2010 Super 14 season

The 2010 Super 14 season kicked off in February 2010 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 29 May. The 2010 season was the fifth and last season of the expanded Super 14 format. The schedule, which covers 3½ months, featured a total of 94 matches, with each team playing one full round-robin against the 13 other teams, two semi-finals and a final. Every team received one bye over the 14 rounds.

Table

Referees The referees for this tournament came from all three of the participating nations. Referees are ranked by Merit and Reserve Panels. They can be promoted or demoted to another panel. At least eighty Percent of the Super 14 games will be refereed by the Merit Panel Referees.

Australian referees Stuart Dickinson (Merit Panel) Steve Walsh (Reserve Panel) Ian Smith (Reserve Panel) Nathan Pearce (Reserve Panel) Paul Marks (Reserve Panel)- Stood down from panel, following reviews of his performances at the end of Week 4. He was re-included on the reserve panel for Round 14.

New Zealand referees Bryce Lawrence (Merit Panel) Chris Pollock (Merit Panel) Keith Brown (Merit Panel) Garratt Williamson (Reserve Panel) Jonathan White (Reserve Panel) Vinny Munro (Reserve Panel)

South African referees Craig Joubert (Merit Panel) Jonathan Kaplan (Merit Panel) Marius Jonker (Merit Panel) Mark Lawrence (Merit Panel) Jaco Peyper (Reserve Panel) Pro Legoete (Reserve Panel)- Stood down from panel, following reviews of his performances at the end of Week 4

Results

Round 1

A Super Rugby record was set when the Hurricanes kicked 9 penalty goals in total throughout the match, 5 to Willie Ripia and 4 to Piri Weepu.

Stirling Mortlock became the first player in Super Rugby to score over 1,000 points in this match.

Round 2

This match set several new Super Rugby records including the highest aggregate score in a single match (137 points), highest score by an away side (72) and the most tries scored in a Super Rugby match (18).

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

In this match, Dan Carter became the all-time leading points scorer in Super Rugby history.

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

As a result of this match, the Stormers became the first South African team to beat every New Zealand based team in the regular Super 12/14 season.

Round 13

Round 14

As a result of this match, the Lion holds the record for most losses in one season, with 13 straight losses. They also became the second team in Super Rugby history to lose all their round robin matches, joining the Bulls side of 2002.

Finals

Semi-finals

Final

The Final of the 2010 Super 14 season took place on 29 May 2010 at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, South Africa. The Bulls, based in Pretoria, hosted the Stormers, from Cape Town, in the second all-South African final. The defending champion Bulls won 25–17 to claim their second consecutive title and third in four years. This was the last Super 14 final, as the Melbourne Rebels joined the Super Rugby competition in the 2011 season to create a new Super Rugby competition.

The Bulls' normal home, Loftus Versfeld, was unavailable because it was used as a venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup being held in South Africa beginning 11 June. Under FIFA rules, all World Cup venues must be handed over to the local organisers no later than 15 days before the opening match of the competition. Orlando Stadium was the largest, suitable, stadium in the Bulls' home province of Gauteng that was not being used for the World Cup.

The game was surrounded in controversy after Schalk Burger claimed that the referee Craig Joubert was inconsistent at the breakdowns, "coaching the Bulls, but penalising the Stormers". This sparked an outcry over the handling of the game by Joubert, and internet blogs were buzzing due to the alleged incompetency of Joubert. André Watson, the head of South Africa's Rugby Referees, released a statement in which he defended Joubert's performance.

FB 15 Zane KirchnerRW 14 Gerhard van den HeeverCT 13 Jaco PretoriusSF 12 Wynand OlivierLW 11 Francois HougaardFF 10 Morné SteynHB 9 Fourie du PreezN8 8 Pierre SpiesOF 7 Dewald PotgieterBF 6 Deon StegmannRL 5 Victor Matfield (Cpt)LL 4 Danie RossouwTP 3 Werner KrugerHK 2 Gary BothaLP 1 Gurthro SteenkampSubstitutes:HK 16 Bandise MakuLP 17 Bees RouxN8 18 Flip van der MerweLF 19 Derick KuunHB 20 Jacques-Louis PotgieterFF 21 Jaco van der WesthuyzenRW 22 Pedrie WannenburgCoach: Frans Ludeke FB 15 Joe PietersenRW 14 Gio AplonCT 13 Jaque FourieCT 12 Juan de JonghLW 11 Bryan HabanaFH 10 Peter GrantSH 9 Dewaldt DuvenhageN8 8 Duane VermeulenOF 7 Francois LouwBF 6 Schalk Burger (Cpt)RL 5 Andries BekkerLL 4 Adriaan FondseTP 3 Brok HarrisHK 2 Tiaan LiebenbergLP 1 Wicus BlaauwSubstitutions:HK 16 Deon FourieLP 17 JC KritzingerRL 18 Anton van ZylLF 19 Pieter LouwSH 20 Ricky JanuarieFH 21 Willem de WaalCT 22 Tim WhiteheadCoach: Allister Coetzee Touch judges: Cobus Wessels (South Africa) Christie du Preez (South Africa) Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Player statistics

Leading try scorers Top try scorersPosNameTriesTeam=1Joe Rokocoko9 Blues=1Drew Mitchell9 Waratahs3Gerhard van den Heever8 Bulls=4Jaque Fourie7 Stormers=4Sean Maitland7 Crusaders=4Rene Ranger7 Blues=4Ben Alexander7 Brumbies=4David Smith7 Hurricanes=4Bryan Habana7 Stormers=10Zac Guildford6 Crusaders=10Alby Mathewson6 Blues=10Ma'a Nonu6 Hurricanes=10Lachlan Turner6 Waratahs=10Michael Killian6 Lions=10Pierre Spies6 Bulls=15Richard Kahui5 Chiefs=15Kahn Fotuali'i5 Crusaders=15Morné Steyn5 Bulls=15Wynand Olivier5 Bulls=1913 Players4

Leading point scorers Top 10 overall point scorersPosNamePointsTeam1Morné Steyn263 Bulls2Quade Cooper169 Reds3Dan Carter153 Crusaders=4Stephen Brett141 Blues=4Peter Grant141 Stormers6Matt Giteau136 Brumbies7Stephen Donald126 Chiefs8Naas Olivier114 Cheetahs9Israel Dagg111 Highlanders10Ruan Pienaar104 Sharks

Attendances Team Main Stadium Capacity Total Attendance Average Attendance % Capacity Blues Eden Park 50,000 106,900 17,816 38% Chiefs Waikato Stadium 25,800 81,400 11,628 46% Hurricanes Westpac Stadium 34,500 89,726 14,954 43% Crusaders Jade Stadium 36,500 151,450 21,635 59% Highlanders Carisbrook 29,000 35,060 5,843 22% Reds Suncorp Stadium 52,500 159,787 22,826 43% Brumbies Canberra Stadium 25,011 106,797 15,256 61% Western Force nib Stadium 20,500 102,121 17,020 83% Waratahs Sydney Football Stadium 44,000 145,227 24,204 47% Sharks ABSA Stadium 52,000 154,002 25,667 49% Bulls Loftus Versfeld 51,762 318,569 35,396 72% Lions Ellis Park 62,567 66,835 11,139 17% Cheetahs Free State Stadium 46,000 100,384 14,340 35% Stormers Newlands Stadium 51,900 346,650 43,331 83%

2010 Super 14 season

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