2013 Super Rugby Final
| Event | 2013 Super Rugby season | ||||||
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| Date | 3 August 2013 | ||||||
| Venue | Waikato Stadium, Hamilton | ||||||
| Referee | Craig Joubert (South Africa) | ||||||
The 2013 Super Rugby final was contested on 3 August 2013 by the Canberra-based Brumbies and Hamilton-based Chiefs. The Chiefs won 27–22 to give them their second consecutive Super Rugby title. The match was the last of the 2013 Super Rugby season, and was hosted by the Chiefs at Waikato Stadium. It was the eighteenth final in the history of the Southern Hemisphere's premier domestic rugby competition, and the third under the expanded fifteen-team format. The Chiefs had qualified highest during the regular season, while the Brumbies qualified third.
The Chiefs directly qualified for their semi-final, where they beat fellow New Zealand team the Crusaders 20–19. The Brumbies defeated the Cheetahs in a close qualifying final, and then travelled to Pretoria where they beat the Bulls in their semi-final. The Chiefs hosted the final after qualifying higher than the Brumbies, who had to travel back from South Africa for the match.
The Brumbies led early in the final, and were ahead 16–9 at half-time following a converted try and three penalties from inside-centre Christian Lealiifano. After penalties were exchanged early in the second half, the Brumbies were ahead 22–12, before the Chiefs scored two tries and a penalty to take the lead 27–22 with seven minutes remaining. The Brumbies were unable to score further, and the Chiefs went on to win.
The 2013 Super Rugby competition involved fifteen teams, five each from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. 2013 marked the eighteenth season of the competition and the third in the expanded fifteen team format: twelve teams competed between 1996 and 2005, before increasing to fourteen 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 away) 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 advanced to the finals.
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