The last four remaining are the best four
The top four teams on the table at the completion Super Rugby round robin have rightfully found themselves in the semifinals. The South African Lions are home to the Hurricanes and the Crusaders will play in Christchurch against the Chiefs.
Hopefully this time next week everyone is talking about the great rugby, the players who stood out, and the fact that the teams were good enough to influence the results more so than the referee, the assistant referees, the television match officials and the head of the television crew who chooses what to replay on the screen when there is a stoppage.
The part these people play in the game these days is becoming increasingly influential, almost to the extent that they are more important than the game itself. The quarterfinals last weekend had a list of talking points that is so long they have overshadowed the games.
Adding to these issues is the fact that the successful teams play against the laws rather than within them which is another factor diminishing from the quality of the game.
Diving in to rucks, tackling players off the ball, players entering at the sides of rucks, offsides in midfield, the loosehead props driving in on an angle, the halfback not putting the ball in the middle of the scrum, the list could go on and on.
It is a tough gig refereeing but fingers crossed that he and his mates are not the talking point next week.
Instead, we will hopefully be reading about the tenacious Hurricanes pack who overcame the powerful Lions who boast a tight five that includes Jacques van Rooyen, Malcolm Marx and Franco Mostert and expert flanker Jaco Kriel. With a feast of good ball on a fast and dry field, TJ Perenara, Beauden Barrett and Ngani Laumape will have the opportunity to run riot.
The fact that this will be the Lions first taste of a New Zealand side in 2017 will give the visitors a real edge in the intensity stakes and could well upset the rhythm of the locals, particularly if there is sufficient pressure applied to playmaker Elton Jantjies at first-five, although surely he is due to play well against New Zealand opposition.
Expect the Hurricanes to arrive back home to play in the final.
It is hard to see the Chiefs winning in Christchurch. Statistically they have scored 24 less tries than the Crusaders and their points differential is 100 points worse. The accuracy and consistency is no longer that of a champion side.
The Crusaders pack, on what will be a slippery surface at best, will hold most of the trump cards. The pack is stacked with All Blacks who are great exploiters of the laws and they should have the power, the physical presence and the game nouse to overcome the Chiefs pack.
Whether or not the weather and the playing prowess of the remaining 13 Chiefs allows Damian McKenzie and James Lowe, the most metre runners in the comp, to create problems for the locals will be significant. Firstly though, Bodie Rettalick and his mates need to shut down and get on top of the locals. It will be a big ask.
If you live in Taranaki, a Hurricanes versus Chiefs final at the Cake Tin would be just what you ordered in February when all this started.