Going the extra distance can be costly
The Hurricanes and Chiefs are ploughing through in-flight movies and amassing air miles at will in their quest for a Super Rugby title.
Should the Chiefs upset the Crusaders in Saturday’s semifinal in Christchurch and travel to Johannesburg for a potential final against the Lions, they will have traversed 42,921km over their three finals games.
That would be the most by a Super Rugby finalist, eclipsing the 2012 Sharks, who travelled 40,883km in the finals after winning away playoff games in Brisbane and Cape Town. They embarked on another long journey over the Indian Ocean, then the Tasman Sea, for the final against the Chiefs in Hamilton, but ran out of puff, losing 37-6.
Kiwi rivals, the Hurricanes, could do the Chiefs a massive favour if they knock over the Lions in Sunday morning’s (NZ time) semifinal. Provided the Chiefs overcame the Crusaders, they would travel 12,000 fewer kilometres for a final in Wellington, rather than the high veldt of Ellis Park.
Airports, hotels and team buses have been the Hurricanes’ life over the past few days. After winning Friday’s quarterfinal against the Brumbies in Canberra, they bunkered down in Sydney to find out where they would be travelling for their semifinal.
That turned out to be Johannesburg after Lions’ wing Ruan Combrinck drilled a late penalty from 55m out to get his side past the plucky Sharks.
Knock over the Lions in the semifinal and whatever way you look at it, it will be more than 27,000km in the air during the finals for Chris Boyd’s ‘Canes.
The Hurricanes could potentially cop the Crusaders at AMI Stadium in the decider, or even host the final for the third successive year, if they and the Chiefs both win.
Winning the Kiwi conference is king if you want to remain home and avoid having your passport stamped.
The Crusaders might not have to leave Christchurch during the finals, if they get the job done against the Chiefs and the Lions come up short against the Hurricanes.
A 13,194km journey to South Africa, via a Sydney stopover, beckons for the Crusaders should they and the Lions both win their semifinals. The Lions benefited from Super Rugby’s flawed schedule, not playing any New Zealand sides during round play, to finish top.
The huge reward is three playoff matches at their Ellis Park fortresss, provided they keep winning, and no visit to the departure lounge at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport.
Japan’s Sunwolves and the Buenos Aires-based Jaguares, who didn’t make the finals, naturally spend significant time in the air, but the Crusaders’ 2011 campaign made for impressive reading.
As a result of the February earthquake, which destroyed their former AMI Stadium home, the Crusaders were forced to play every game away from Christchurch.
Their travel schedule resembled that of a seasoned backpacker, journeying to London, Perth, Bloemfontein, as well as Cape Town and Brisbane both twice, and an array of New Zea- land grounds. The Crusaders travelled 113,418km during the season and 31,937km for the finals alone, flying to Nelson, Cape Town and to Brisbane for the final against the Reds.
History shows travel in the Super Rugby playoffs eventually catches up to and kills teams.
The 2013 Brumbies covered 25,056km during the finals series, but were outgunned in the second half of the decider against the Chiefs.
It was a similar story for the 1999 Highlanders, who trumped the Stormers in a Cape Town semifinal, but couldn’t get past the Crusaders in the final, seven days later in Dunedin. The Chiefs’ class of 2009 trekked to Pretoria for a final against the Bulls and were on the receiving end of a 61-17 massacre.
The Hurricanes and Chiefs would love to buck the travel trend this weekend and prove the following week that mega-miles in the sky is merely a myth.