competition and 11 more than the Crusaders (36).
• Sevu Reece (Crusaders) has made 15 line-breaks in the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season, the most of any player this term; he has scored two tries and made three line breaks across his three career appearances against the Queensland Reds.
• Jordan Petaia (Queensland Reds) has recorded an average carry distance of 12.4 metres from his 67 carries in the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season, the second-most of any player in the competition to make at least 50 carries.

Chiefs – NSW Waratahs

4 June 2022

• The Chiefs have won their last five straight Super Rugby games against the NSW Waratahs, as many as they had won in their 18 clashes in Super Rugby competitions prior (W5, L13); this will be the first time that the two teams have ever met in the finals.
• The Chiefs have won six of their last eight Super Rugby games at home against the NSW Waratahs (L2), including their last two on the bounce across which they’ve scored an average of 43 points per game.
• The Chiefs have lost their last four post-season games in Super Rugby competitions, their longest stretch in such fixtures; the last time they won a Super Rugby finals game was in 2017 against the Stormers (17-11).
• The Chiefs have won six of their last seven Super Rugby games against Australian opposition (L1), including their last two on the bounce; they have won 12 of their last 14 home games against teams from Australia (L2).
• The NSW Waratahs have won three of their last five finals games in Super Rugby competitions (L2) but have never won a finals game away from home in the history of the competition (L6).
• The Chiefs have made 10 offloads per game this Super Rugby Pacific campaign, the joint-most of any team in the competition; though, the NSW Waratahs’ eight offloads per game are the most of any Australian team.
• The NSW Waratahs have stolen 21 lineouts throughout the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season, the second- most of any team in the competition behind only the Western Force (25).
• Bryn Gatland (Chiefs) has made 10 try assists this Super Rugby Pacific season, the most of any player in the competition; he had made just five try assists in his 32 career appearances prior to 2022.
• Etene Nanai-Seturo (Chiefs) has made 5.6 tackle breaks per game in the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season, the second-most of any player to have played at least 160 minutes this season.
• Mark Nawaqanitawase (NSW Waratahs) has scored five tries in his last five appearances in Super Rugby Pacific, including three tries in his last two games.

Blues – Highlanders

4 June 2022

• The Blues have won six of their last seven Super Rugby games against the Highlanders (L1) including their last three on the bounce; the last time they won more in succession against the Highlanders was a six-game stretch from 2007 to 2011.
• This will be the third time that the Blues and Highlanders have clashed in the finals of a Super Rugby campaign with the Blues having won both of their previous two encounters (1998 semi final, 2021 Trans-Tasman final).
• The Blues have won their last 13 straight Super Rugby games, a club record; in fact, only three times in Super Rugby history has any team enjoyed a longer winning streak with the Crusaders holding all three of those records.
• The Blues have won nine of their 10 Super Rugby finals games when playing at home on the day (L1) while the Highlanders have lost their last five consecutive finals games at any venue.
• The Highlanders have lost their last nine consecutive Super Rugby games against fellow New Zealand teams, their joint-longest losing streak in such fixtures.
• The Blues have scored 3.1 points per entry into the opposition 22m zone this Super Rugby Pacific season, the most of any team in the competition.
• The Highlanders made just 36% of their total metres post contact in the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific regular season, the lowest rate of any team in the competition and four percentage points lower than the Blues (40%).
• The Highlanders have kicked for 648 metres per game in the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season, the third-most of any team in the competition behind only the Crusaders (757m) and Queensland Reds (672m).
• Beauden Barrett (Blues) has been directly involved in five tries in his last two Super Rugby Pacific games (2 tries, 3 try assists); he’ll be looking to score a try in three consecutive appearances for the first time since April 2018.
• Folau Fakatava (Highlanders) has completed 3.4 offloads per 80 minutes in the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season, the most of any player in the competition and more than twice as many as any Blues player.

Brumbies – Hurricanes

4 June 2022

• The Brumbies have won both of their two Super Rugby meetings with the Hurricanes since the beginning of 2020 after having picked up just two wins from their six previous clashes with them in the competition (L4).
• This will be the fourth post-season meeting between the Brumbies and Hurricanes in Super Rugby; the Hurricanes have won their last two finals encounters in 2015 and 2017 after losing their first such game in 1997.
• The Brumbies have won nine of their last 11 Super Rugby finals games on home soil (L2), including their last three in succession; although, their last defeat in such a fixture came in the 2017 play-offs against the Hurricanes (35-16).
• The Hurricanes will be out to avoid back-to-back losses against Australian teams for the first time since March 2014 after succumbing to a 27-22 loss to the Western Force in their final game of the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific regular season.
• The Hurricanes have won only one of their 10 previous finals games when playing away from home in Super Rugby (L9); although, that single victory came against the Brumbies in the 2017 play-offs (35-16).
• The Brumbies have made a kick in play once every 3.1 rucks in the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season, the most frequent of any team in the competition, while the Hurricanes have done so once every 5.5 rucks, the second-least frequent of any team.
• The Hurricanes have run for 369 post contact metres per game in the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season, the most of any team in the competition, while only the Melbourne Rebels (216m) have made fewer per game than the Brumbies (225m).
• The Hurricanes have allowed their opposition just 8.1 entries per game into their 22m zone, the fewest of any team in the competition; though, the Brumbies (8.6) have allowed the fewest of any Australian team.
• Rob Valetini (Brumbies) has made eight dominant tackles in the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season, the joint-second most of any player in the competition.
• Joshua Moorby (Hurricanes) has scored five tries and made two try assists in his last four games in Super Rugby Pacific, including two tries and an assist in the final regular season round of the 2022 campaign.