Travelling Kiwi teams confident
WELLINGTON: The
Hurricanes and Chiefs are both confident they can buck Super Rugby history by winning Super Rugby semifinals on the road.
Both underdog Kiwi teams will virtually cross paths over the Indian Ocean as they prepare to challenge the competition top qualifiers next weekend — well aware that history rarely favours travelling playoff teams.
The four leading teams on the overall standings are through, having tallied just seven losses between them, setting up two keenly awaited clashes.
The Chiefs must return to New Zealand to face the Crusaders in Christchurch, while a slog from Sydney to Johannesburg confronts the Hurricanes, who must topple the Lions, after accounting for the Brumbies in Canberra on Friday.
The Lions barely justified their No 1 ranking, needing a longrange penalty in the final minute from Ruan Combrinck to see off the unfancied Sharks 2321.
The defending champion Hurricanes may be heartened by the South African powerhouse’s apparent struggles and will hope to close it down, as they did in last year’s final in Wellington.
Still to face a Kiwi team this year, the Lions could also find the extra pace of the game an issue.
However, 12 months ago, the Lions dispatched both the Crusaders and Highlanders in fastpaced home playoff matches, running up 42 points on both occasions.
The Chiefs are not daunted by Christchurch, where they have won on their last three visits.
Coach Dave Rennie was impressed by the Crusaders’ demolition of the Highlanders, hours before his team emerged as grinding winners over the Stormers in Cape Town.
‘‘I thought their pack was incredibly dominant and that’s going to be a challenge for us,’’ he said.
‘‘But we’ve got a pretty good pack. We’ll make sure we’ve got clarity and we’ll go down there and give it a real crack.’’
Rennie said their good record in Christchurch counted for little against opponents he said had been the form side of 2017.
‘‘History counts for bugger all. In the end, we’re going to have to front up front. If we do that, then we can get our game going and hopefully nullify theirs.’’