super rugby 2019 quarterfinals

Jesse Kriel of the Bulls during the 2019 Super Rugby season. Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

Super Rugby quarterfinals: Fixtures, results and highlights

The last two remaining South African teams are both playing away in the Super Rugby quarterfinals.

super rugby 2019 quarterfinals

Jesse Kriel of the Bulls during the 2019 Super Rugby season. Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

The 2019 Super Rugby season is in its business end with the quarterfinals taking centre stage this coming weekend.

All but one New Zealand teams have made the last eight, with only the Blues missing out, while the South African conference is represented by three contenders, with the Brumbies the lone Aussie outfit making the cut.

Eight will be reduced to four, with the action kicking off on Friday morning (SAST), as defending champions Crusaders continue their bid for yet another title against the Highlanders in Christchurch first up.

The second quarterfinal comes in the very early hours of Saturday morning, and takes place in Buenos Aires, where the South African conference winners the Jaguares welcome the Chiefs.

The last two South African teams standing are on show after sunrise, with the Bulls kicking things off with a tough ask as they travel to Wellington for a clash against the Hurricanes.

The men from Pretoria have been boosted by the return of Springbok centre Jesse Kriel as well as lock Jason Jenkins, who both slot into the starting lineup.

The team is captained by flyhalf Handré Pollard, who is eager to lead his side to the last four of the competition.

“We achieved one of our goals and the next target is to get into the semi-finals.

“As a group we have learnt good lessons this year, and we need to keep the belief and the focus if we want to succeed.”

Handré Pollard

The Sharks round up the quarterfinal fixtures with a trip to Canberra where they will be looking to put one past Australian conference winners, the Brumbies.

While the hosts have made four changes from their last outing, the Sharks have made just one – Curwin Bosch replacing the injured Aphelele Fassi at fullback.

It’s a first meeting between the two sides this year, and visiting skipper Louis Schreuder noted the fresh challenge posed by the hosts.

“We haven’t faced them this year, they’re one of the teams we missed, they’re the log leaders in the Australian Conference so they’re not in the quarter-finals by chance,” he said.

“They’re a physical, well-organised team with a good set-piece and kicking game so we’re going to have to be well-prepared for that.”

Louis Schreuder

Super Rugby 2019 quarterfinals

All times are SAST.

Crusaders 38-14 Highlanders

Defending champions, the Crusaders booked their spot in the Super Rugby semifinals in convincing fashion, beating the Highlanders 38-14 in Christchurch.

Jaguares 21-16 Chiefs

The Jaguares made history in the ungodly hours of Saturday morning by securing their first ever home semifinal since joining Super Rugby.

The men from Argentina held off a late surge from the Chiefs to run off 21-16 winners in Buenos Aires.

Hurricanes 35-28 Bulls

The Bulls’ Super Rugby campaign came to a halt in Wellington on Saturday morning as they crashed to a valiant 35-28 defeat to the Hurricanes.

Brumbies 38-13 Sharks

The last quarterfinal fixture confirmed that there would not be any South African participants in the last four of the competition, after the Sharks crashed out.

The men from Durban suffered the worst losing margin of the entire round, going down 38-13 to the Brumbies.