Stats and facts for the Vodacom Super Rugby matches involving South African teams in round 17.
HIGHLANDERS vs VODACOM BULLS (Dunedin, Friday, 9:35am)
– The Highlanders have won their last three Super Rugby games on the bounce against the Bulls despite leading at half-time only once in that time.
– The Bulls have lost only two of their last six games away from home in Super Rugby (W3, D1), and a 22-all draw with the Blues in their last start.
– The Highlanders are undefeated in their last three games on the bounce at home in Super Rugby (W2, D1), and haven’t lost at home to a team from outside New Zealand since Round 9, 2016 (vs Sharks).
– The Highlanders and Bulls have each received just two yellow cards thus far in Super Rugby 2019, the joint fewest in the competition along with the Chiefs.
– Hanro Liebenberg (Bulls) has scored three tries in his last six Super Rugby games –including one in each of his last two –after having not scored in any of his 26 games prior.
LIONS vs HURRICANES (Johannesburg, Saturday, 3:05pm)
– The Hurricanes have won nine of their last 10 matches against the Lions (L1), their only loss in that time coming in the 2017 Super Rugby Semi-Final (29-44).
– The Lions have won 10 of their last 12 Super Rugby games on home turf, including their last three on the bounce.
– The Hurricanes have won their last four away games on the bounce in Super Rugby; the last time they won more was a six-game streak in their first six away games of 2015.
– The Lions are one of only two teams (Rebels) with a success rate of 90% or greater at both the lineout (90%) and scrum (93%) in this Super Rugby campaign.
– Ardie Savea (Hurricanes) won a round-high six turnovers in Round 16 to take his season tally to 22, the most of any player thus far in Super Rugby 2019.
STORMERS vs SUNWOLVES (Newlands, Saturday, 5:15pm)
– The Sunwolves were victorious in their most recent Super Rugby fixture against the Stormers (May 2018), coming from behind at half-time to win 26-23 and snapping a four-game winless run against the Cape Town side (D1, L3) in the process.
– The Stormers have lost just one of their last seven games at home in Super Rugby (W5, D1), and are undefeated in their last three (W2, D1).
– The Sunwolves have lost their last seven games on the bounce in Super Rugby, conceding an average of 40 points per game in that span.
– The Sunwolves (94%) and Stormers (83%) boast the two best goal-kicking accuracies of all teams in the competition in Super Rugby 2019.
– Dillyn Leyds (Stormers) has scored four tries and made three try assists in his last two Super Rugby games against the Sunwolves.
JAGUARES vs SHARKS (Buenos Aires, Saturday, 9:40pm)
– The Jaguares have won two of their last three matches against the Sharks (L1), after losing their first four encounters in Super Rugby history.
– The Jaguares have won seven of their last eight Super Rugby games, including their last three on the bounce.
– The Sharks have lost just one of their four games outside South Africa in Super Rugby 2019 (W2, D1), losing only to the Chiefs in that time.
– The Jaguares and Sharks have each conceded just nine clean breaks per game in Super Rugby 2019, the joint fewest in the competition alongside the ladder-leading Crusaders.
– Guido Petti Pagadizaval (Jaguares) has stolen nine lineouts this Super Rugby campaign, the joint-most of any player in the competition and three more than Sharks’ best Hyron Andrews (6).
Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
