The second Friday fixture sees our eyes turn to the Victorian capital in Australia, where the Crusaders will be visiting the Rebels. The Melbourne outfit have fallen away from their strong start at the beginning of the season to have won just one of their last six games. Furthermore, they've lost their last 11 games in succession against New Zealand opposition, last winning such a game in Round 13, 2015.
The Crusaders will be looking to blow them away early, an ability that few teams have been able to match them at this season. The Christchurch club have scored 13 tries in the opening 20 minutes of games this campaign, more than any other side in the competition and their best output in any quarter. The Rebels have scored just six in this period, their least prolific period; however, the Melbourne outfit have scored more tries than the Crusaders in each of the second and third quarters of the match this season.
Saturday sees the Hurricanes host the Lions before the Blues take to the turf in New South Wales to face the Waratahs. At opposite ends of the conference ladder, the Hurricanes and Blues will be looking for crucial points against staunch opposition in the hunt for a finals berth.
The Lions have traditionally struggled in New Zealand, as have many visiting teams, picking up just three wins from their previous 26 games in the country. They haven't been close defeats either, with just two of their 23 losses in that time seeing them finish within seven.
The Blues will need to be wary of a Waratahs outfit looking to right the ship after being kept scoreless by the Lions in their last start. The Waratahs might have just one win against New Zealand opposition to their name since the beginning of the 2016 campaign (L9), but they'll be out with a point to prove as they look to keep a hold of top position in the Australian conference.
The Highlanders are the final of the five New Zealand teams to run out in Round 12, continuing their tour of South Africa with a game against the Sharks on Sunday morning (NZ time). The Dunedin side started their current tour of South Africa with a tight, one-point win against the Bulls in the last round, and have now won each of their last five regular season games in the country.
Try-scoring machine Waisake Naholo might have been rested against the Bulls in Round 11, but he's still managed to cross for three tries in his last three games in South Africa. This will be his fifth Super Rugby game in the nation overall, having made more than 10 carries in each previous game and beating an average of five defenders per match in that time.