If the Super Rugby regular season ended today...

By moving to the top of the New Zealand Conference, the Crusaders sit in pole position in the Super Rugby standings. Photo / Getty

It's back to the crystal ball to work out how the Super Rugby playoffs would play out if the season ended today:

Playoffs schedule

Crusaders (Seed 1) vs Bulls (Seed 8)
Stormers (Seed 2) vs Hurricanes (Seed 7)
Lions (Seed 3) vs Highlanders (Seed 6)
Brumbies (Seed 4) vs Chiefs (Seed 5)

- With their defeat to the Highlanders the Chiefs slip from first to fifth seed and the Crusaders now hold home advantage through to the final.
- The Chiefs would now face the Brumbies away in the first round of the playoffs.
- The Highlanders move from 8th to 6th seed, which now means a potential trip to South Africa.
- The Brumbies knocked the Rebels out of playoff contention after the Melbourne side didn't play in the weekend, moving to third in the Australian Conference.
- The Stormers and Lions also had byes during week 11 but remain top of their respective South African conferences.

Coming up

- Highlanders v Crusaders on Friday night is a huge game. The Highlanders could knock of the New Zealand Conference leaders for a second straight week, in doing so putting themselves in pole position.
- Also on Friday night is the Brumbies v the Rebels where the Rebels can move back into top spot with a win.
- But the next night, the Waratahs could move into top spot if they have a win over the Bulls in Sydney.
- The Hurricanes need a win over the Reds to stay in touch with the Crusaders, Chiefs and Highlanders.
- As do the Blues who face the Lions in Jo'burg.