2015 Super Rugby final

2015 Super Rugby Final
Event	2015 Super Rugby season
Date	4 July 2015
Venue	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Referee	Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Attendance	36,000
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The 2015 Super Rugby Final, was played between the Hurricanes and the Highlanders. It was the 20th final in the Super Rugby competition's history and the fifth under the expanded 15-team format. This was the first Super Rugby final between two New Zealand teams since 2006 when the Hurricanes were beaten by the Crusaders.

The match was won by the Highlanders who beat the Hurricanes by seven points. Upon winning the match, the Highlanders became the first team to win the competition having failed to win a conference. They also became the first team to win the competition having played in the qualifiers round. It was the Highlanders first Grand Final appearance since 1999, and the Hurricanes first Grand Final appearance since 2006.

In New Zealand, 583,620 people tuned in to watch

Road to the Final

**Finals Series qualifying teams**
Conference leaders
Pos	Team	W	D	L	PD	BP	Pts
1	Hurricanes	14	0	2	+170	10	66
2	Waratahs	11	0	5	+96	8	52
3	Stormers	10	1	5	+50	3	45
Wildcard teams
4	Highlanders	11	0	5	+117	9	53
5	Chiefs	10	0	6	+73	8	48
6	Brumbies	9	0	7	+108	11	47
Source: SANZAR ^[1]

The 2015 Super Rugby competition involved fifteen teams, five each from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.^[2] The 2015 season was the fifth year of an expanded 15 team format (12 teams competed between 1996 and 2005, before increasing to 14 between 2006 and 2010).^[2]

The competition began on 13 February with the regular season consisting of 120 matches over eighteen weeks. Each team played the others from their own conference (both home and away), plus four out of five teams from the other two countries (two at home and two away in each case). The top six teams after the regular season advanced to the finals.^[2]

The Hurricanes finished top of the New Zealand conference and topped the overall standings, with fourteen wins and just two losses during the season (one being to the Australian conference winner, the Waratahs). The South African conference winner was the Stormers, and the three wildcard teams making the playoffs were the Highlanders, Chiefs, and Brumbies.

The play-off fixtures were as follows:


First round			Semifinals			Final

			27 June 2015

20 June 2015			1	Hurricanes	29

3	Stormers	19	6	Brumbies	9	4 July 2015

6	Brumbies	39				Hurricanes	14

			27 June 2015			Highlanders	21

20 June 2015			2	Waratahs	17

4	Highlanders	24	4	Highlanders	35

5	Chiefs	14

Qualifiers

	20 June 2015	Highlanders	24–14	Chiefs	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
	19:35	Try: Waisake Naholo 24', 43' Con: Lima Sopoaga 44' (1/2) Pen: Lima Sopoaga 6', 57', 66', 80' (4/4) Drop: Waisake Naholo (0/1)	Report^[3] Scoreboard^[4]	Try: Brodie Retallick 60' Con: Andrew Horrell (0/1) Pen: Andrew Horrell 8', 28', 40' (3/5)	Attendance: 22,500 Referee: Chris Pollock

	20 June 2015	Stormers	19–39	Brumbies	Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
	17:05	Try: Cheslin Kolbe 45' Con: Demetri Catrakilis 46' (1/1) Pen: Demetri Catrakilis 13', 34', 49', 60' (4/4)	Report^[5] Scoreboard^[6]	Try: Joe Tomane 4', 15', 25' Scott Sio 40' Ita Vaea 63' Jesse Mogg 79' Con: Christian Lealiifano 26', 40', 64' (3/6) Pen: Christian Lealiifano 51' (1/1) Cards: Henry Speight 74' Scott Fardy 75'	Referee: Jaco Peyper

Semi-finals

	27 June 2015	Hurricanes	29–9	Brumbies	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
	19:35	Try: Julian Savea 21' TJ Perenara 28' Ardie Savea 43' Matt Proctor 74' Con: Beauden Barrett 29' (1/2) James Marshall 44', 75' (2/2) Pen: Beauden Barrett (0/1) James Marshall 66' (1/2)	Report^[7] Scoreboard^[8]	Pen: Jesse Mogg 40' (1/1) Christian Lealiifano 50', 57' (2/2)	Attendance: 34,500 Referee: Glen Jackson

	27 June 2015	Waratahs	17–35	Highlanders	Allianz Stadium, Sydney
	19:55	Try: Rob Horne 11' Con: Bernard Foley (0/1) Pen: Bernard Foley 23', 31', 37', 51' (4/4) Cards: Jacques Potgieter 58' to 68'	Report Scoreboard^[9]	Try: Aaron Smith 19' Richard Buckman 33' Waisake Naholo 53' penalty try 58' Patrick Osborne 78' Con: Ben Smith (0/1) Lima Sopoaga 34', 59' (2/4) Pen: Lima Sopoaga 5' (1/3) Drop: Lima Sopoaga 75' (1/2)	Attendance: 32,632 Referee: Craig Joubert

Final

4 July 2015
19:35

Hurricanes	14–21	Highlanders
Try: Ma'a Nonu 36' Con: Beauden Barrett (0/1) Pen: Beauden Barrett 42', 54', 67' (3/5)	Report^[10] Scoreboard^[11]	Try: Elliot Dixon 40' Waisake Naholo 47' Con: Lima Sopoaga 40' (1/2) Pen: Lima Sopoaga 5', 29' (2/3) Drop: Lima Sopoaga (0/1) Marty Banks 78' (1/1)