2016 Super Rugby final

2016 Super Rugby Final

Event

2016 Super Rugby season

Hurricanes	Lions

20	3

Date

6 August 2016

Venue

Westpac Stadium, Wellington

Referee

Glen Jackson (New Zealand)

Attendance

39,000

← 2015

2017 →

The 2016 Super Rugby Final was played between the Hurricanes and the Lions. It was the 21st final in the Super Rugby competition's history and the first under the expanded 18-team format. The Hurricanes had qualified in first place of the log standings during the regular season, while the Lions had qualified in second place. Both teams hosted quarter-final and semi-final matches. In the quarter-finals the Hurricanes beat the Sharks while the Lions beat the record Super rugby winners Crusaders. For the semi-finals it was the Hurricanes defeating fellow New Zealand team Chiefs in Wellington and the Lions defeating New Zealand team Highlanders in Johannesburg. Because of being the higher placed team in the regular season log standings, the final was held in Wellington.

The Final attracted a crowd attendance of 39,000.^[1]

Road to the Final

**Finals Series qualifying teams**
Pos	Team	W	D	L	PD	BP	Pts
1	Hurricanes	11	0	4	+144	9	53
2	Lions	11	0	4	+186	8	52
3	Stormers	10	1	4	+166	9	51
4	Brumbies	10	0	5	+99	3	43
Wildcard teams
5	Highlanders	11	0	4	+149	8	52
6	Chiefs	11	0	4	+150	7	51
7	Crusaders	11	0	4	+170	6	50
8	Sharks	9	1	5	+91	5	43
Source: SANZAAR ^[2]^[3]

The 2016 Super Rugby competition involved an expanded 18-team format. The 18 teams were grouped geographically in two regional 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 Argentinean team and one Japanese team split into a four-team Africa 1 Conference and a four-team Africa 2 Conference.^[4] The four conference winners qualified for the Quarter Finals, where they had home ground advantage against the four wildcard teams, made up of the third to fifth placed teams in the Australasian Group and the third placed team in the South African Group.

In the quarter-finals, there were wins for Highlanders over the Brumbies, Hurricanes beat Sharks while keeping them with no points, Lions beat Crusaders and Chiefs triumphing over Stormers. In the semi-finals, the Hurricanes defeated Chiefs in Wellington and the Lions defeated Highlanders in Johannesburg. The Hurricanes won their first title by defeating Lions.

The play-off fixtures were as follows:

Quarter-finals		Semi-finals		Final

23 July – Wellington

Hurricanes	41
		30 July – Wellington
Sharks	0
		Hurricanes	25
23 July – Cape Town
		Chiefs	9
Stormers	21
				6 August – Wellington
Chiefs	60
				Hurricanes	20
23 July – Johannesburg
				Lions	3
Lions	42
		30 July – Johannesburg
Crusaders	25
		Lions	42
22 July – Canberra
		Highlanders	30
Brumbies	9

Highlanders	15

Quarter-finals

	22 July 2016	Brumbies	9–15	Highlanders	GIO Stadium, Canberra
	18:00	Pen: Christian Lealiifano 11', 18', 52' (3/5) Cards: Matt To'omua 37' to 47'	Report^[6] Scoreboard^[7]	Try: Waisake Naholo 37' Liam Squire 57' Con: Lima Sopoaga 38' (1/2) Pen: Lima Sopoaga 5' (1/3)	Attendance: 8,559^[5] Referee: Angus Gardner

	23 July 2016	Hurricanes	41–0	Sharks	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
	19:35	Try: Loni Uhila 17' James Marshall 21' Jason Woodward 47' Vaea Fifita 50' TJ Perenara 59' Brad Shields 80' Con: Beauden Barrett 48', 51', 60' (3/5) Jason Woodward 81' (1/1) Pen: Beauden Barrett 14' (1/1)	Report^[8] Scoreboard^[9]	Pen: Garth April (0/3)	Referee: Glen Jackson

	23 July 2016	Lions	42–25	Crusaders	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
	16:30	Try: Courtnall Skosan 2' Rohan Janse van Rensburg 7' Malcolm Marx 40' Ruan Combrinck 69' Ross Cronjé 74' Con: Elton Jantjies 8', 40', 70', 75' (4/5) Pen: Elton Jantjies 15', 62' (2/3) Drop: Elton Jantjies 54' (1/1)	Report^[10] Scoreboard^[11]	Try: Ryan Crotty 33' Mitchell Drummond 63' Ben Volavola 80' Con: Richie Mo'unga 34', 63' (2/3) Pen: Richie Mo'unga 20', 47' (2/2) Cards: Luke Romano 6' to 16'	Referee: Craig Joubert

	23 July 2016	Stormers	21–60	Chiefs	Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
	19:00	Try: Vincent Koch 11', 39' Nizaam Carr 72' Con: Robert du Preez 12', 40' (2/2) Brandon Thomson 73' (1/1)	Report^[12] Scoreboard^[13]	Try: Sam McNicol 14' Brad Weber 17' Tom Sanders 24' James Lowe 34' Damian McKenzie 46' Hika Elliot 75' Tevita Koloamatangi 79' Tawera Kerr-Barlow 81' Con: Damian McKenzie 15', 18', 25', 35', 76', 80', 82' (7/8) Pen: Damian McKenzie 4', 29' (2/2)	Referee: Jaco Peyper

Semi-finals

	30 July 2016	Hurricanes	25–9	Chiefs	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
	19:35	Try: Willis Halaholo 7' Beauden Barrett 35' Victor Vito 48' Con: Beauden Barrett 36', 49' (2/3) Pen: Beauden Barrett 33', 56' (2/2) Cards: Cory Jane 63' to 73'	Report^[14] Scoreboard^[15]	Pen: Damian McKenzie 11', 40', 52' (3/4)	Referee: Angus Gardner

	30 July 2016	Lions	42–30	Highlanders	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
	15:00	Try: Elton Jantjies 12' Rohan Janse van Rensburg 24' Courtnall Skosan 46' Jaco Kriel 55' Lourens Erasmus 73' Con: Elton Jantjies 13', 25', 56', 74' (4/5) Pen: Ruan Combrinck (0/1) Elton Jantjies 21', 45', 52' (3/3) Drop: Elton Jantjies (0/1)	Report^[16] Scoreboard^[17]	Try: Matt Faddes 48' Lima Sopoaga 66' Waisake Naholo 75' Joe Wheeler 82' Con: Lima Sopoaga 76', 82' (2/4) Pen: Lima Sopoaga 19', 40' (2/3)	Referee: Jaco Peyper

Final

Summary

The Hurricanes won their first Super Rugby title with a dominant 20-3 win over the Lions in Wellington with tries from Cory Jane and man-of-the-match Beauden Barrett. Victor Vito celebrated his 100th and final match for the Wellington-based side in style. Tries were difficult to get with the wet, cold and windy weather conditions with both tries scored off Lions mistakes and Barrett chipped in with 10 points from the boot with two conversions and two penalties to spark tumultuous scenes in the packed stadium. The Lions were unable to find a way to unlock the Hurricanes defence, while Elton Jantjies had a forgettable night in front of goal, scoring only one of his three kicks. The match began with Jantjies missing an early penalty and Jane had a try disallowed in the 6th minute after the TMO ruled correctly that Brad Shields had knocked-on in the build-up. The veteran winger was not to be denied for long, in the 22nd minute when the Hurricanes defence again proved its worth causing Jantjies to throw a wild pass under pressure in his own 22, forcing Lionel Mapoe to make a clearing kick, but the ball went straight to Jane, who raced in to score at the corner. Barrett slotted the conversion to add to the earlier 11th-minute penalty to give the Hurricanes a 10-0 lead. Jantjies reduced the deficit with a penalty three minutes later.^[18]^[19]

Barrett extended his side's lead to 13-3 with another penalty midway through the second half. The match was effectively ended as a contest 11 minutes from full-time when the Lions botched a lineout clearance close to their own line. Replacement hooker Ricky Riccitelli hacked the ball on and the fly-half pounced on it inside the Lions in-goal area for his side's second try making Hurricanes to become the fifth New Zealand side to be crowned Super champions having previously lost both the 2006 and 2015 finals as well as being five times beaten semi-finalists.^[20]

Details

6 August 2016
19:35

Hurricanes	20–3	Lions
Try: Cory Jane 22' Beauden Barrett 69' Con: Beauden Barrett 23', 70' (2/2) Pen: Beauden Barrett 12', 52' (2/2) Drop: Beauden Barrett (0/1) James Marshall (0/1)	Report Scoreboard^[21]	Pen: Elton Jantjies 26' (1/3)

Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Referee: Glen Jackson

Hurricanes

Lions


Hurricanes:
FB	15	James Marshall
RW	14	Cory Jane
OC	13	Matt Proctor
IC	12	Willis Halaholo	50'
LW	11	Jason Woodward	70'
FH	10	Beauden Barrett
SH	9	TJ Perenara	77'
N8	8	Victor Vito
OF	7	Ardie Savea
BF	6	Brad Shields	74'
LL	5	Michael Fatialofa	74'
RL	4	Vaea Fifita
TP	3	Ben May	52'
HK	2	Dane Coles (c)	43'	57'	60'
LP	1	Loni Uhila	76'
Substitutes:
HK	16	Ricky Riccitelli	43'	57'	60'
PR	17	Chris Eves	52'
PR	18	Mike Kainga	76'
LK	19	Mark Abbott	74'
FL	20	Callum Gibbins	74'
FL	21	Jamison Gibson-Park	77'
SH	22	Vince Aso	50'
WG	23	Julian Savea	70'
Coach:
Chris Boyd


Lions:
FB	15	Andries Coetzee	70'
RW	14	Ruan Combrinck
OC	13	Lionel Mapoe
IC	12	Rohan Janse van Rensburg	57'	65'	74'
LW	11	Courtnall Skosan
FH	10	Elton Jantjies
SH	9	Faf de Klerk	68'
N8	8	Warren Whiteley (c)	70'
BF	7	Warwick Tecklenburg
OF	6	Jaco Kriel
LL	5	Franco Mostert
RL	4	Andries Ferreira	74'
TP	3	Julian Redelinghuys	74'
HK	2	Malcolm Marx	70'
LP	1	Dylan Smith	70'
Substitutes:
HK	16	Akker van der Merwe	70'
PR	17	Corné Fourie	70'
PR	18	Jacques van Rooyen	74'
LK	19	Lourens Erasmus	74'
FL	20	Ruan Ackermann	70'
SH	21	Ross Cronjé	68'
FH	22	Howard Mnisi	57'	65'	74'
WG	23	Jaco van der Walt \|	70'
Coach:
Johan Ackermann

Man of the Match:
Beauden Barrett (Hurricanes)

Assistant Referees:
Angus Gardner (Australia)
Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
Television match official:
Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

References

^ "HURRICANES BEAT LIONS TO WIN FIRST SUPER RUGBY TITLE". Hurricanes. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
^ "Super Rugby - Official SANZAAR Site". SANZAAR. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
^ "About Super Rugby". SANZAAR. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
^ "Outline of the Super Rugby competition structure" (PDF). All Blacks. 1 May 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
^ @BrumbiesRugby (22 July 2016). "Thanks to the Official Crowd of 8559 who braved the conditions at GIO Stadium tonight! #BRUvHIG" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 July 2016 – via Twitter.
^ "QF1: Brumbies 9 Highlanders 15". SANZAAR. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Brumbies 9–15 Highlanders". South African Rugby Union. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
^ "QF2: Hurricanes 41 Sharks 0". SANZAAR. 23 July 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Hurricanes 41–0 Cell C Sharks". South African Rugby Union. 23 July 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
^ "QF3: Lions 45 Crusaders 25". SANZAAR. 24 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Emirates Lions 42–25 Crusaders". South African Rugby Union. 23 July 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
^ "QF4: Stormers 21 Chiefs 60". SANZAAR. 24 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Stormers 21–60 Chiefs". South African Rugby Union. 23 July 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
^ "SF1: Hurricanes 25 Chiefs 9". SANZAAR. 30 July 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Hurricanes 25–9 Chiefs". South African Rugby Union. 30 July 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
^ "SF2: Lions 42 Highlanders 30". SANZAAR. 31 July 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Emirates Lions 42–30 Highlanders". South African Rugby Union. 30 July 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
^ "Hurricanes outclass Lions to win Super Rugby". sport24.co.za. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
^ "Super Rugby: Hurricanes win maiden title". news.com.au. 7 August 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
^ "Hurricanes beat Lions 20-3 in Super Rugby final to win first title". abc.net.au. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Hurricanes 20–3 Emirates Lions". South African Rugby Union. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.

Preceded by 2015 Super Rugby Final	Super Rugby Final 2016	Succeeded by 2017 Super Rugby Final

Super Rugby

Teams

Current teams	Blues Brumbies Chiefs Crusaders Drua Force Highlanders Hurricanes Moana Pasifika Rebels Reds Waratahs
Former teams	Bulls Cats Cheetahs Griquas Jaguares Lions Pumas Sharks Southern Kings Stormers Sunwolves