Crusaders have won nine of their last 10 Super Rugby matches against Highlanders (L1) including each of their last two, however, their last defeat to Highlanders in the competition also came at home (12-33 in April 2021).
The Crusaders will be looking to avoid opening a Super Rugby season with back-to-back losses for the first time since 2014 after succumbing to a 31-10 loss to the Chiefs in the opening round of the 2023 campaign.
The Crusaders have lost their last two regular season games against New Zealand opposition in Super Rugby competitions; the last time they lost more consecutive games in such fixtures was a three-game term from February to April in 2015.
The Highlanders have lost 13 of their last 17 games in Super Rugby competitions (W4) including their last four on the bounce; in fact, their last two games have ended in losses by 29 points or more which is something they had not done since May 2018.
The Highlanders have lost their last 11 straight games against fellow New Zealand teams in Super Rugby, last winning such a fixture in April 2021 against the Blues (35-29).
The Highlanders made 19 dominant tackles throughout their opening round game of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific campaign, the most of any team in the competition and five more than the Crusaders (14).
The Crusaders stole two opposition lineouts in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, one of only two teams to log multiple in this category (also Chiefs – 2); although, the Highlanders lost only one of their 15 throws.
Folau Fakatava (Highlanders) was one of only two players to concede four penalties in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season (also Western Force’s Santiago Medrano).
Richie Mo’unga (Crusaders) made 77 kick return metres in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, the second most of any player in the competition (Shaun Stevenson – 98).
Billy Harmon (Highlanders) made 16 carries and 15 tackles in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, the only player to log 15+ in both categories.
Hurricanes have won each of their last nine Super Rugby matches against Melbourne Rebels since losing their first ever meeting with them in March 2011 (25-42); each of the previous 10 meetings between these two sides have been decided by margins of 10+ points.
The Melbourne Rebels will be looking to log back-to-back wins at AAMI Park in Super Rugby for the first time since Round 5 of the 2021 Super Rugby AU season after logging a 31-30 win over the Highlanders in their last game at the venue (Round 15, 2022).
The Melbourne Rebels defeated the Highlanders by a single point (31-30) in their most recent Super Rugby game against New Zealand opposition (29 May 2022); they’ve not won back-to-back games against teams from New Zealand in Super Rugby since May 2015.
The Hurricanes have won 22 of their last 26 Super Rugby games against teams from Australia during the regular season, with three of their four losses in that span coming against the ACT Brumbies on the day.
The Hurricanes will be looking to open a Super Rugby campaign with back-to-back wins for just the second time since 2017 after beginning their 2023 season with a 47-13 win over the Queensland Reds.
The Hurricanes had an average gain of 8.1 metres per carry in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, the highest of any team in the competition and nearly two metres per carry more than the Melbourne Rebels (6.2m).
The Hurricanes scored two tries on possession begun with an opposition turnover in Round 1 of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, one of only two teams to score multiple tries via this method (Blues – 3).
Carter Gordon (Melbourne Rebels) has been directly involved in six tries in his last seven Super Rugby Pacific games (2 tries, 4 try assists), including one try in the opening round of the 2023 campaign.
Julian Savea (Hurricanes) took his Super Rugby career try tally to 58 with one try in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season; he needs just two more tries to equal Israel Folau for the most tries in the history of Super Rugby competitions.
Hurricanes duo Ardie Savea (40) and Asafo Aumua (22) ran for the most metres from pick and go’s of any players in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season.
This will be just the third ever meeting Moana Pasifika and Chiefs in Super Rugby; Chiefs have won both of their previous meetings by an average margin of 40 points.
Moana Pasifika have scored 30+ points in each of their last two games in Super Rugby after not reaching that mark in any of their 13 games prior; although, they’ve scored an average of just 16 points per game against New Zealand opponents.
Moana Pasifika have lost all three of their previous Super Rugby games in Australia; however, they have scored three tries in each of those games on the day.
The Chiefs have won their last four regular season games on the bounce in Super Rugby, with two of those wins coming by margins of three points or fewer; the last time they won more in succession was a five-game streak from March to April in 2021.
The Chiefs have won 12 of their last 14 Super Rugby games in Australia (L2) including their last five in a row; although, their last two wins in the country have come by margins of just two and three points respectively.
Moana Pasifika won all 15 of their lineouts in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, the only team to do so; however, their 80% scrum success rate was the fifth-lowest of any team in the competition while the Chiefs (33%) had the lowest rate.
The Chiefs had an average attacking ruck speed of 2.6 seconds in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, the quickest of any team in the competition; Moana Pasifika (2.7 seconds) had the third-fastest attacking ruck speed average.
Timoci Tavatavanawai (Moana Pasifika) beat 13 defenders in Round 1 of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, the joint-most of any player in the competition and four more than any Chiefs player.
William Havili (Moana Pasifika) made five offloads in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, the joint-most of any player in the competition alongside the Blues’ Hoskins Sotutu.
Chiefs’ Shaun Stevenson carried the ball 15 times in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, the joint-most of any outside back in the competition (also Hamish Stewart – 15 for Western Force).
This will be just the third ever meeting between NSW Waratahs and Fijian Drua in Super Rugby; NSW Waratahs have won both of their previous two meeting by margins of 24+ points each.
Fijian Drua will be looking to secure back-to-back wins in Super Rugby for the first time since joining the competition at the beginning of the 2022 campaign; they defeated Moana Pasifika 36-34 in their opening round game this season.
Fijian Drua have lost their last five straight games against Australian teams in Super Rugby, failing to reach 20 points scored in three of their last four such games.
The NSW Waratahs have lost their last three games in succession in Super Rugby after having lost only two of their seven games prior (W5).
Fijian Drua were the only team to have more than half of the possession (52%) but less than half of the territory (37%) in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season; the NSW Waratahs finished the round with 59% of territory.
The NSW Waratahs had a tackle success rate of 82% in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, the highest of any team in the competition, while Fijian Drua (65%) had the lowest tackle success rate of any team.
The Fijian Drua won the joint-fewest (4) and conceded the fewest (9) turnovers of any team in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, while the NSW Waratahs (6) won the joint-second fewest of any team.
The Fijian Drua (14) and NSW Waratahs (15) made the joint-fewest and third-fewest kicks in play respectively of any teams in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season.
Selestino Ravutaumada (Fijian Drua) made 130 carry metres in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, the third-most of any player in the competition and 39 metres more than any NSW Waratahs player.
Max Jorgensen (NSW Waratahs) made four line breaks in the first round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific campaign, the joint-most of any player in the competition alongside the Blues’ Mark Telea.
Blues have won six of their last seven Super Rugby games against Brumbies (L1) including each of their last three, however, their last two games have been decided by margins of just two and one points respectively.
The Blues and ACT Brumbies have alternated wins across their last eight Super Rugby meetings in Australia, with the Blues picking up a 21-19 win in their most recent such fixture (Round 14, 2022); the Auckland-based side has not won back-to-back games against the Brumbies in Australia since February 2000.
The Blues have won their last 14 consecutive regular season games in Super Rugby; their last defeat in the competition was a 33-32 loss to the Hurricanes in Round 2, 2022.
The ACT Brumbies have lost three of their last four Super Rugby Pacific games against teams from New Zealand (W1); although, their last two defeats in such fixtures have come by one and two point margins respectively.
The Blues made a round-high 19 offloads in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, while only the Crusaders (3) made fewer than the ACT Brumbies (4).
The Blues scored 19 points in the final quarter of their opening round game in the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, the most of any team in the competition; furthermore, they didn’t concede a single second-half point on the day.
The Brumbies conceded just seven penalties throughout their opening round game of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, fewer than any other team in the competition and six fewer than the Blues (13).
Hoskins Sotutu (Blues) made 81 carry metres in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, the most of any forward in the competition.
Mark Telea (Blues) has scored three tries in his last two Super Rugby Pacific games including a brace of tries in the opening round of the 2023 season; he also crossed for one try in his last game against the ACT Brumbies (Round 17, 2022).
John Ulugia (ACT Brumbies) made three dominant tackles throughout Round 1 of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, the joint-most of any player in the competition; no Blues player made more than one.
Queensland Reds have won four of their last five Super Rugby games against Western Force (L1), including their most recent trip to Western Force’s home ground (29-16 in March 2022), after losing three in a row to them previously.
The Western Force have won their last three consecutive games in Super Rugby Pacific; the last and only previous time they won more consecutive games in Super Rugby competitions was a five-game streak from March to April in 2014.
The Western Force have lost 13 of their last 16 games against Australian teams in Super Rugby competitions when playing outside Western Australia on the day (W3); although, their last two wins in such fixtures came at AAMI Park on the day.
The Queensland Reds have lost seven of their last eight games in Super Rugby Pacific (W1) after having lost only six of their 22 games in Super Rugby competitions prior (W16).
The Queensland Reds have won only three of their last eight Super Rugby games played at AAMI Park (L5), reaching 30 points scored in a game only twice in that period.
The Western Force missed just 13 tackles in their Round 1 game in the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, the fewest of any team for the round and 19 fewer than the Queensland Reds (32).
The Queensland Reds kicked for 648 metres during their Round 1 fixture in the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, the most of any Australian team in the competition and the third-most overall.
The Western Force crossed the gainline on 70% of their carries in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, the highest rate of any team in the competition and 13 percentage points higher than the Queensland Reds (57%).
Issak Fines-Lelelwasa (Western Force) made 13 tackles throughout the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season, the joint-most of any player to have a 100% tackle success rate.
Hunter Paisami (Queensland Reds) has crossed for three tries across his last three games against the Western Force in Super Rugby competitions, as well as beating eight defenders in that stretch.