Rugby: Much to decide as the playoffs loom

Blues youngster Akira Ioane might be a Super Rugby rookie but he has beaten the most defenders of any New Zealand loose forward with 31. Photo / Getty Images

There are three weeks to go in Super Rugby's regular season and few things about the playoff picture are clear given 10 teams are still in the hunt to claim six spots.

Here's what the respective conference leaders have done to put themselves in a good position as the playoffs loom.

The Hurricanes are the competition front-runners with 12 wins from 13 matches and they hold a 13-point lead over the Chiefs in the New Zealand conference. Chris Boyd's side looks likely to secure home advantage throughout the post-season providing they can win one of their final three games.

They have built their campaign around improved forward play and tight defence but as the season has worn on, they've shown an impressive ability to score tries.

The Hurricanes average a league-leading 3.5 tries per match, while they also top the competition in metres per game with 532.5 and defenders beaten (23).

Assistant coach John Plumtree has played a major role in the evolution of their forward pack and the Hurricanes have the best scrum success in the competition at 96 per cent, while their 95 per cent success at rucks trails only the Force (96 per cent).

The Hurricanes also make 88 per cent of their tackles, the best figure in Super Rugby, alongside the Lions and the Chiefs.

The Waratahs lead the Australian conference by three points over the Brumbies and they could still fall out of the playoff race but the defending champions have shown the ability to get up for the big games this year - they're the only team to have beaten the Hurricanes.

Keeping the ball in hand has been the key to success for the Waratahs this season. They have plenty of powerful ball-runners and they don't like to kick possession away.

The Waratahs average only 15.9 kicks from the hand per game, the lowest figure in the competition, while they make the second-most carries per outing with 122.8, only slightly behind the Melbourne Rebels (122.9).

The Waratahs also rank highly in metres per game (fourth), passes (second) and offloads (second).

Coach Michael Cheika has instilled a belief in his team that running the ball will lead them to success and it is pushing them back towards the playoffs.

The Stormers lead the South African conference with 38 points but the Lions (36) and the Bulls (35) are within striking distance.

Accurate goal-kicking has helped the Stormers this season and they lead the competition with an 81 per cent success rate, while they also average the most scrum steals with 0.8 per game.

Surprisingly, the Stormers have the lowest tries-per-game average, alongside the Western Force, with 1.8, but they have shown impressive discipline and give away only nine penalties per game, the fewest in Super Rugby.

By the numbers

31
Blues youngster Akira Ioane might be a Super Rugby rookie but he has beaten the most defenders of any New Zealand loose forward with 31; it's more remarkable considering he has racked up that figure in only nine games.

103
Chiefs No7 Sam Cane has made the most carries of any New Zealand loosie, 103 in 12 appearances. He has also scored four tries.

122.9
The Melbourne Rebels have steadily improved this season with six wins and seven losses to show for their efforts; they also average the most carries per game in Super Rugby with 122.9 as they try to implement a ball-running style of play.

77
One big issue the Rebels have had to try and overcome this year is their faltering lineout, which operates at only a 77 per cent efficiency rate, the lowest in the competition.

91
The Brumbies, who are chasing a playoff spot, don't have any lineout issues though and they lead Super Rugby in lineout efficiency with a 91 per cent accuracy rate.