lions super rugby 2019

Aphiwe Dyantyi of the Lions during the 2019 Super Rugby season. Photo: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images

Super Rugby round 16: Fixtures, kick-off times, results and highlights

The Australian and South African conferences remain tight as the 2019 Super Rugby season approaches its businesseas end.

lions super rugby 2019

Aphiwe Dyantyi of the Lions during the 2019 Super Rugby season. Photo: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images

There’s more intense Super Rugby action in the 16th round of the competition, with seven high-stakes fixtures on the card.

The Australian and South African conferences remain tight, while the Crusaders – who also top the overall table – have some distance between themselves and the rest of the competition in the New Zealand log.

The Hurricanes sit out this week’s action as they are on a bye, their last of this year’s tournament.

The action kicks off in the Land of the Long White Cloud, where the Blues host the Bulls at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday.

That is followed by the Aussie derby between the Rebels and the Waratahs in the day’s last fixture.

Saturday begins with the Sunwolves playing hosts to the Brumbies, while another New Zealand derby takes centre stage as the Chiefs and the Crusaders square off.

SA conference leaders, the Jaguares will be looking to continue their impressive away form when they travel to meet the Brumbies, just before the Sharks take on the Hurricanes in Durban.

The weekend’s action concludes with the North vs South derby between the Lions and Stormers at Emirates Airline Park.

Super Rugby fixtures and results

Blues 22-22 Bulls

Week 16 of Super Rugby kicked off in dramatic fashion as Bulls flyhalf Mannie Libbok touched down and converted his own score to hand his side a draw against the Blues on Friday.

Harry Plummer could have stolen it at the end for the Blues after they were handed a last-gasp penalty, but his kick went wide, resulting in a share of the spoils.

Rebels 20-15 Waratahs

The Waratahs remain in the hunt for a playoff spot after edging the Rebels 20-15 in Sydney.

The win moved the hosts to the top of the Australian conference with two rounds of fixtures remaining.

Sunwolves 19-41 Brumbies

Connal McInerney scored a hat-trick off the bench Saturday as the Brumbies overpowered Japan’s Sunwolves 42-19 to boost their Finals chances.

The bonus-point victory, punctuated by a perfect six-from-six from the boot of captain Christian Lealiifano lifted the Canberra club above the Rebels at the top of Super Rugby’s Australian Conference with two games left in the regular season.

Chiefs 40-27 Crusaders

The Chiefs made a sensational comeback to beat the Crusaders on Saturday and keep their slim Super Rugby play-off hopes alive. In a ten-try extravaganza, the Crusaders made an explosive start, piling on 20 points during a 12-minute burst against an ineffectual defence, before the Chiefs staged one of the great rugby comebacks to win.

Reds 23-34 Jaguares

Argentina’s Jaguares, a team packed with Pumas who have emerged this year as a tournament force, beat the Queensland Reds 34-23 to earn a bonus point win in Brisbane with their seventh victory in eight games.

Sharks 17-30 Hurricanes

The Sharks missed out on an opportunity to make up ground on the Bulls and Jaguares when they were downed 17-30 by the Hurricanes in Durban.

Lions vs Stormers – 17:15

Super Rugby conference standings

Standings provided by Sofascore LiveScore