# 2017 Super Rugby season

The 2017 Super Rugby season was the 22nd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It was the second season featuring an expanded 18-team format, following the competition's expansion from 15 teams prior to the 2016 season.
After 17 rounds of matches between 23 February and 15 July – with Rounds 15 and 16 split due to the 2017 mid-year rugby union internationals and British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand – four conference winners and four wildcard teams progressed to the finals series, which will consist of quarterfinals, semifinals and a final on 5 August.

## Competition format

The 18 participating teams were divided into two geographical groups, each consisting of two conferences: the Australasian Group, with five teams in the Australian Conference and five teams in the New Zealand Conference, and the South African Group, with six South African teams, one Argentine team and one Japanese team split into two four-team conferences – an Africa 1 Conference and an Africa 2 Conference.
In the group stages, there were 17 rounds of matches, where each team played 15 matches and had two rounds of byes for a total of 135 matches. Due to the British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand in June and July, Rounds 15 and 16 were split; Round 15 of the Australian and New Zealand Conferences were played on the weekend of 3 June, with Round 16 of the New Zealand Conference scheduled for the following week. The South African Conference Round 15 matches were played on the weekend of 1 July, with the Round 16 matches for the Australian and South African conferences scheduled for a week later.
Teams played six intra-conference matches; in the four-team African Conferences, each team played the other three teams in their conference at home and away, while in the five-team Australasian Conferences, each team played two teams home and away and once against the other two teams (one at home and one away). The other nine matches were a single round of matches against each team in the other conference in their group, as well as against each team from one of the conferences in the other group. For 2017, the teams in Africa 1 played the teams in the New Zealand Conference, while the teams in Africa 2 played the teams in the Australian Conference.
The top team in each of the four conferences qualified for the quarterfinals. The next three highest-ranked teams in the Australasian Group and the next highest-ranked team in the South African group also qualified to the quarterfinals as wildcards. The conference winners were seeded #1 to #4 for the quarterfinals, in order of log points gained during the group stages, while the wildcards were seeded as #5 to #8 in order of log points gained during the group stages.
In the quarterfinals, the conference winners hosted the first round of the finals, with the highest-seeded conference winner hosting the fourth-seeded wildcard entry, the second-seeded conference winner hosting the third-seeded wildcard entry, the third-seeded conference winner hosting the second-seeded wildcard entry and the fourth-seeded conference winner hosting the top-seed wildcard entry.
The quarterfinal winners progressed to the semifinals. Instead of the following the Shaughnessy playoff format used from 1996 to 2016, the semi-finals were drawn according to a predetermined bracket. Under the new format, the winner of Quarter-final 1 (which featured the highest-seeded conference winner and the lowest-seeded wildcard) will play the winner of Quarter-final 4 (which featured the fourth-seeded conference winner and the highest-seeded wildcard) and likewise with the winners of Quarter-finals 2 and 3. The two semi-final hosts were the highest-seeded winners of their respective quarter-finals.
The winners of the semifinals advanced to the final, at the venue of the highest-seeded team.

### Changes for 2018

On 9 April 2017, SANZAAR announced that the competition would return to a 15-team format for 2018, with two teams from South Africa and one team from Australia being dropped. To ensure five-team conferences, Japanese side the Sunwolves would move from the South African Conference to the Australian Conference.
On 7 July 2017, the South African Rugby Union confirmed that the Cheetahs and Southern Kings were the South African teams that would not participate in the competition going forward, and both those teams joined the Pro14 competition from the 2017–18 season onwards.

## Standings

The final standings for the 2017 Super Rugby season were:

### Conference standings

Australian conference :
| Pos | Team | Pts |
| 1 | Brumbies | 34 |
| 2 | Force | 26 |
| 3 | Reds | 21 |
| 4 | Waratahs | 19 |
| 5 | Rebels | 9 |
New Zealand conference :
| Pos | Team | Pts |
| 1 | Crusaders | 63 |
| 2 | Hurricanes | 58 |
| 3 | Chiefs | 57 |
| 4 | Highlanders | 51 |
| 5 | Blues | 37 |
Africa 1 conference :
| Pos | Team | Pts |
| 1 | Stormers | 43 |
| 2 | Cheetahs | 21 |
| 3 | Bulls | 20 |
| 4 | Sunwolves | 12 |
Africa 2 conference :
| Pos | Team | Pts |
| 1 | Lions | 65 |
| 2 | Sharks | 42 |
| 3 | Jaguares | 33 |
| 4 | Southern Kings | 28 |

### Overall standings

2017 Super Rugby standings :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Lions | 15 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 590 | 268 | +322 | 81 | 27 | 9 | 0 | 65 | Quarter-finals (Conference leaders) |
| 2 | Crusaders | 15 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 544 | 303 | +241 | 77 | 37 | 7 | 0 | 63 | Quarter-finals (Conference leaders) |
| 3 | Stormers | 15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 490 | 436 | +54 | 64 | 61 | 3 | 0 | 43 | Quarter-finals (Conference leaders) |
| 4 | Brumbies | 15 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 315 | 279 | +36 | 41 | 32 | 3 | 7 | 34 | Quarter-finals (Conference leaders) |
| 5 | Hurricanes | 15 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 596 | 272 | +324 | 89 | 31 | 9 | 1 | 58 | Quarter-finals (Wildcard) |
| 6 | Chiefs | 15 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 433 | 292 | +141 | 55 | 30 | 6 | 1 | 57 | Quarter-finals (Wildcard) |
| 7 | Highlanders | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 488 | 308 | +180 | 62 | 40 | 5 | 2 | 51 | Quarter-finals (Wildcard) |
| 8 | Sharks | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 392 | 323 | +69 | 38 | 37 | 1 | 3 | 42 | Quarter-finals (Wildcard) |
| 9 | Blues | 15 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 425 | 391 | +34 | 55 | 50 | 4 | 3 | 37 | |
| 10 | Jaguares | 15 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 404 | 386 | +18 | 49 | 45 | 1 | 4 | 33 | |
| 11 | Southern Kings | 15 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 391 | 470 | −79 | 49 | 60 | 1 | 3 | 28 | |
| 12 | Force | 15 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 313 | 404 | −91 | 36 | 55 | 1 | 1 | 26 | |
| 13 | Cheetahs | 15 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 395 | 551 | −156 | 46 | 75 | 1 | 4 | 21 | |
| 14 | Reds | 15 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 321 | 479 | −158 | 46 | 61 | 1 | 4 | 21 | |
| 15 | Bulls | 15 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 339 | 459 | −120 | 39 | 59 | 0 | 4 | 20 | |
| 16 | Waratahs | 15 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 396 | 522 | −126 | 52 | 68 | 1 | 2 | 19 | |
| 17 | Sunwolves | 15 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 315 | 671 | −356 | 41 | 96 | 1 | 3 | 12 | |
| 18 | Rebels | 15 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 236 | 569 | −333 | 23 | 79 | 0 | 3 | 9 | |
* 1 2 3 The Cheetahs, Force, and Southern Kings were all axed from the competition at the conclusion of the 2017 season.

### Round-by-round

The table below shows each team's progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets:
| Team Progression – Australasian Group |
| Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | R14 | R15 | R16 | R17 | QF | SF | Final |
| Crusaders | 4 (5th) | 8 (4th) | 12 (3rd) | 16 (3rd) | 21 (1st) | 26 (1st) | 26 (1st) | 31 (1st) | 36 (1st) | 41 (1st) | 46 (1st) | 50 (1st) | 54 (1st) | 59 (1st) | 63 (1st) | 63 (1st) | 63 (1st) | Won | Won | Won |
| Brumbies | 1 (7th) | 2 (8th) | 6 (2nd) | 10 (2nd) | 11 (2nd) | 11 (2nd) | 16 (2nd) | 17 (2nd) | 17 (2nd) | 18 (2nd) | 18 (2nd) | 19 (2nd) | 23 (2nd) | 28 (2nd) | 33 (2nd) | 34 (2nd) | 34 (2nd) | Lost | — | — |
| Hurricanes | 5 (1st) | 10 (1st) | 10 (4th) | 15 (4th) | 15 (4th) | 20 (4th) | 24 (3rd) | 28 (4th) | 33 (3rd) | 33 (4th) | 38 (4th) | 38 (4th) | 43 (3rd) | 48 (3rd) | 53 (3rd) | 54 (3rd) | 58 (3rd) | Won | Lost | — |
| Chiefs | 5 (4th) | 10 (3rd) | 14 (1st) | 19 (1st) | 19 (3rd) | 24 (3rd) | 24 (4th) | 29 (3rd) | 33 (4th) | 37 (3rd) | 42 (3rd) | 42 (3rd) | 43 (4th) | 45 (5th) | 49 (4th) | 53 (4th) | 57 (4th) | Won | Lost | — |
| Highlanders | 0 (9th) | 1 (9th) | 5 (8th) | 5 (8th) | 9 (6th) | 14 (6th) | 18 (5th) | 18 (5th) | 23 (5th) | 28 (5th) | 32 (5th) | 36 (5th) | 41 (5th) | 45 (4th) | 46 (5th) | 46 (5th) | 51 (5th) | Lost | — | — |
| Blues | 5 (3rd) | 5 (5th) | 6 (5th) | 6 (5th) | 11 (5th) | 15 (5th) | 16 (6th) | 17 (6th) | 17 (6th) | 22 (6th) | 26 (6th) | 31 (6th) | 31 (6th) | 33 (6th) | 37 (6th) | 37 (6th) | 37 (6th) | — | — | — |
| Force | 1 (8th) | 5 (2nd) | 5 (7th) | 5 (7th) | 5 (9th) | 5 (9th) | 9 (7th) | 9 (8th) | 9 (8th) | 9 (9th) | 9 (9th) | 13 (9th) | 13 (9th) | 17 (8th) | 17 (8th) | 21 (7th) | 26 (7th) | — | — | — |
| Reds | 4 (6th) | 5 (6th) | 6 (6th) | 6 (6th) | 6 (8th) | 6 (8th) | 6 (9th) | 10 (7th) | 10 (7th) | 11 (8th) | 11 (8th) | 16 (7th) | 16 (8th) | 16 (9th) | 17 (9th) | 21 (8th) | 21 (8th) | — | — | — |
| Waratahs | 4 (2nd) | 4 (7th) | 4 (9th) | 4 (9th) | 8 (7th) | 8 (7th) | 8 (8th) | 8 (9th) | 9 (9th) | 13 (7th) | 14 (7th) | 14 (8th) | 19 (7th) | 19 (7th) | 19 (7th) | 19 (9th) | 19 (9th) | — | — | — |
| Rebels | 0 (10th) | 0 (10th) | 0 (10th) | 0 (10th) | 1 (10th) | 1 (10th) | 1 (10th) | 5 (10th) | 7 (10th) | 7 (10th) | 7 (10th) | 8 (10th) | 8 (10th) | 8 (10th) | 8 (10th) | 8 (10th) | 9 (10th) | — | — | — |
| Team Progression – South African Group |
| Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | R14 | R15 | R16 | R17 | QF | SF | Final |
| Lions | 4 (3rd) | 9 (1st) | 9 (4th) | 14 (3rd) | 19 (1st) | 23 (1st) | 23 (2nd) | 28 (1st) | 32 (1st) | 37 (1st) | 42 (1st) | 46 (1st) | 51 (1st) | 56 (1st) | 61 (1st) | 61 (1st) | 65 (1st) | Won | Won | Lost |
| Stormers | 4 (1st) | 8 (2nd) | 13 (1st) | 13 (2nd) | 17 (2nd) | 22 (2nd) | 26 (1st) | 26 (2nd) | 26 (2nd) | 26 (2nd) | 26 (2nd) | 26 (2nd) | 30 (2nd) | 30 (2nd) | 34 (2nd) | 39 (2nd) | 43 (2nd) | Lost | — | — |
| Sharks | 1 (4th) | 5 (5th) | 9 (2nd) | 13 (4th) | 17 (4th) | 18 (4th) | 22 (3rd) | 22 (3rd) | 24 (3rd) | 28 (3rd) | 32 (3rd) | 33 (3rd) | 38 (3rd) | 42 (3rd) | 42 (3rd) | 42 (3rd) | 42 (3rd) | Lost | — | — |
| Jaguares | 4 (2nd) | 5 (3rd) | 9 (3rd) | 14 (1st) | 18 (3rd) | 18 (3rd) | 19 (4th) | 19 (4th) | 20 (4th) | 20 (4th) | 24 (4th) | 24 (4th) | 24 (4th) | 24 (4th) | 25 (4th) | 29 (4th) | 33 (4th) | — | — | — |
| Kings | 0 (7th) | 4 (6th) | 4 (6th) | 5 (7th) | 5 (7th) | 5 (7th) | 6 (7th) | 6 (7th) | 10 (6th) | 15 (5th) | 15 (5th) | 19 (5th) | 19 (5th) | 19 (5th) | 23 (5th) | 27 (5th) | 28 (5th) | — | — | — |
| Cheetahs | 1 (5th) | 5 (4th) | 9 (5th) | 9 (5th) | 9 (5th) | 9 (5th) | 9 (5th) | 9 (6th) | 10 (7th) | 10 (7th) | 11 (7th) | 11 (7th) | 11 (7th) | 16 (6th) | 17 (7th) | 17 (7th) | 21 (6th) | — | — | — |
| Bulls | 0 (6th) | 1 (7th) | 1 (7th) | 5 (6th) | 5 (6th) | 5 (6th) | 6 (6th) | 10 (5th) | 14 (5th) | 14 (6th) | 14 (6th) | 15 (6th) | 15 (6th) | 15 (7th) | 19 (6th) | 20 (6th) | 20 (7th) | — | — | — |
| Sunwolves | 0 (8th) | 0 (8th) | 1 (8th) | 1 (8th) | 1 (8th) | 1 (8th) | 5 (8th) | 5 (8th) | 5 (8th) | 6 (8th) | 7 (8th) | 7 (8th) | 7 (8th) | 7 (8th) | 7 (8th) | 7 (8th) | 12 (8th) | — | — | — |
| Key: | win | draw | loss | bye | |

## Matches

The fixtures for the 2017 Super Rugby competition were released on 20 September 2016. The following matches were played during the regular season:
| Home \ Away | BLU | BRU | BUL | CHE | CHI | CRU | FOR | HIG | HUR | JAG | LIO | REB | RED | SHA | KIN | STO | SUN | WAR |
| Blues | — | — | 38–14 | 50–32 | 16–16 | — | 24–15 | 12–16 | 24–28 | — | — | — | 34–29 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Brumbies | 12–18 | — | — | — | — | — | 25–17 | 13–18 | — | — | 6–13 | 32–3 | 43–10 | 22–27 | — | — | — | — |
| Bulls | — | — | — | 20–14 | — | 24–62 | — | 10–17 | 20–34 | 26–13 | — | — | — | — | 30–31 | 33–41 | 34–21 | — |
| Cheetahs | — | — | 34–28 | — | 27–41 | 21–48 | — | 41–45 | — | — | 25–28 | — | — | 30–38 | — | 34–40 | 38–31 | — |
| Chiefs | 41–26 | 28–10 | 28–12 | — | — | 24–31 | — | — | 26–18 | — | — | — | 46–17 | — | — | — | 27–20 | 46–31 |
| Crusaders | 33–24 | 17–13 | — | — | — | — | 45–17 | 25–22 | 20–12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 57–24 | 50–3 | — |
| Force | — | — | — | — | 7–16 | — | — | 6–55 | 12–34 | — | 15–24 | 31–22 | 26–19 | — | 46–41 | — | — | 40–11 |
| Highlanders | 26–20 | — | — | — | 15–24 | 27–30 | — | — | — | — | — | 51–12 | 40–17 | — | — | 57–14 | 40–15 | 44–28 |
| Hurricanes | — | 56–21 | — | 61–7 | 14–17 | 31–22 | — | 41–15 | — | — | — | 71–6 | — | — | — | 41–22 | — | 38–28 |
| Jaguares | — | 15–39 | — | 41–14 | — | — | 6–16 | — | — | — | 36–24 | — | 22–8 | 25–33 | 30–31 | — | 46–39 | — |
| Lions | — | — | 51–14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 24–21 | — | — | 44–14 | 34–29 | 54–10 | — | 94–7 | 55–36 |
| Rebels | 18–56 | 19–17 | — | — | 14–27 | 19–41 | — | — | — | 29–32 | 10–47 | — | 24–29 | — | — | — | — | 25–32 |
| Reds | — | 16–15 | — | — | — | 20–22 | 26–40 | — | 15–34 | — | — | — | — | 28–26 | 47–34 | — | — | 26–29 |
| Sharks | — | — | 17–30 | — | — | — | 37–12 | — | — | 18–13 | 10–27 | 9–9 | — | — | 19–17 | 22–10 | — | 37–14 |
| Southern Kings | — | 10–19 | — | 20–21 | — | — | — | — | — | 26–39 | 19–42 | 44–3 | — | 35–32 | — | 10–41 | — | — |
| Stormers | 30–22 | — | 37–24 | 53–10 | 34–26 | — | — | — | — | 32–25 | 16–29 | — | — | — | — | — | 52–15 | — |
| Sunwolves | 48–21 | — | 21–20 | 7–47 | — | — | — | — | 17–83 | — | — | — | — | 17–38 | 23–37 | 31–44 | — | — |
| Waratahs | 33–40 | 12–28 | — | — | — | 22–41 | 19–13 | — | — | 27–40 | — | 50–23 | — | — | 24–26 | — | — | — |

## Finals

The four conference winners advanced to the Quarter-finals, where they had home advantage against four wildcard teams, which consisted of the third to fifth-ranked teams in the Australasian Group and the third-ranked team in the South African Group.
| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final |
| 22 July – Johannesburg | 22 July – Johannesburg | | | |
| Lions | 23 | | | |
| Lions | 23 | 29 July – Johannesburg | 29 July – Johannesburg | | |
| Sharks | 21 | 29 July – Johannesburg | 29 July – Johannesburg | |
| Sharks | 21 | Lions | 44 | |
| 21 July – Canberra | 21 July – Canberra | | Lions | 44 | |
| 21 July – Canberra | 21 July – Canberra | Hurricanes | 29 | |
| Brumbies | 16 | Hurricanes | 29 | |
| Brumbies | 16 | | | | 5 August – Johannesburg | 5 August – Johannesburg |
| Hurricanes | 35 | | | | 5 August – Johannesburg | 5 August – Johannesburg |
| Hurricanes | 35 | | | | Lions | 17 |
| 22 July – Christchurch | 22 July – Christchurch | | | | | Lions | 17 |
| 22 July – Christchurch | 22 July – Christchurch | | | | Crusaders | 25 |
| Crusaders | 17 | | | | Crusaders | 25 |
| Crusaders | 17 | 29 July – Christchurch | 29 July – Christchurch | | | |
| Highlanders | 0 | 29 July – Christchurch | 29 July – Christchurch | | | |
| Highlanders | 0 | Crusaders | 27 | | | |
| 22 July – Cape Town | 22 July – Cape Town | | Crusaders | 27 | | | |
| 22 July – Cape Town | 22 July – Cape Town | Chiefs | 13 | |
| Stormers | 11 | Chiefs | 13 | |
| Chiefs | 17 | | | |

### Quarter-finals

* 21 July 2017 19:35
| Brumbies | 16–35 | Hurricanes |
| Try: James Dargaville 3' Joshua Mann-Rea 15' Pen: Wharenui Hawera 11', 28' (2/2) | Report Scoreboard | Try: Wes Goosen 7', 75' Jordie Barrett 25' TJ Perenara 68' Con: Jordie Barrett 25', 69', 76' (3/4) Pen: Jordie Barrett 38', 48', 65' (3/3) Cards: Jeffery Toomaga-Allen 40' to 50' |
* GIO Stadium, Canberra Attendance: 9,971 Referee: Glen Jackson
* 22 July 2017 19:35
| Crusaders | 17–0 | Highlanders |
| Try: Joe Moody 32' Codie Taylor 39' Con: Richie Mo'unga 33', 40' (2/2) Pen: Richie Mo'unga 5' (1/4) | Report Scoreboard | Cards: Liam Squire 4' to 14' |
* AMI Stadium, Christchurch Attendance: 11,000 Referee: Angus Gardner
* 22 July 2017 14:30
| Lions | 23–21 | Sharks |
| Try: Franco Mostert 47' Jaco Kriel 51' Lionel Mapoe 60' Con: Elton Jantjies 61' Pen: Elton Jantjies 9' Ruan Combrinck 77' Cards: Franco Mostert 64' to 74' | Report Scoreboard | Try: Kobus van Wyk 10' Dan du Preez 65' Con: Curwin Bosch 66' Pen: Curwin Bosch 34', 39' Drop: Curwin Bosch 16' Cards: Stephan Lewies 45' to 55' |
* Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg Attendance: 26,000 Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
* 22 July 2017 17:00
| Stormers | 11–17 | Chiefs |
| Try: Siya Kolisi 44' Pen: SP Marais 23', 62' (2/3) | Report Scoreboard | Try: Shaun Stevenson 75' Pen: Damian McKenzie 29', 31', 38', 51' (4/4) Cards: Sam Cane 59' to 69' |
* Newlands Stadium, Cape Town Attendance: 27,500 Referee: Jaco Peyper

### Semi-finals

* 29 July 2017 19:35
| Crusaders | 27–13 | Chiefs |
| Try: Bryn Hall 16' Israel Dagg 48' Seta Tamanivalu 57', 72' Con: Richie Mo'unga 17', 58' (2/4) Pen: Richie Mo'unga 13' (1/1) | Report Scoreboard | Try: Brodie Retallick 77' Con: Damian McKenzie 77' (1/1) Pen: Damian McKenzie 26', 37' (2/2) |
* AMI Stadium, Christchurch Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Glen Jackson
* 29 July 2017 14:30
| Lions | 44–29 | Hurricanes |
| Try: Jacques van Rooyen 38' Ross Cronjé 43' Malcolm Marx 52' Harold Vorster 61' Elton Jantjies 68' Kwagga Smith 73' Con: Elton Jantjies 39', 45', 62', 69' (4/6) Pen: Elton Jantjies 4', 58' (2/2) | Report Scoreboard | Try: TJ Perenara 6' Wes Goosen 10' Ardie Savea 29' Ngani Laumape 55' Con: Jordie Barrett 11', 56' (2/3) Beauden Barrett 30' (1/1) Pen: Jordie Barrett 19' (1/2) Cards: Beauden Barrett 57' to 67' |
* Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg Attendance: 27,908 Referee: Jaco Peyper

### Final

* 5 August 2017 16:00
| Lions | 17–25 | Crusaders |
| Try: Malcolm Marx 63' Corné Fourie 72' Con: Elton Jantjies 64', 72' (2/2) Pen: Elton Jantjies 26' (1/1) Cards: Kwagga Smith 38' | Report Scoreboard | Try: Seta Tamanivalu 7' Jack Goodhue 11' Kieran Read 42' Con: Richie Mo'unga 8', 43' (2/3) Pen: Richie Mo'unga 40', 52' (2/2) |
* Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg Attendance: 62,000 Referee: Jaco Peyper

## Players
### Squads

The following squads were named for the 2017 Super Rugby season:
Blues squad :
| Forwards | Gerard Cowley-Tuioti • Epalahame Faiva • Charlie Faumuina • Blake Gibson • Josh Goodhue • Alex Hodgman • Akira Ioane • Jerome Kaino • Steve Luatua • Sione Mafileo • Pauliasi Manu • Matt Moulds • James Parsons • Sam Prattley • Leighton Price • Kara Pryor • Scott Scrafton • Murphy Taramai • Patrick Tuipulotu • Jimmy Tupou • Ofa Tu'ungafasi • Did not play: • Brandon Nansen |
| Backs | Michael Collins • Matt Duffie • TJ Faiane • Piers Francis • Bryn Gatland • Billy Guyton • Rieko Ioane • George Moala • Melani Nanai • Sam Nock • Declan O'Donnell • Stephen Perofeta • Augustine Pulu • Rene Ranger • Jordan Trainor • Ihaia West • Sonny Bill Williams • Did not play: • Matt Vaega |
| Coach | Tana Umaga |
Brumbies squad :
| Forwards | Robbie Abel • Allan Alaalatoa • Chris Alcock • Ben Alexander • Rory Arnold • Jarrad Butler • Sam Carter • Tom Cusack • Blake Enever • Saia Fainga'a • Lolo Fakaosilea • Scott Fardy • Ben Hyne • Leslie Leulua’iali’i-Makin • Joshua Mann-Rea • Nic Mayhew • Jordan Smiler • Scott Sio • Faalelei Sione • Tom Staniforth • Did not play: • Rob Valetini |
| Backs | Nigel Ah Wong • Tom Banks • Tomás Cubelli • James Dargaville • Kyle Godwin • Wharenui Hawera • Jordan Jackson-Hope • Tevita Kuridrani • Christian Lealiifano • Ryan Lonergan • Andy Muirhead • Joe Powell • De Wet Roos • Andrew Smith • Henry Speight • Isaac Thompson • Aidan Toua • Did not play: • Anthony Fainga'a • Nick Jooste • Lausii Taliauli |
| Coach | Stephen Larkham |
Bulls squad :
| Forwards | Jacobie Adriaanse • Shaun Adendorff • Arno Botha • Renaldo Bothma • Lood de Jager • Nick de Jager • Martin Dreyer • Lizo Gqoboka • Jason Jenkins • John-Roy Jenkinson • Jannes Kirsten • Hanro Liebenberg • Edgar Marutlulle • Abongile Nonkontwana • Trevor Nyakane • Jacques Potgieter • Marnus Schoeman • Pierre Schoeman • RG Snyman • Ruan Steenkamp • Adriaan Strauss • Ruben van Heerden • Conraad van Vuuren • Jaco Visagie • Did not play: • Corniel Els • Roelof Smit • Hendré Stassen |
| Backs | Ulrich Beyers • Francois Brummer • Warrick Gelant • Travis Ismaiel • Tony Jantjies • Jesse Kriel • Kefentse Mahlo • Duncan Matthews • Rabz Maxwane • Franco Naudé • Burger Odendaal • Rudy Paige • Handré Pollard • Tian Schoeman • Jan Serfontein • Jade Stighling • Dries Swanepoel • Jamba Ulengo • Ivan van Zyl • Piet van Zyl • André Warner • Did not play: • JT Jackson • Johnny Kôtze • Luther Obi |
| Coach | Nollis Marais |
Cheetahs squad :
| Forwards | Justin Basson • Tom Botha • Uzair Cassiem • Aranos Coetzee • Chris Dry • Joseph Dweba • Elandré Huggett • Reniel Hugo • Niell Jordaan • Armandt Koster • Charles Marais • Danie Mienie • Oupa Mohojé • Ox Nché • Junior Pokomela • Boom Prinsloo • Paul Schoeman • Francois Uys • Torsten van Jaarsveld • Henco Venter • Reinach Venter • Carl Wegner • Did not play: • Jacques du Toit • Hilton Lobberts • Dennis Visser |
| Backs | Rayno Benjamin • Clayton Blommetjies • Nico Lee • JW Jonker • Niel Marais • Tian Meyer • Ali Mgijima • Zee Mkhabela • Luther Obi • Sergeal Petersen • Raymond Rhule • William Small-Smith • Clinton Swart • Michael van der Spuy • Ruan van Rensburg • Francois Venter • Shaun Venter • Fred Zeilinga • Did not play: • Ryno Eksteen |
| Coach | Franco Smith |
Chiefs squad :
| Forwards | Michael Allardice • Dominic Bird • Lachlan Boshier • Mitchell Brown • Sam Cane • Hika Elliot • Siegfried Fisiihoi • Kane Hames • Nathan Harris • Mitchell Karpik • Sefo Kautai • Nepo Laulala • Michael Leitch • Liam Messam • Brayden Mitchell • Atunaisa Moli • Liam Polwart • Brodie Retallick • Aidan Ross • Tom Sanders • Taleni Seu • Sebastian Siataga • Samisoni Taukei'aho • James Tucker • Did not play: • Mitchell Graham • Matiaha Martin |
| Backs | Solomon Alaimalo • Finlay Christie • Aaron Cruden • Stephen Donald • Johnny Fa'auli • Tawera Kerr-Barlow • Anton Lienert-Brown • James Lowe • Damian McKenzie • Sam McNicol • Tim Nanai-Williams • Alex Nankivell • Charlie Ngatai • Toni Pulu • Shaun Stevenson • Jonathan Taumateine • Did not play: • Glen Fisiiahi • Chase Tiatia • Brad Weber |
| Coach | Dave Rennie |
Crusaders squad :
| Forwards | Michael Alaalatoa • Scott Barrett • Heiden Bedwell-Curtis • Jed Brown • Wyatt Crockett • Whetu Douglas • Mitchell Dunshea • Owen Franks • Vernon Fredericks • Ben Funnell • Oliver Jager • Andrew Makalio • Joe Moody • Tim Perry • Kieran Read • Luke Romano • Pete Samu • Quinten Strange • Jordan Taufua • Codie Taylor • Matt Todd • Sam Whitelock |
| Backs | Tim Bateman • George Bridge • Ryan Crotty • Israel Dagg • Mitchell Drummond • Ereatara Enari • Leon Fukofuka • Jack Goodhue • Bryn Hall • David Havili • Mitchell Hunt • Digby Ioane • Manasa Mataele • Marty McKenzie • Richie Mo'unga • Seta Tamanivalu • Sean Wainui • Did not play: • Sione Fifita • Jone Macilai-Tori |
| Coach | Scott Robertson |
Force squad :
| Forwards | Jermaine Ainsley • Richie Arnold • Lewis Carmichael • Adam Coleman • Pekahou Cowan • Ben Daley • Tetera Faulkner • Richard Hardwick • Onehunga Havili • Ross Haylett-Petty • Matt Hodgson • Kane Koteka • Ben McCalman • Isi Naisarani • Matt Philip • Tatafu Polota-Nau • Anaru Rangi • Brynard Stander • Heath Tessmann • Francois van Wyk • Shambeckler Vui • Did not play: • Angus Cottrell • Ben Matwijow • Harry Scoble |
| Backs | Marcel Brache • Luke Burton • Robbie Coleman • Peter Grant • Dane Haylett-Petty • Jono Lance • Ryan Louwrens • Semisi Masirewa • Bill Meakes • Luke Morahan • Alex Newsome • Chance Peni • Ian Prior • Curtis Rona • Michael Ruru • Mitch Short • James Verity-Amm |
| Coach | David Wessels |
Highlanders squad :
| Forwards | Alex Ainley • Liam Coltman • Ash Dixon • Elliot Dixon • Gareth Evans • Tom Franklin • Siua Halanukonuka • Jackson Hemopo • Dillon Hunt • James Lentjes • Daniel Lienert-Brown • Craig Millar • Guy Millar • Greg Pleasants-Tate • Sekonaia Pole • Dan Pryor • Aki Seiuli • Adrian Smith • Tupou Sopoaga • Liam Squire • Siate Tokolahi • Joe Wheeler • Luke Whitelock • Did not play: • Shane Christie • Josh Dickson |
| Backs | Marty Banks • Richard Buckman • Matt Faddes • Malakai Fekitoa • Kayne Hammington • Tevita Li • Waisake Naholo • Patrick Osborne • Josh Renton • Aaron Smith • Ben Smith • Fletcher Smith • Lima Sopoaga • Rob Thompson • Sio Tomkinson • Teihorangi Walden • Did not play: • Jason Emery • Hayden Parker |
| Coach | Tony Brown |
Hurricanes squad :
| Forwards | Mark Abbott • Leni Apisai • James Blackwell • Dane Coles • Chris Eves • Michael Fatialofa • Vaea Fifita • Callum Gibbins • Toa Halafihi • Mike Kainga • Sam Lousi • Ben May • James O'Reilly • Reed Prinsep • Hugh Renton • Ricky Riccitelli • Ardie Savea • Brad Shields • Blade Thomson • Jeffery Toomaga-Allen • Loni Uhila • Did not play: • James Broadhurst • Geoffrey Cridge • Reggie Goodes |
| Backs | Pita Ahki • Vince Aso • Beauden Barrett • Jordie Barrett • Otere Black • Wes Goosen • Cory Jane • Ben Lam • Ngani Laumape • Nehe Milner-Skudder • TJ Perenara • Matt Proctor • Julian Savea • Chris Smylie • Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi • Did not play: • Kylem O'Donnell • Peter Umaga-Jensen |
| Coach | Chris Boyd |
Jaguares squad :
| Forwards | Matías Alemanno • Felipe Arregui • Rodrigo Báez • Cristian Bartoloni • Agustín Creevy • Santiago García Botta • Ramiro Herrera • Marcos Kremer • Ignacio Larrague • Tomás Lavanini • Juan Manuel Leguizamón • Tomás Lezana • Benjamín Macome • Pablo Matera • Julián Montoya • Lucas Noguera Paz • Javier Ortega Desio • Guido Petti • Enrique Pieretto • Leonardo Senatore • Roberto Tejerizo • Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro • Did not play: • Facundo Gigena • Juan Cruz Guillemaín • Santiago Portillo |
| Backs | Gonzalo Bertranou • Emiliano Boffelli • Santiago Cordero • Jerónimo de la Fuente • Joaquín Díaz Bonilla • Bautista Ezcurra • Felipe Ezcurra • Santiago González Iglesias • Juan Martín Hernández • Martín Landajo • Manuel Montero • Matías Moroni • Ramiro Moyano • Matías Orlando • Nicolás Sánchez • Joaquín Tuculet • Did not play: • Santiago Álvarez • Gabriel Ascárate • Nicolás Freitas |
| Coach | Raúl Pérez |
Lions squad :
| Forwards | Ruan Ackermann • Cyle Brink • Robbie Coetzee • Ruan Dreyer • Lourens Erasmus • Andries Ferreira • Corné Fourie • Johannes Jonker • Jaco Kriel • Robert Kruger • Malcolm Marx • Franco Mostert • Marvin Orie • Sti Sithole • Dylan Smith • Kwagga Smith • Akker van der Merwe • Jacques van Rooyen • Hencus van Wyk • Warren Whiteley • Did not play: • Justin Ackerman • Fabian Booysen • Hacjivah Dayimani |
| Backs | Andries Coetzee • Ruan Combrinck • Ross Cronjé • Faf de Klerk • Rohan Janse van Rensburg • Elton Jantjies • Sylvian Mahuza • Lionel Mapoe • Howard Mnisi • Jacques Nel • Shaun Reynolds • Courtnall Skosan • Dillon Smit • Madosh Tambwe • Jaco van der Walt • Anthony Volmink • Harold Vorster |
| Coach | Johan Ackermann |
Rebels squad :
| Forwards | Cruze Ah-Nau • Steve Cummins • Dominic Day • Murray Douglas • Colby Fainga'a • James Hanson • Esei Ha'angana • Patrick Leafa • Tyrel Lomax • Amanaki Mafi • Sean McMahon • Will Miller • Tom Moloney • Jordy Reid • Culum Retallick • Fereti Sa'aga • Jake Schatz • Siliva Siliva • Hugh Sinclair • Toby Smith • Lopeti Timani • Jordan Uelese • Laurie Weeks • Did not play: • Harley Fox • Sam Jeffries • Rob Leota • Tim Metcher • Alex Toolis |
| Backs | Jack Debreczeni • Tom English • Jackson Garden-Bachop • Harrison Goddard • Reece Hodge • Mitch Inman • Marika Koroibete • Jack Maddocks • Ben Meehan • Sefa Naivalu • Jonah Placid • Michael Snowden • Nic Stirzaker • Sione Tuipulotu • Semisi Tupou • Ben Volavola • Did not play: • Pama Fou • Kentaro Kodama • Jack McGregor • Dennis Pili-Gaitau • Dom Shipperley |
| Coach | Tony McGahan |
Reds squad :
| Forwards | Kane Douglas • Sef Fa'agase • Reece Hewat • Scott Higginbotham • Leroy Houston • Phil Kite • Adam Korczyk • Alex Mafi • Stephen Moore • Cadeyrn Neville • Andrew Ready • Izack Rodda • Kirwan Sanday • Rob Simmons • James Slipper • George Smith • Sam Talakai • Caleb Timu • Hendrik Tui • Lukhan Tui • Taniela Tupou • Markus Vanzati • Did not play: • Michael Gunn |
| Backs | Quade Cooper • Nick Frisby • Karmichael Hunt • Samu Kerevi • Chris Kuridrani • Campbell Magnay • Lachlan Maranta • Jake McIntyre • Eto Nabuli • Jayden Ngamanu • Duncan Paia'aua • Izaia Perese • Moses Sorovi • Hamish Stewart • James Tuttle • Did not play: • Chris Feauai-Sautia • Henry Taefu |
| Coach | Nick Stiles |
Sharks squad :
| Forwards | Lourens Adriaanse • Hyron Andrews • Ruan Botha • Stephan Coetzee • Jean Droste • Dan du Preez • Jean-Luc du Preez • Thomas du Toit • Stephan Lewies • Franco Marais • John-Hubert Meyer • Tendai Mtawarira • Tera Mtembu • Coenie Oosthuizen • Etienne Oosthuizen • Chiliboy Ralepelle • Juan Schoeman • Philip van der Walt • Jacques Vermeulen • Did not play: • Keegan Daniel • Jean Deysel • Francois Kleinhans • Khaya Majola |
| Backs | Lukhanyo Am • Garth April • Curwin Bosch • Michael Claassens • Johan Deysel • André Esterhuizen • Benhard Janse van Rensburg • Patrick Lambie • Marius Louw • Lwazi Mvovo • Odwa Ndungane • S'busiso Nkosi • Clément Poitrenaud • Inny Radebe • Cobus Reinach • S'bura Sithole • Rhyno Smith • Kobus van Wyk • Jeremy Ward • Did not play: • Tristan Blewett • Rowan Gouws • Hanco Venter |
| Coach | Robert du Preez |
Southern Kings squad :
| Forwards | Martin Bezuidenhout • Thembelani Bholi • Chris Cloete • Schalk Ferreira • Justin Forwood • Ross Geldenhuys • Kurt Haupt • Chris Heiberg • Irné Herbst • Ruaan Lerm • Mzamo Majola • Giant Mtyanda • Andisa Ntsila • Tyler Paul • Schalk van der Merwe • Wilhelm van der Sluys • Dayan van der Westhuizen • Mike Willemse • Stefan Willemse • Mzwanele Zito • Did not play: • Tango Balekile • Christiaan de Bruin • Cameron Lindsay • Sintu Manjezi • Wandile Putuma • CJ Velleman |
| Backs | Masixole Banda • Alshaun Bock • Chrysander Botha • Lionel Cronjé • Pieter-Steyn de Wet • Ntabeni Dukisa • Stokkies Hanekom • Malcolm Jaer • Berton Klaasen • Makazole Mapimpi • Wandile Mjekevu • Waylon Murray • Yaw Penxe • Louis Schreuder • Ricky Schroeder • Johan Steyn • Johann Tromp • Stefan Ungerer • Rudi van Rooyen • Luzuko Vulindlu • Did not play: • Siyanda Grey • Neil Maritz • Garrick Mattheus |
| Coach | Deon Davids |
Stormers squad :
| Forwards | Juarno Augustus • Nizaam Carr • Jaco Coetzee • Jan de Klerk • Stephan de Wit • Pieter-Steph du Toit • Rynhardt Elstadt • Eben Etzebeth • JC Janse van Rensburg • Oli Kebble • Steven Kitshoff • Siya Kolisi • Wilco Louw • Frans Malherbe • Bongi Mbonambi • Sikhumbuzo Notshe • Caylib Oosthuizen • Ramone Samuels • JD Schickerling • Kobus van Dyk • Frans van Wyk • Chris van Zyl • Alistair Vermaak • Cobus Wiese • Did not play: • Johan du Toit • Dean Muir • Marnus Schoeman • Chad Solomon • Eduard Zandberg |
| Backs | Bjorn Basson • Kurt Coleman • Damian de Allende • Juan de Jongh • Daniël du Plessis • Jean-Luc du Plessis • Robert du Preez • Dewaldt Duvenage • Cheslin Kolbe • Dan Kriel • Dillyn Leyds • SP Marais • Godlen Masimla • Justin Phillips • Seabelo Senatla • Brandon Thomson • Shaun Treeby • Jano Vermaak • EW Viljoen • Damian Willemse • Did not play: • Huw Jones • Khanyo Ngcukana |
| Coach | Robbie Fleck |
Sunwolves squad :
| Forwards | Takuma Asahara • Willie Britz • Uwe Helu • Takeshi Hino • Shota Horie • Malgene Ilaua • Keita Inagaki • Heiichiro Ito • Shokei Kin • Takeshi Kizu • Koo Ji-won • Naohiro Kotaki • Shinya Makabe • Shuhei Matsuhashi • Masataka Mikami • Yuhimaru Mimura • Liaki Moli • Yusuke Niwai • Shunsuke Nunomaki • Yuya Odo • Hitoshi Ono • Ed Quirk • Atsushi Sakate • Yoshitaka Tokunaga • Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco • Sam Wykes • Yasuo Yamaji • Koki Yamamoto • Kotaro Yatabe • Did not play: • Kohei Asahori • Kyosuke Kajikawa • Kazuhiko Usami |
| Backs | Derek Carpenter • Hayden Cripps • Shota Emi • Kenki Fukuoka • Teruya Goto • Timothy Lafaele • Rikiya Matsuda • Kotaro Matsushima • Takaaki Nakazuru • Jumpei Ogura • Yasutaka Sasakura • Kaito Shigeno • Hikaru Tamura • Yu Tamura • Fumiaki Tanaka • Harumichi Tatekawa • Jamie-Jerry Taulagi • Will Tupou • Keisuke Uchida • Riaan Viljoen • Ryohei Yamanaka • Yuki Yatomi • Did not play: • Michael Bond • Kazushi Hano • Ataata Moeakiola • Yutaka Nagare • Takahiro Ogawa |
| Coach | Filo Tiatia |
Waratahs squad :
| Forwards | Jack Dempsey • Damien Fitzpatrick • Ned Hanigan • Jed Holloway • Michael Hooper • Maclean Jones • Sekope Kepu • Tolu Latu • Dave Lolohea • Ryan McCauley • David McDuling • Dean Mumm • Hugh Roach • Tom Robertson • Paddy Ryan • Will Skelton • Angus Ta'avao • Senio Toleafoa • Michael Wells • Did not play: • Sam Needs • Matt Sandell • Brad Wilkin |
| Backs | Cameron Clark • Israel Folau • Bernard Foley • Jake Gordon • Bryce Hegarty • Rob Horne • David Horwitz • Andrew Kellaway • Matt Lucas • Mack Mason • Taqele Naiyaravoro • Nick Phipps • Reece Robinson • Irae Simone • Did not play: • Andrew Deegan • Harry Jones |
| Coach | Daryl Gibson |

## Referees

The following refereeing panel was appointed by SANZAAR for the 2017 Super Rugby season:
2017 Super Rugby referees :
| Argentina | Federico Anselmi |
| Australia | Nic Berry • Angus Gardner • Rohan Hoffmann • Will Houston |
| Japan | Shuhei Kubo |
| New Zealand | Nick Briant • Mike Fraser • Glen Jackson • Jamie Nutbrown • Ben O'Keeffe • Brendon Pickerill • Paul Williams |
| South Africa | Quinton Immelman • Jaco Peyper • Rasta Rasivhenge • Egon Seconds • Marius van der Westhuizen • Jaco van Heerden |

## Attendances

| Team | Main Stadium | Capacity | Total Attendance | Average Attendance | % Capacity |
| Blues | Eden Park | 50,000 | | | |
| Chiefs | Waikato Stadium | 25,800 | | | |
| Hurricanes | Westpac Stadium | 34,500 | 132,667 | 16,583 | 50% |
| Crusaders | Rugby League Park | 18,000 | | | |
| Highlanders | Forsyth Barr Stadium | 30,728 | | | |
| Reds | Suncorp Stadium | 52,500 | 105,806 | 15,115 | 28% |
| Brumbies | Canberra Stadium | 25,011 | 79,093 | 9,886 | 39% |
| Waratahs | Sydney Football Stadium | 44,000 | 101,499 | 14,499 | 32% |
| Melbourne Rebels | AAMI Park | 29,500 | | | |
| Force | nib Stadium | 20,500 | | | |
| Sharks | ABSA Stadium | 52,000 | | | |
| Bulls | Loftus Versfeld | 51,792 | | | |
| Lions | Ellis Park | 62,567 | | | |
| Southern Kings | Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium | 48,000 | 68,965 | 9,852 | 20% |
| Cheetahs | Free State Stadium | 46,000 | | | |
| Stormers | Newlands Stadium | 51,900 | | | |
| Jaguares | José Amalfitani Stadium | 49,640 | 71,916 | 8,989 | 18% |
| Sunwolves | Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium | 27,188 | | | |