# 2012 Super Rugby season

The 2012 Super Rugby season was the second season of the Super Rugby competition, an annual rugby union competition that involves teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, in its 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as FxPro Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New Zealand and Vodacom Super Rugby in South Africa. Including its past incarnations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 17th season for the Southern Hemisphere's premier transnational club competition. The conference games took place every weekend from 24 February until 14 July (with a three-week break between rounds 15 and 16 for international matches), followed by the finals series, culminating in the grand final on 4 August. While its three main broadcasting partners are Fox Sports (Australia), Sky Sport (New Zealand) and SuperSport (South Africa), Super Rugby can be viewed in many countries throughout the world.
The Chiefs, based in Hamilton, New Zealand, claimed their first-ever title in the competition's history, defeating the Durban-based Sharks 37–6 in the final held on 4 August at the Chiefs' home of Waikato Stadium.

## Competition format

Covering 24 weeks, the schedule featured a total of 125 matches. The 15 teams are grouped by geography, labelled the Australian Conference, New Zealand Conference and the South African Conference. The regular season consists of two types of matches:
* Internal Conference Matches – Each team plays the other four teams in the same conference twice, home and away.
* Cross Conference Matches – Each team plays four teams of the other two conferences away, and four teams of the other two conferences home, thus missing out on two teams (one from each of the other conferences). Each team plays two home and two away games against teams from each of the other countries, making a total of eight cross conference games for each team. There will be a three-week international break between rounds 15 and 16 of the regular season.
The top team of each conference, plus the next top three teams in table points regardless of conference (wild card teams), advance to the finals. The top two conference winners, based on table points, receive first-round byes. In the first round of the finals, the third conference winner is the No. 3 seed and hosts the wild card team with the worst record, and the best wild card team hosts the second-best wild card team. In the semi-finals, the No. 2 conference winner hosts the higher surviving seed from the first round, and the No. 1 conference winner hosts the other first-round winner. The final is hosted by the top remaining seed.

## Standings

Australian Conference :
| Pos | Team | Rnd | W | D | L | Bye | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Reds | 18 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 359 | 347 | +12 | 38 | 36 | 4 | 2 | 58 |
| 2 | Brumbies | 18 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 404 | 331 | +73 | 41 | 31 | 5 | 5 | 58 |
| 3 | Waratahs | 18 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 346 | 407 | −61 | 33 | 43 | 3 | 8 | 35 |
| 4 | Rebels | 18 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 362 | 520 | −158 | 37 | 59 | 3 | 5 | 32 |
| 5 | Force | 18 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 306 | 440 | −134 | 30 | 49 | 2 | 5 | 27 |
New Zealand Conference :
| Pos | Team | Rnd | W | D | L | Bye | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Chiefs | 18 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 444 | 358 | +86 | 47 | 30 | 5 | 3 | 64 |
| 2 | Crusaders | 18 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 485 | 343 | +142 | 47 | 34 | 5 | 4 | 61 |
| 3 | Hurricanes | 18 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 489 | 429 | +60 | 58 | 39 | 8 | 1 | 57 |
| 4 | Highlanders | 18 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 359 | 385 | −26 | 36 | 31 | 2 | 4 | 50 |
| 5 | Blues | 18 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 359 | 430 | −71 | 34 | 50 | 2 | 6 | 32 |
South African Conference :
| Pos | Team | Rnd | W | D | L | Bye | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Stormers | 18 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 350 | 254 | +96 | 28 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 66 |
| 2 | Bulls | 18 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 472 | 369 | +103 | 50 | 38 | 6 | 5 | 59 |
| 3 | Sharks | 18 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 436 | 348 | +88 | 47 | 31 | 7 | 4 | 59 |
| 4 | Cheetahs | 18 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 391 | 458 | −67 | 35 | 47 | 3 | 7 | 38 |
| 5 | Lions | 18 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 317 | 460 | −143 | 30 | 52 | 2 | 3 | 25 |
Overall standings :
| Pos | Team | Rnd | W | D | L | Bye | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Stormers | 18 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 350 | 254 | +96 | 28 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 66 |
| 2 | Chiefs | 18 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 444 | 358 | +86 | 47 | 30 | 5 | 3 | 64 |
| 3 | Reds | 18 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 359 | 347 | +12 | 38 | 36 | 4 | 2 | 58 |
| 4 | Crusaders | 18 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 485 | 343 | +142 | 47 | 34 | 5 | 4 | 61 |
| 5 | Bulls | 18 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 472 | 369 | +103 | 50 | 38 | 6 | 5 | 59 |
| 6 | Sharks | 18 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 436 | 348 | +88 | 47 | 31 | 7 | 4 | 59 |
| 7 | Brumbies | 18 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 404 | 331 | +73 | 41 | 31 | 5 | 5 | 58 |
| 8 | Hurricanes | 18 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 489 | 429 | +60 | 58 | 39 | 8 | 1 | 57 |
| 9 | Highlanders | 18 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 359 | 385 | −26 | 36 | 31 | 2 | 4 | 50 |
| 10 | Cheetahs | 18 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 391 | 458 | −67 | 35 | 47 | 3 | 7 | 38 |
| 11 | Waratahs | 18 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 346 | 407 | −61 | 33 | 43 | 3 | 8 | 35 |
| 12 | Blues | 18 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 359 | 430 | −71 | 34 | 50 | 2 | 6 | 32 |
| 13 | Rebels | 18 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 362 | 520 | −158 | 37 | 59 | 3 | 5 | 32 |
| 14 | Force | 18 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 306 | 440 | −134 | 30 | 49 | 2 | 5 | 27 |
| 15 | Lions | 18 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 317 | 460 | −143 | 30 | 52 | 2 | 3 | 25 |
Source: sanzarrugby.com
Legend:
* Rnd = Round completed (games played plus byes), W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, Bye = Number of byes, 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, Q = Qualification
Points breakdown:
* 4 points for a win
* 2 points for a draw
* 4 points for a bye
* 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less
* 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match
The overall standings classification system:
* Three conference winners/leaders in log points order
* Three wildcard teams in log points order
* The remaining nine teams in log points order
* When teams are level on log points, they are sorted by number of games won, then overall points difference, then number of tries scored and then overall try difference

### Round-by-round

Team progression – 2012 Super Rugby season :
| Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | R14 | R15 | R16 | R17 | Final |
| Stormers | 4 (1st) | 8 (4th) | 12 (3rd) | 16 (2nd) | 20 (1st) | 24 (1st) | 28 (1st) | 29 (2nd) | 33 (2nd) | 37 (2nd) | 41 (4th) | 45 (4th) | 49 (1st) | 50 (2nd) | 54 (2nd) | 58 (2nd) | 62 (2nd) | 66 (1st) |
| Chiefs | 1 (12th) | 6 (7th) | 10 (6th) | 14 (4th) | 18 (2nd) | 22 (4th) | 26 (2nd) | 31 (1st) | 35 (1st) | 39 (1st) | 44 (1st) | 45 (2nd) | 49 (2nd) | 53 (1st) | 58 (1st) | 62 (1st) | 63 (1st) | 64 (2nd) |
| Reds | 4 (3rd) | 8 (2nd) | 12 (1st) | 13 (3rd) | 13 (8th) | 13 (9th) | 17 (8th) | 21 (9th) | 21 (10th) | 25 (9th) | 26 (9th) | 31 (9th) | 36 (8th) | 40 (8th) | 44 (9th) | 49 (7th) | 53 (8th) | 58 (3rd) |
| Crusaders | 4 (7th) | 5 (9th) | 6 (10th) | 10 (9th) | 14 (7th) | 18 (6th) | 19 (7th) | 23 (7th) | 28 (6th) | 33 (6th) | 37 (5th) | 37 (5th) | 42 (5th) | 46 (5th) | 51 (4th) | 52 (5th) | 56 (4th) | 61 (4th) |
| Bulls | 4 (4th) | 9 (1st) | 10 (5th) | 14 (5th) | 19 (4th) | 20 (5th) | 24 (4th) | 29 (4th) | 33 (4th) | 37 (4th) | 42 (2nd) | 46 (1st) | 47 (4th) | 48 (4th) | 49 (5th) | 54 (4th) | 54 (5th) | 59 (5th) |
| Sharks | 1 (13th) | 2 (12th) | 7 (9th) | 11 (7th) | 12 (10th) | 17 (7th) | 17 (9th) | 22 (8th) | 23 (9th) | 27 (7th) | 31 (7th) | 36 (6th) | 41 (6th) | 45 (6th) | 45 (7th) | 49 (8th) | 54 (6th) | 59 (6th) |
| Brumbies | 4 (5th) | 8 (5th) | 12 (4th) | 13 (6th) | 17 (3rd) | 18 (3rd) | 19 (3rd) | 24 (3rd) | 26 (3rd) | 31 (3rd) | 35 (3rd) | 39 (3rd) | 44 (3rd) | 45 (3rd) | 49 (3rd) | 54 (3rd) | 58 (3rd) | 58 (7th) |
| Hurricanes | 0 (15th) | 4 (10th) | 9 (7th) | 10 (8th) | 15 (6th) | 16 (8th) | 21 (6th) | 25 (6th) | 25 (8th) | 25 (10th) | 30 (8th) | 34 (8th) | 35 (9th) | 40 (9th) | 45 (6th) | 49 (6th) | 53 (7th) | 57 (8th) |
| Highlanders | 4 (2nd) | 8 (3rd) | 12 (2nd) | 16 (1st) | 17 (5th) | 22 (2nd) | 22 (5th) | 26 (5th) | 30 (5th) | 34 (5th) | 34 (6th) | 35 (7th) | 39 (7th) | 44 (7th) | 44 (8th) | 45 (9th) | 46 (9th) | 50 (9th) |
| Cheetahs | 1 (14th) | 1 (15th) | 2 (14th) | 6 (12th) | 7 (13th) | 12 (12th) | 16 (11th) | 17 (11th) | 21 (11th) | 22 (11th) | 26 (10th) | 27 (10th) | 27 (12th) | 32 (10th) | 36 (10th) | 37 (10th) | 38 (10th) | 38 (10th) |
| Waratahs | 1 (11th) | 6 (6th) | 7 (8th) | 8 (11th) | 13 (9th) | 13 (10th) | 17 (10th) | 21 (10th) | 25 (7th) | 26 (8th) | 26 (11th) | 27 (11th) | 28 (11th) | 30 (11th) | 30 (11th) | 34 (11th) | 35 (11th) | 35 (11th) |
| Blues | 1 (9th) | 1 (13th) | 5 (11th) | 5 (14th) | 6 (15th) | 10 (13th) | 10 (14th) | 11 (14th) | 12 (15th) | 12 (15th) | 12 (15th) | 16 (14th) | 16 (14th) | 17 (14th) | 19 (15th) | 23 (14th) | 28 (13th) | 32 (12th) |
| Rebels | 4 (8th) | 4 (11th) | 5 (13th) | 6 (13th) | 10 (12th) | 10 (15th) | 14 (12th) | 14 (12th) | 14 (13th) | 18 (12th) | 20 (12th) | 24 (12th) | 29 (10th) | 29 (12th) | 29 (12th) | 29 (12th) | 31 (12th) | 32 (13th) |
| Force | 1 (10th) | 1 (14th) | 1 (15th) | 5 (15th) | 7 (15th) | 12 (11th) | 12 (13th) | 13 (13th) | 17 (12th) | 17 (13th) | 18 (13th) | 18 (13th) | 19 (13th) | 23 (13th) | 27 (13th) | 27 (13th) | 27 (14th) | 27 (14th) |
| Lions | 4 (6th) | 5 (8th) | 5 (12th) | 9 (10th) | 10 (11th) | 10 (14th) | 10 (15th) | 10 (15th) | 14 (14th) | 14 (14th) | 14 (14th) | 14 (15th) | 14 (15th) | 15 (15th) | 20 (14th) | 20 (15th) | 25 (15th) | 25 (15th) |
| The table above shows a team's progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets. |
| Key: | win | draw | loss | bye | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Regular season

The following fixtures were released on 2 September 2011.

### Round 1

* Bye/s: Rebels

### Round 2

* Bye/s: Brumbies

### Round 3

* Bye/s: Stormers

### Round 4

* Bye/s: Bulls, Crusaders, Lions

### Round 5

* Bye/s: Chiefs

### Round 6

* Bye/s: Blues

### Round 7

* Bye/s: Waratahs

### Round 8

* Bye/s: Highlanders, Hurricanes, Reds

### Round 9

* Bye/s: Cheetahs, Force, Lions

### Round 10

* Bye/s: Bulls, Rebels, Sharks

### Round 11

* Bye/s: Stormers

### Round 12

* Bye/s: Brumbies

### Round 13

* Bye/s: Chiefs

### Round 14

* Bye/s: Crusaders

### Round 15

* Bye/s: Cheetahs, Force, Reds

### Round 16

* Bye/s: Blues, Sharks, Waratahs

### Round 17

* Bye/s: Hurricanes

### Round 18

* Bye/s: Highlanders

## Finals

| First round | First round | First round | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | 27 July 2012 | 27 July 2012 | 27 July 2012 | | | |
| 21 July 2012 | 21 July 2012 | 21 July 2012 | 2 | Chiefs | 20 | | | |
| 4 | Crusaders | 28 | 4 | Crusaders | 17 | 4 August 2012 | 4 August 2012 | 4 August 2012 |
| 5 | Bulls | 13 | | | | Chiefs | Chiefs | 37 |
| | | | 28 July 2012 | 28 July 2012 | 28 July 2012 | Sharks | Sharks | 6 |
| 21 July 2012 | 21 July 2012 | 21 July 2012 | 1 | Stormers | 19 | | | |
| 3 | Reds | 17 | 6 | Sharks | 26 | | | |
| 6 | Sharks | 30 | | | | | | |

### Final
## Players
## Referees

The following refereeing panel was appointed by SANZAR for the 2012 Super Rugby season:

## Attendances

| Team | Main stadium | Capacity | Total attendance | Average attendance | % capacity |
| Blues | Eden Park | 50,000 | 139,962 | 17,495 | 37% |
| Chiefs | Waikato Stadium | 25,800 | 176,337 | 17,633 | 74% |
| Hurricanes | Westpac Stadium | 34,500 | 114,881 | 14,360 | 43% |
| Crusaders | Rugby League Park | 18,000 | 150,400 | 16,711 | 91% |
| Highlanders | Forsyth Barr Stadium | 30,728 | 133,242 | 16,655 | 57% |
| Reds | Suncorp Stadium | 52,500 | 310,316 | 34,479 | 65% |
| Brumbies | Canberra Stadium | 25,011 | 115,352 | 14,419 | 57% |
| Waratahs | Sydney Football Stadium | 44,000 | 167,494 | 20,936 | 47% |
| Melbourne Rebels | AAMI Park | 29,500 | 111,338 | 13,917 | 47% |
| Force | nib Stadium | 20,500 | 106,041 | 13,255 | 64% |
| Sharks | ABSA Stadium | 52,000 | 194,165 | 24,270 | 46% |
| Bulls | Loftus Versfeld | 51,792 | 268,497 | 33,562 | 64% |
| Lions | Ellis Park | 62,567 | 186,533 | 23,316 | 37% |
| Cheetahs | Free State Stadium | 46,000 | 153,950 | 19,243 | 41% |
| Stormers | Newlands Stadium | 51,900 | 383,348 | 42,594 | 82% |