# 2013 Super Rugby season

The 2013 Super Rugby season was the third season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The tournament was won by the Chiefs, who defeated the Canberra-based Brumbies 27–22 in the competition final. 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 the past incarnations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 18th season of the Southern Hemisphere's premier domestic competition. Conference matches took place every weekend from 15 February until 13 July – with a break between rounds 17 and 18 for internationals games – followed by the play-offs series that culminated in the final on 3 August.
The 2013 season saw the Southern Kings of South Africa enter the competition for the first time, having replaced the under-performing Lions. The Kings achieved three victories in their inaugural tournament, but finished last following the regular season, and were defeated by the Lions in a two-leg play-off for a position in the South African conference for the 2014 season.

## Competition format

Covering 25 weeks, the schedule featured a total of 125 matches. The 15 teams were grouped by country, labelled the Australian Conference, New Zealand Conference and the South African Conference. The regular season consisted of two types of matches:
* Internal Conference Matches – Each team played the other four teams in the same conference twice, home and away.
* Cross Conference Matches – Each team played 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 played 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.
The top team of each conference, plus the next top three teams in table points regardless of conference (wild card teams), moved on to the finals. The top two conference winners, based on table points, received first-round byes. In the first round of the finals, the third conference winner was the #3 seed and hosted the wild card team with the worst record, and the best wild card team hosted the second-best wild card team. In the semi-finals, the #2 conference winner hosted the higher surviving seed from the first round, and the #1 conference winner hosted the other first-round winner. The final is hosted by the top remaining seed.
In addition, a two-legged promotion/relegation play-off took place at the end of the season between the bottom team in the South African Conference and the Lions, with the winner qualifying for Super Rugby in 2014.

## Standings

Australian Conference :
| Pos | Team | Rnd | W | D | L | Bye | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Brumbies | 18 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 430 | 295 | +135 | 43 | 31 | 5 | 3 | 60 |
| 2 | Reds | 18 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 321 | 296 | +25 | 31 | 23 | 4 | 2 | 58 |
| 3 | Waratahs | 18 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 411 | 371 | +40 | 45 | 34 | 1 | 4 | 45 |
| 4 | Rebels | 18 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 382 | 515 | −133 | 44 | 65 | 4 | 5 | 37 |
| 5 | Force | 18 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 267 | 366 | −99 | 26 | 34 | 0 | 5 | 31 |
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 | 458 | 364 | +94 | 50 | 38 | 8 | 2 | 66 |
| 2 | Crusaders | 18 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 446 | 307 | +139 | 44 | 31 | 5 | 3 | 60 |
| 3 | Blues | 18 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 347 | 364 | −17 | 40 | 36 | 6 | 6 | 44 |
| 4 | Hurricanes | 18 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 386 | 457 | −71 | 41 | 49 | 4 | 5 | 41 |
| 5 | Highlanders | 18 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 374 | 496 | −122 | 40 | 55 | 4 | 5 | 29 |
South African Conference :
| Pos | Team | Rnd | W | D | L | Bye | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Bulls | 18 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 448 | 330 | +118 | 41 | 34 | 5 | 2 | 63 |
| 2 | Cheetahs | 18 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 382 | 358 | +24 | 38 | 32 | 2 | 4 | 54 |
| 3 | Stormers | 18 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 346 | 292 | +54 | 30 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 50 |
| 4 | Sharks | 18 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 384 | 305 | +79 | 40 | 31 | 3 | 5 | 48 |
| 5 | Southern Kings | 18 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 298 | 564 | −266 | 27 | 69 | 2 | 0 | 24 |
Overall standings :
| Pos | Team | Rnd | W | D | L | Bye | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Chiefs | 18 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 458 | 364 | +94 | 50 | 38 | 8 | 2 | 66 |
| 2 | Bulls | 18 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 448 | 330 | +118 | 41 | 34 | 5 | 2 | 63 |
| 3 | Brumbies | 18 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 430 | 295 | +135 | 43 | 31 | 5 | 3 | 60 |
| 4 | Crusaders | 18 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 446 | 307 | +139 | 44 | 31 | 5 | 3 | 60 |
| 5 | Reds | 18 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 321 | 296 | +25 | 31 | 23 | 4 | 2 | 58 |
| 6 | Cheetahs | 18 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 382 | 358 | +24 | 38 | 32 | 2 | 4 | 54 |
| 7 | Stormers | 18 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 346 | 292 | +54 | 30 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 50 |
| 8 | Sharks | 18 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 384 | 305 | +79 | 40 | 31 | 3 | 5 | 48 |
| 9 | Waratahs | 18 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 411 | 371 | +40 | 45 | 34 | 1 | 4 | 45 |
| 10 | Blues | 18 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 347 | 364 | −17 | 40 | 36 | 6 | 6 | 44 |
| 11 | Hurricanes | 18 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 386 | 457 | −71 | 41 | 49 | 4 | 5 | 41 |
| 12 | Rebels | 18 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 382 | 515 | −133 | 44 | 65 | 4 | 5 | 37 |
| 13 | Force | 18 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 267 | 366 | −99 | 26 | 34 | 0 | 5 | 31 |
| 14 | Highlanders | 18 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 374 | 496 | −122 | 40 | 55 | 4 | 5 | 29 |
| 15 | Southern Kings | 18 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 298 | 564 | −266 | 27 | 69 | 2 | 0 | 24 |
Source: sanzarrugby.com
Legend:
* Conference leaders, qualify to finals.
* Wildcard teams, qualify to finals.
* Qualifies to relegation play-offs.
* 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 (this does not apply to teams not scheduled to play in split rounds, e.g. New Zealand and South African teams in the Australian-only Round 1).
* 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
** overall points difference
** number of tries scored
** overall try difference

### Round-by-round

Team progression – 2013 Super Rugby season :
| Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | R14 | R15 | R16 | R17 | R18 | R19 | R20 |
| Chiefs | — | 5 (4th) | 10 (2nd) | 12 (3rd) | 17 (2nd) | 21 (2nd) | 25 (2nd) | 29 (1st) | 29 (2nd) | 30 (5th) | 35 (2nd) | 40 (2nd) | 44 (2nd) | 48 (1st) | 52 (1st) | 56 (1st) | 56 (2nd) | 61 (1st) | 61 (2nd) | 66 (1st) |
| Bulls | — | 4 (5th) | 9 (3rd) | 13 (2nd) | 13 (3rd) | 14 (7th) | 15 (10th) | 19 (9th) | 23 (7th) | 28 (3rd) | 32 (3rd) | 37 (3rd) | 41 (3rd) | 46 (2nd) | 50 (2nd) | 54 (2nd) | 54 (3rd) | 59 (2nd) | 63 (1st) | 63 (2nd) |
| Brumbies | 4 (1st) | 9 (1st) | 13 (1st) | 18 (1st) | 23 (1st) | 23 (1st) | 27 (1st) | 29 (2nd) | 33 (1st) | 35 (1st) | 40 (1st) | 41 (1st) | 45 (1st) | 46 (3rd) | 50 (3rd) | 54 (3rd) | 59 (1st) | 59 (3rd) | 59 (3rd) | 60 (3rd) |
| Crusaders | — | 4 (9th) | 4 (11th) | 6 (9th) | 11 (7th) | 16 (5th) | 20 (5th) | 21 (8th) | 22 (9th) | 26 (9th) | 30 (7th) | 34 (7th) | 38 (6th) | 42 (5th) | 42 (6th) | 46 (6th) | 46 (6th) | 51 (5th) | 56 (4th) | 60 (4th) |
| Reds | 0 (15th) | 4 (8th) | 8 (6th) | 12 (5th) | 13 (5th) | 17 (4th) | 22 (4th) | 26 (4th) | 31 (4th) | 33 (4th) | 37 (4th) | 39 (4th) | 44 (4th) | 44 (4th) | 45 (5th) | 50 (4th) | 54 (4th) | 54 (4th) | 54 (5th) | 58 (5th) |
| Cheetahs | — | 1 (11th) | 1 (15th) | 5 (13th) | 9 (9th) | 13 (9th) | 18 (6th) | 22 (6th) | 23 (6th) | 27 (6th) | 31 (6th) | 35 (6th) | 36 (7th) | 40 (7th) | 45 (4th) | 46 (6th) | 46 (5th) | 46 (6th) | 50 (6th) | 54 (6th) |
| Stormers | — | 0 (13th) | 1 (12th) | 5 (10th) | 9 (10th) | 14 (8th) | 15 (11th) | 16 (11th) | 20 (11th) | 24 (11th) | 28 (10th) | 29 (10th) | 30 (10th) | 30 (11th) | 34 (11th) | 38 (11th) | 38 (11th) | 42 (10th) | 46 (7th) | 50 (7th) |
| Sharks | — | 4 (6th) | 8 (5th) | 12 (4th) | 12 (6th) | 17 (3rd) | 21 (3rd) | 25 (3rd) | 26 (3rd) | 27 (7th) | 28 (8th) | 29 (9th) | 29 (11th) | 33 (10th) | 34 (11th) | 38 (10th) | 38 (10th) | 42 (9th) | 43 (10th) | 48 (8th) |
| Waratahs | 4 (5th) | 4 (10th) | 8 (8th) | 8 (8th) | 9 (13th) | 13 (11th) | 17 (8th) | 17 (10th) | 21 (10th) | 25 (10th) | 25 (11th) | 30 (8th) | 34 (8th) | 38 (8th) | 39 (8th) | 40 (8th) | 44 (7th) | 44 (7th) | 44 (8th) | 45 (9th) |
| Blues | — | 5 (2nd) | 10 (4th) | 11 (6th) | 15 (4th) | 16 (6th) | 17 (9th) | 22 (7th) | 27 (5th) | 31 (2nd) | 32 (5th) | 36 (5th) | 41 (5th) | 41 (6th) | 42 (7th) | 43 (7th) | 43 (8th) | 44 (8th) | 44 (9th) | 44 (10th) |
| Hurricanes | — | 0 (15th) | 1 (13th) | 5 (11th) | 9 (8th) | 13 (10th) | 18 (7th) | 23 (5th) | 23 (8th) | 27 (8th) | 28 (9th) | 28 (11th) | 33 (9th) | 34 (9th) | 38 (9th) | 39 (9th) | 39 (9th) | 39 (11th) | 41 (11th) | 41 (11th) |
| Rebels | 4 (4th) | 4 (7th) | 5 (9th) | 5 (12th) | 9 (12th) | 9 (13th) | 9 (13th) | 14 (12th) | 15 (14th) | 19 (12th) | 20 (12th) | 22 (12th) | 24 (12th) | 28 (12th) | 32 (12th) | 32 (12th) | 32 (12th) | 32 (12th) | 32 (12th) | 37 (12th) |
| Force | 1 (6th) | 1 (12th) | 1 (14th) | 5 (14th) | 9 (11th) | 9 (12th) | 10 (12th) | 11 (13th) | 15 (12th) | 16 (13th) | 16 (13th) | 18 (13th) | 19 (14th) | 19 (14th) | 23 (14th) | 27 (13th) | 27 (13th) | 27 (13th) | 27 (13th) | 31 (13th) |
| Highlanders | — | 0 (14th) | 4 (10th) | 4 (15th) | 5 (15th) | 5 (15th) | 6 (15th) | 6 (15th) | 6 (15th) | 6 (15th) | 10 (15th) | 14 (15th) | 16 (15th) | 16 (15th) | 17 (15th) | 22 (15th) | 22 (15th) | 22 (15th) | 27 (14th) | 29 (14th) |
| Southern Kings | — | 4 (3rd) | 8 (7th) | 8 (7th) | 8 (14th) | 8 (14th) | 8 (14th) | 11 (14th) | 15 (13th) | 15 (14th) | 15 (14th) | 15 (14th) | 20 (13th) | 24 (13th) | 24 (13th) | 24 (14th) | 24 (14th) | 24 (14th) | 24 (15th) | 24 (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. Note: Due to the Lions tour, only Australian teams will play in Rounds 1 and 17 and only New Zealand and South African teams in Rounds 18 and 19. Therefore, until the completion of Round 19, Australian teams will have played more games and will be in an artificially higher position. |
| Key: | Win | Draw | Loss | Bye | No game | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Regular season
### Round 1

* Bye/s: Waratahs. No games: Blues, Bulls, Cheetahs, Chiefs, Crusaders, Highlanders, Hurricanes, Southern Kings, Sharks, Stormers

### Round 2

* Bye/s: Crusaders

### Round 3

* Bye/s: Brumbies, Highlanders, Southern Kings

### Round 4

* Bye/s: Force

### Round 5

* Bye/s: Blues, Rebels, Stormers

### Round 6

* Bye/s: Hurricanes

### Round 7

* Bye/s: Sharks

### Round 8

* Bye/s: Bulls, Chiefs, Reds

### Round 9

* Bye/s: Waratahs

### Round 10

* Bye/s: Blues, Rebels, Stormers

### Round 11

* Bye/s: Highlanders

### Round 12

* Bye/s: Cheetahs

### Round 13

* Bye/s: Brumbies, Bulls, Crusaders

### Round 14

* Bye/s: Southern Kings

### Round 15

* Bye/s: Hurricanes

### Round 16

* Bye/s: Chiefs, Force, Sharks

### Round 17

* Bye/s: Reds. No games: Blues, Bulls, Cheetahs, Chiefs, Crusaders, Highlanders, Hurricanes, Southern Kings, Sharks, Stormers

### Round 18

* Bye/s: None. No games: Brumbies, Force, Rebels, Reds, Waratahs

### Round 19

* Bye/s: None. No games: Brumbies, Force, Rebels, Reds, Waratahs

### Round 20

* Bye/s: Cheetahs

## Finals

| First round | First round | First round | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | 27 July 2013 | 27 July 2013 | 27 July 2013 | | | |
| 20 July 2013 | 20 July 2013 | 20 July 2013 | 1 | Chiefs | 20 | | | |
| 4 | Crusaders | 38 | 4 | Crusaders | 19 | 3 August 2013 | 3 August 2013 | 3 August 2013 |
| 5 | Reds | 9 | | | | Chiefs | Chiefs | 27 |
| | | | 27 July 2013 | 27 July 2013 | 27 July 2013 | Brumbies | Brumbies | 22 |
| 21 July 2013 | 21 July 2013 | 21 July 2013 | 2 | Bulls | 23 | | | |
| 3 | Brumbies | 15 | 3 | Brumbies | 26 | | | |
| 6 | Cheetahs | 13 | | | | | | |

### Qualifiers

* 20 July 2013 19:35
| Crusaders | 38–9 | Reds |
| Try: Ryan Crotty (2) 10', 66' Dan Carter 30' Tom Marshall 51' Con: Dan Carter (3/4) 11', 52', 67' Pen: Dan Carter (3/4) 3', 26', 39' Tom Taylor (1/1) 72' | Scoreboard | Pen: Quade Cooper (3/4) 14', 29', 46' Ben Lucas (0/1) |
* AMI Stadium, Christchurch Attendance: 14,000 Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
* 21 July 2013 16:10
| Brumbies | 15–13 | Cheetahs |
| Pen: Christian Lealiifano (4/6) 3', 30', 59', 67' Nic White (1/1) 48' | Scoreboard | Try: Johann Sadie 16' Rayno Benjamin 79' Con: Riaan Smit (0/2) Pen: Riaan Smit (1/2) 46' |
* Canberra Stadium, Canberra Attendance: 14,020 Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)

### Semi-finals

* 27 July 2013 19:35
| Chiefs | 20–19 | Crusaders |
| Try: Lelia Masaga 51' Aaron Cruden 57' Con: Aaron Cruden (2/2) 52', 58' Pen: Aaron Cruden (2/3) 21', 47' | Scoreboard | Try: Israel Dagg 59' Con: Dan Carter (1/1) 60' Pen: Dan Carter (4/6) 6', 19', 28', 75' Drop: Dan Carter (0/2) |
* Waikato Stadium, Hamilton Attendance: 24,000 Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
* 27 July 2013 17:05
| Bulls | 23–26 | Brumbies |
| Try: JJ Engelbrecht 16' Con: Morné Steyn (0/1) Pen: Morné Steyn (6/7) 22', 29', 43', 51', 60', 76' Drop: Morné Steyn (0/1) | Scoreboard | Try: Jesse Mogg 11' Tevita Kuridrani 78' Con: Christian Lealiifano (2/2) 12', 80' Pen: Christian Lealiifano (4/5) 3', 25', 36', 49' |
* Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria Attendance: 37,000 Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

### Final

* 3 August 2013 19:35
| Chiefs | 27–22 | Brumbies |
| Try: Liam Messam 64' Robbie Robinson 68' Con: Aaron Cruden (1/2) 69' Pen: Aaron Cruden (5/7) 23', 26', 32', 48', 72' Drop: Gareth Anscombe (0/1) | Scoreboard | Try: Christian Lealiifano 38' Con: Christian Lealiifano 39' Pen: Christian Lealiifano (5/5) 6', 8', 21', 46', 59' Nic White (0/1) Jesse Mogg (0/1) |
* Waikato Stadium, Hamilton Attendance: 25,114 Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

## Promotion/relegation play-offs

The Promotion/Relegation series is not an official part of the Super Rugby competition as organised by SANZAR. Instead, it was introduced by SARU to give the sixth South African franchise an opportunity to qualify for Super Rugby.

### Log

2013 Super Rugby Promotion Relegation Series Log :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Lions | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 42 | +2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2014 Super Rugby competition |
| 2 | Southern Kings | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 42 | 44 | −2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |

### Results

* 26 July 2013 19:10
| Southern Kings | 19–26 | Lions |
| Try: Marcello Sampson 28' m Steven Sykes 70' m Pen: Demetri Catrakilis (3/4) 3', 11', 33' | Scoreboard | Try: Stokkies Hanekom 38' c, 66' c Con: Elton Jantjies (2/2) 39', 67' Pen: Elton Jantjies (4/5) 9', 14', 18', 22' Cards: Dylan des Fountain 69' |
* Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth Attendance: 27,358 Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
* 3 August 2013 17:00
| Lions | 18–23 | Southern Kings |
| Try: Derick Minnie 35' m Jaco Kriel 55' c Con: Elton Jantjies (1/2) 56' Pen: Elton Jantjies (2/4) 30', 44' Cards: Stokkies Hanekom 66' | Scoreboard | Try: Schalk Ferreira 68' c Scott van Breda 74' c Con: Scott van Breda (2/2) 69', 75' Pen: Scott van Breda (3/4) 11', 14', 39' |
* Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg Referee: Stuart Berry (South Africa)
* Lions are promoted to Super Rugby for 2014.
* Southern Kings are relegated from Super Rugby for 2014.

## Referees

The following refereeing panel was appointed by SANZAR for the 2013 Super Rugby season:

## Attendances

| Team | Main stadium | Capacity | Total attendance | Average attendance | % capacity |
| Blues | Eden Park | 50,000 | 162,742 | 20,342 | 43% |
| Chiefs | Waikato Stadium | 25,800 | 162,473 | 16,247 | 68% |
| Hurricanes | Westpac Stadium | 34,500 | 86,840 | 10,855 | 33% |
| Crusaders | Rugby League Park | 18,000 | 134,679 | 14,964 | 83% |
| Highlanders | Forsyth Barr Stadium | 30,728 | 106,427 | 13,303 | 45% |
| Reds | Suncorp Stadium | 52,500 | 254,693 | 31,836 | 60% |
| Brumbies | Canberra Stadium | 25,011 | 128,319 | 14,257 | 57% |
| Waratahs | Sydney Football Stadium | 44,000 | 135,593 | 16,949 | 38% |
| Melbourne Rebels | AAMI Park | 29,500 | 98,646 | 12,330 | 41% |
| Force | nib Stadium | 20,500 | 103,545 | 12,943 | 63% |
| Sharks | ABSA Stadium | 52,000 | 179,246 | 22,405 | 43% |
| Bulls | Loftus Versfeld | 51,792 | 277,601 | 30,844 | 59% |
| Southern Kings | Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium | 48,000 | 257,022 | 32,127 | 66% |
| Cheetahs | Free State Stadium | 46,000 | 165,017 | 20,627 | 44% |
| Stormers | Newlands Stadium | 51,900 | 294,340 | 36,792 | 70% |