2015 Super Rugby Final

2015 Super Rugby Final

Event	2015 Super Rugby season
Hurricanes Highlanders 14 21
Date	4 July 2015
Venue	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Referee	Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Attendance	36,000

The 2015 Super Rugby Final, was played between the Hurricanes and the Highlanders. It was the 20th final in the Super Rugby competition's history and the fifth under the expanded 15-team format. This was the first Super Rugby final between two New Zealand teams since 2006 when the Hurricanes were beaten by the Crusaders.

The match was won by the Highlanders who beat the Hurricanes by seven points. The Highlanders, the first away team to win the competition, became the first team to win the competition having failed to win a conference. They also became the first team to win the competition having played in the qualifiers round.

In New Zealand 583,620 people tuned in to watch

Road to the Final

2015 Super Rugby standings
Overall standings
Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
1	Hurricanes	16	14	0	2	458	288	+170	58	31	9	1	66
2	Waratahs	16	11	0	5	409	313	+96	50	41	5	3	52
3	Stormers	16	10	1	5	373	323	+50	32	35	2	1	45
4	Highlanders	16	11	0	5	450	333	+117	54	40	6	3	53
5	Chiefs	16	10	0	6	372	299	+73	40	27	4	4	48
6	Brumbies	16	9	0	7	369	261	+108	45	21	6	5	47
7	Crusaders	16	9	0	7	481	338	+143	56	39	8	2	46
8	Lions	16	9	1	6	342	364	−22	33	41	2	2	42
9	Bulls	16	7	0	9	397	388	+9	37	39	4	6	38
10	Rebels	16	7	0	9	319	354	−35	35	42	3	5	36
11	Sharks	16	7	0	9	338	401	−63	37	43	3	3	34
12	Cheetahs	16	5	0	11	357	531	−174	44	65	4	2	26
13	Reds	16	4	0	12	247	434	−187	32	53	3	3	22
14	Blues	16	3	0	13	282	428	−146	29	50	2	6	20
15	Force	16	3	0	13	245	384	−139	28	43	3	4	19

Legend and Competition rules
Legend:
	Conference leaders, qualify to finals.		P = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, PD = Points Difference, TF = Tries For, TA = Tries Against, TB = Try Bonus Points, LB = Losing Bonus Points, Pts = Log Points
	Wildcard teams, qualify to finals.
Competition rules:
Qualification: The top six teams will qualify to the finals, with their final positions in the overall log determining their seedings in the finals. The third-placed team (i.e. the conference winners with the worst overall record) will host the sixth-placed team in the qualifiers, while the fourth-placed team will host the fifth-placed team. The top two teams (i.e. the two conference winners with the best overall record) will qualify directly to the semi-finals, where they will have home advantage against the two qualifier winners, with the top team hosting the qualifier winner with the lower seeding and the second-placed team hosting the qualifier winner with the higher seeding. The two semi-final winners will progress to the final, with the team with the higher seeding having home advantage. Points breakdown: * 4 points for a win * 2 points for a draw * 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less * 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match Classification: Teams standings are calculated as follows:[1] * Conference Leaders (i.e. conference leaders will always be ranked in the top three) * Log points * Number of games won * Overall points difference * Number of tries scored * Overall try difference

1. "Team with "Most Wins" will finish higher in Super Rugby". SANZAR. 12 June 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2011.

	Qualifying finals							Semifinals					Grand final
		20 June 2015
	3	Stormers	19
	6	Brumbies	39						27 June 2015
								1	Hurricanes	29
								6	Brumbies	9			4 July 2015
													Hurricanes	14
									27 June 2014				Highlanders	21
								2	Waratahs	17
		20 June 2015						4	Highlanders	35
	4	Highlanders	24
	5	Chiefs	14

Qualifiers

	20 June 2015	Highlanders	24–14	Chiefs	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
	19:35	Try: Waisake Naholo  24', 43' Con: Lima Sopoaga  44' (1/2) Pen: Lima Sopoaga  6', 57', 66', 80' (4/4) Drop: Waisake Naholo (0/1)	Report[1] Scoreboard[2]	Try: Brodie Retallick  60' Con: Andrew Horrell (0/1) Pen: Andrew Horrell  8', 28', 40' (3/5)	Attendance: 22,500 Referee: Chris Pollock

	20 June 2015	Stormers	19–39	Brumbies	Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
	17:05	Try: Cheslin Kolbe  45' Con: Demetri Catrakilis  46' (1/1) Pen: Demetri Catrakilis  13', 34', 49', 60' (4/4)	Report[3] Scoreboard[4]	Try: Joe Tomane  4', 15', 25' Scott Sio  40' Ita Vaea  63' Jesse Mogg  79' Con: Christian Lealiifano  26', 40', 64' (3/6) Pen: Christian Lealiifano  51' (1/1) Cards: Henry Speight  74' Scott Fardy  75'	Referee: Jaco Peyper

Semi-Finals

	27 June 2015	Hurricanes	29–9	Brumbies	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
	19:35	Try: Julian Savea  21' TJ Perenara  28' Ardie Savea  43' Matt Proctor  74' Con: Beauden Barrett  29' (1/2) James Marshall  44', 75' (2/2) Pen: Beauden Barrett (0/1) James Marshall  66' (1/2)	Report[5] Scoreboard[6]	Pen: Jesse Mogg  40' (1/1) Christian Lealiifano  50', 57' (2/2)	Attendance: 34,500 Referee: Glen Jackson

	27 June 2015	Waratahs	17–35	Highlanders	Allianz Stadium, Sydney
	19:55	Try: Rob Horne  11' Con: Bernard Foley (0/1) Pen: Bernard Foley  23', 31', 37', 51' (4/4) Cards: Jacques Potgieter 58' to 68'	Report Scoreboard[7]	Try: Aaron Smith  19' Richard Buckman  33' Waisake Naholo  53' penalty try  58' Patrick Osborne  78' Con: Ben Smith (0/1) Lima Sopoaga  34', 59' (2/4) Pen: Lima Sopoaga  5' (1/3) Drop: Lima Sopoaga  75' (1/2)	Attendance: 32,632 Referee: Craig Joubert

The 2015 Super Rugby competition involved fifteen teams, five each from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.^[8]

The Hurricanes qualified for the playoffs by finishing top of the New Zealand conference and also topped the overall standings, with fourteen wins and just two losses during the season.

1. "Highlanders move on to semi-finals". SANZAR. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
2. "Match Breakdown: Highlanders vs Chiefs". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
3. "Six-try Brumbies stun the Stormers". SANZAR. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
4. "Match Breakdown: DHL Stormers vs Brumbies". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
5. "Hurricanes surge into Super Rugby Final". SANZAR. 27 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
6. "Match Breakdown: Hurricanes vs Brumbies". South African Rugby Union. 27 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
7. "Match Breakdown: Waratahs vs Highlanders". South African Rugby Union. 27 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
8. "About Super Rugby". SANZAR. Retrieved 21 December 2015.