1997 Super 12 season

The 1997 Super 12 season was the second season of the Super 12, contested by rugby union teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from 28 February to 31 May 1997, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams entered the play-off semi-finals, with the first-placed team playing the fourth and the second-placed team playing the third. The winner of each semi-final qualified for the final, which was contested by the Auckland Blues and the ACT Brumbies at Eden Park, Auckland. The Blues won 23–7 to win their second Super 12 title.

While the three Australian and five New Zealand teams remained the same as the 1996 season, the South African teams made changes. Transvaal, after the changes of the political landscape of South Africa, became known as the Gauteng Lions, while Western Province, after not making the top four of the 1996 Currie Cup, were replaced by Free State of Bloemfontein.

Table

Top four teams advance to playoffs

Pos.	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	BP	Pts
1	Template:Flagicon Auckland Blues	11	10	1	0	435	283	152	8	50
2	Template:Flagicon ACT Brumbies	11	8	0	3	406	291	115	9	41
3	Template:Flagicon Wellington Hurricanes	11	6	0	5	416	314	102	10	34
4	Template:Flagicon Sharks	11	5	2	4	321	350	−29	6	30
5	Template:Flagicon Gauteng Lions	11	5	1	5	302	346	−44	6	28
6	Template:Flagicon Canterbury Crusaders	11	5	1	5	272	235	37	4	26
7	Template:Flagicon Free State	11	5	0	6	301	327	−26	5	25
8	Template:Flagicon Northern Transvaal	11	3	3	5	264	342	−78	4	22
9	Template:Flagicon NSW Waratahs	11	4	0	7	255	296	−41	4	20
10	Template:Flagicon Queensland Reds	11	4	0	7	263	318	−55	4	20
11	Template:Flagicon Waikato Chiefs	11	4	0	7	272	295	−23	3	19
12	Template:Flagicon Otago Highlanders	11	3	0	8	299	409	−110	5	17

Points breakdown:

• 4 points for a win
• 2 points for a draw
• 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less
• 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match

The playoffs follow a 1 v 4, 2 v 3 system with the highest placed team at home

Finals

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Grand final

15 Adrian Cashmore 14 Brian Lima 13 Eroni Clarke 12 Lee Stensness 11 Joeli Vidiri 10 Carlos Spencer 9 Ofisa Tonu'u 8 Zinzan Brooke (c) 7 Michael Jones 6 Mark Carter 5 Robin Brooke 4 Leo Lafaiali'i 3 Craig Dowd 2 Sean Fitzpatrick 1 Olo Brown Replacements: 16 Jeremy Stanley 17 Michael Scott 18 Dylan Mika 19 Charles Riechelmann 20 Paul Thomson 21 Andrew Roose Coach: Template:Flagicon Graham Henry

15 Stephen Larkham 14 Mitch Hardy 13 James Holbeck 12 Pat Howard 11 Joe Roff 10 David Knox 9 George Gregan 8 Troy Coker 7 Brett Robinson (c) 6 Owen Finegan 5 John Langford 4 David Giffin 3 Patricio Noriega 2 Marco Caputo 1 Ewen McKenzie Replacements: 16 Rod Kafer 17 Geoff Logan 18 Justin Harrison 19 Ipolito Fenukitau 20 Dean Zammit 21 Timote Tavalea Coach: Template:Flagicon Rod McQueen

Further reading

• McIlraith, M. (2005).Ten Years of Super 12, Auckland: Hodder Moa. Template:ISBN