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Super rugby is a competition riddled with myth. From the earliest days certain unsubstantiated perceptions have been allowed to sit as fact.
Coaches make all sorts of pre-emptive statements about the difficulties of winning on certain grounds. There are some places where it is supposedly almost impossible to win, but does the statistical truth back up these beliefs?
To an extent there is a basis of truth as to what teams are hardest to defeat on their home ground. Certainly, as many would assume, AMI Stadium in Christchurch has statistically been the toughest ground for visiting teams.
Including this year so far - the 14th in Super Rugby history - the Crusaders have lost only 14 games at home and drawn three times. Since 2002, they have lost only five times in Christchurch and went through 2005 and 2006 undefeated while they lost only once, to the Chiefs, in their final game of the 2007 campaign.
Other than 1996, when they finished last, the Crusaders have never lost more than two games at home in any season. In 1998 they lost to the Blues; in 1999 they drew with the Hurricanes and lost to the Reds; in 2000 they lost to the Brumbies; in 2001 they lost to the Cats and Hurricanes; they were undefeated in 2002 and 2003 and lost to the Waratahs and Blues in 2004 and the Highlanders in 2008.
The Stormers, Cheetahs, Lions and Sharks have never won in Christchurch - although Western Province did draw there in 1996 as did Natal in 1997. The Bulls, as Northern Transvaal, and the Cats, are the only South African sides to have won there. Given this record and the number of titles the Crusaders have won, there is support for another theory - that you have to win your home games to be a contender.
The second hardest venue for opposing teams to gain victory does not necessarily immediately spring to mind. Much is made of the power of the Bulls at Loftus and the danger of the Sharks at King's Park, while Eden Park is never viewed as a ground to yield much.
Canberra Stadium causes the most problems. The Brumbies have lost only 17 games there and drawn once. Much like the Crusaders, they tend not to lose more than twice at home in a season. They went through 1996 and 1997 undefeated as they did in 2001 and 2004. Since 1999 they have lost 10 games and drawn once. The Blues and Crusaders, with three victories in Canberra have been the most successful, while the
Chiefs have won twice and drawn once.
Eden Park is the third ground which teams visit without much hope. The Blues didn't lose a home game there until the final in 1998. In total they have lost 19 games at Eden Park and drawn three. Neither the Waratahs nor Reds have won in Auckland, the Highlanders have only managed it once and the Hurricanes had to wait until 2005 to secure their first away victory against the Blues.
One misnomer is Carisbrook as the House of Pain, but, up until 2004, Dunedin was the equal toughest venue in Super Rugby. Between 1996 and 2003, the Highlanders lost 10 games - the same number as the Crusaders and Brumbies had lost on their home grounds. They were unbeaten at Carisbrook in 1998, 2000 and 2001 and lost only once in 1999 and 2002.
But in recent years that record has slipped badly. They lost four times in Dunedin last year (once also in Queenstown), four times in 2007, three times in 2006 and three times in 2005.
In total they have lost 26 games at Carisbrook. That compares with the Waratahs who have lost 22 in Sydney and the Sharks who have lost 27 in Durban.
One of the easiest grounds of all to achieve away victories is Loftus Versfeld. The Bulls - including their previous guise as Northern Transvaal, have lost 32 games in Pretoria and drawn three.
