New Zealand teams dominate Super Rugby stats but have a semifinal weakness

New Zealand rugby has set a high standard over Super Rugby’s 21-year history in the professional era and it’s a curve that continues to go up.

But playing semifinals away from home is one glaring weakness in their otherwise formidable dominance of the tournament.

In 2017‚ just as in 2016‚ three teams from New Zealand have made the semifinals even though the ring-fenced conference system awards play-off berths to notably inferior teams.

If overall log points were the only criteria for making the quarterfinals‚ all five franchises from NZ would’ve made the last eight.

So for the second year running South Africa’s Lions are all that stand between New Zealand’s best and a 15th title for that country.

When the Hurricanes beat the Lions 20-7 in last year’s final in Wellington‚ it ensured that all five NZ franchises have won Super Rugby at least once.

Over the past two seasons NZ teams have played 98 matches against teams from SA‚ Australia‚ Japan and Argentina in Super Rugby and won 85 – or 86% - of them.This season alone they have won 44 out of 47.

The Lions host the Hurricanes at Ellis Park this weekend and in that particular skirmish they are also up against history.

Since 1998 the sides have met 18 times with the Hurricanes winning 15 [eight of those clashes were when the Lions played as the ‘Cats’] and only lost three.

Since the Cats were unbundled the Lions have met the Hurricanes 10 times and lost nine of those encounters‚ including last year at Ellis Park‚ which the New Zealanders won 50-17.

If there is a small glimmer of hope for the rest though‚ and one area of relative weakness by NZ teams‚ it’s their semi-final records against foreign teams.

In 21 semi-finals that have involved one team from NZ and one from a foreign country‚ NZ have won 13 and lost eight. And all eight defeats have been away from home.

In seven Super Rugby semi-finals in SA against a NZ team‚ the local sides have won five with only two defeats. That is the stat the Lions need to cling on to.

- TimesLIVE