2012 Super Rugby Final
| Event | 2012 Super Rugby season | ||||||
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| Date | 4 August 2012 | ||||||
| Venue | Waikato Stadium, Hamilton | ||||||
| Referee | Steve Walsh (Australia) | ||||||
The 2012 Super Rugby final was played between the South African Sharks and the New Zealand Chiefs Super Rugby teams on 4 August 2012. It was the 17th final in the Southern Hemisphere's premier transnational club rugby competition's history and the second under the newly expanded 15-team format. The Chiefs had qualified second highest during the regular season, while the Sharks qualified as the sixth, and lowest, team. The Chiefs went straight to the semi-final, where they beat fellow New Zealand team the Crusaders. The Sharks travelled to Brisbane and beat the Queensland Reds in the qualifying final and then the Stormers back in South Africa in the semi-final. As the Chiefs had qualified higher than the Sharks the final was played at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton.
In part due to the level of travel the Sharks had to make during the finals series (travelling from South Africa to Australia, back to South Africa and then on to New Zealand in just three weeks) they entered the grand final as the underdogs. They started the stronger, however, and scored first points through a penalty. The Chiefs struck back, scoring a converted try and two penalties to lead 13–3 at half-time. They extended the lead in the second half, outscoring the Sharks with three more converted tries and a penalty to just the one penalty for the visitors. The Chiefs won the game with a final score of 37–6. It was the Chiefs' first victory in the competition from their second final. For the Sharks, it was their fourth final defeat.
The 2012 Super Rugby competition involved fifteen teams, five each from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. 2012 marked the 17th season of the competition, and the second in the expanded 15 team format (12 teams competed between 1996 and 2005, before increasing to 14 between 2006 and 2010). The competition began on 24 February with the regular season consisting of 120 matches over twenty one weeks. Each team played teams from their own country twice (home and a way) and four teams from each of the other two countries once (two at home and two away). The top six teams after the regular season would advance to the finals. Unlike previous years, there was a three-week break between Week 15 and Week 19 to allow the three countries to play international rugby against Northern Hemisphere teams.
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