2005 Super 12 season

2005 Super 12
Countries	Australia; South Africa; New Zealand
Tournament format(s)	Round-robin and knockout
Champions	Crusaders (5th title)
Matches played	69
Attendance	1,806,017 (26,174 per match)
Top point scorer(s)	Peter Hewat (174); (NSW Waratahs)
Top try scorer(s)	Rico Gear (15); (Crusaders)
← 2004 (Previous)	(Next) 2006 →

The 2005 Super 12 season was the tenth season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 2005, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams entered the playoff 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 Crusaders and New South Wales Waratahs at Jade Stadium, Christchurch. The Crusaders won 35 – 25 to win their fifth Super 12 title.

This was the final season of Super 12 before the expansion to Super 14 with the Western Force and Cheetahs.

Table

Key to colours
	Top four teams advance to playoffs.

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	BP	Pts
1	Crusaders	11	9	0	2	459	281	178	8	45
2	Waratahs	11	9	0	2	322	174	148	5	41
3	Bulls	11	7	0	4	301	229	72	6	34
4	Hurricanes	11	8	0	3	281	248	33	2	34
5	Brumbies	11	5	1	5	260	266	-6	7	29
6	Chiefs	11	5	1	5	272	250	22	6	28
7	Blues	11	6	0	5	243	216	27	3	27
8	Highlanders	11	6	1	4	221	214	7	1	27
9	Stormers	11	3	1	7	215	320	-105	4	18
10	Reds	11	3	0	8	185	282	-97	5	17
11	Cats	11	1	1	9	226	326	-100	7	13
12	Sharks	11	1	1	9	205	384	-179	5	11

Results

Round 1

	25 February 2005	Stormers	26 – 12	Sharks	Newlands, Cape Town
					Attendance: 48,719

	25 February 2005	Highlanders	14 – 30	Blues	Carisbrook, Dunedin
					Attendance: 20,106

	25 February 2005	Waratahs	25 – 7	Chiefs	ANZ Stadium, Sydney
					Attendance: 30,815

	26 February 2005	Cats	23 – 17	Bulls	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
					Attendance: 49,040

	26 February 2005	Brumbies	32 – 21	Crusaders	Canberra Stadium, Canberra
					Attendance: 24,115

	26 February 2005	Reds	10 – 24	Hurricanes	Ballymore, Brisbane
					Attendance: 20,097

Round 2

	4 March 2005	Blues	18 – 15	Reds	Eden Park, Auckland
					Attendance: 25,542

	4 March 2005	Brumbies	21 – 19	Bulls	Canberra Stadium, Canberra
					Attendance: 20,927

	5 March 2005	Highlanders	16 – 16	Stormers	Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill
					Attendance: 8,141

	5 March 2005	Cats	32 – 45	Hurricanes	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
					Attendance: 27,882

	5 March 2005	Sharks	13 – 36	Waratahs	ABSA Stadium, Durban
					Attendance: 29,322

	5 March 2005	Crusaders	50 – 18	Chiefs	AMI Stadium, Christchurch
					Attendance: 25,128

Round 3

	11 March 2005	Sharks	23 – 29	Hurricanes	Kings Park, Durban
	19:35				Attendance: 20,442

	11 March 2005	Highlanders	23 – 0	Bulls	Carisbrook, Dunedin
					Attendance: 9,030

	11 March 2005	Brumbies	22 – 19	Stormers	Canberra Stadium, Canberra
					Attendance: 22,316

	12 March 2005	Crusaders	59 – 24	Reds	Trafalgar Park, Nelson
					Attendance: 15,514

	12 March 2005	Cats	19 – 40	Waratahs	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
					Attendance: 36,365

	12 March 2005	Chiefs	18 – 9	Blues	Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
					Attendance: 23,095

Round 4

	18 March 2005	Chiefs	6 – 20	Reds	Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
					Attendance: 13,641

	19 March 2005	Cats	29 – 34	Brumbies	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
					Attendance: 14,283

	19 March 2005	Hurricanes	12 – 21	Bulls	Wellington Stadium, Wellington
					Attendance: 23,300

	19 March 2005	Sharks	7 – 43	Highlanders	Kings Park Stadium, Durban
					Attendance: 26,351

	19 March 2005	Blues	19 – 41	Crusaders	Eden Park, Auckland
					Attendance: 39,000

	19 March 2005	Waratahs	25 – 10	Stormers	ANZ Stadium, Sydney
					Attendance: 31,184

Round 5

	25 March 2005	Cats	12 – 16	Highlanders	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
					Attendance: 20,000

	25 March 2005	Hurricanes	12 – 9	Stormers	Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North
					Attendance: 14,000

	26 March 2005	Sharks	36 – 24	Brumbies	Kings Park, Durban
					Attendance: 23,557

	26 March 2005	Waratahs	42 – 12	Bulls	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
					Attendance: 25,133

Round 6

	1 April 2005	Hurricanes	28 – 16	Chiefs	Wellington Stadium, Wellington
					Attendance: 23,325

	1 April 2005	Reds	16 – 23	Highlanders	Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane
					Attendance: 19,567

	2 April 2005	Blues	17 – 0	Brumbies	Eden Park, Auckland
					Attendance: 31,503

	2 April 2005	Waratahs	27 – 33	Crusaders	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
					Attendance: 39,363

Round 7

	8 April 2005	Highlanders	19 – 18	Brumbies	Carisbrook, Dunedin
					Attendance: 15,000

	9 April 2005	Stormers	15 – 13	Reds	Newlands, Cape Town
					Attendance: 39,531

	9 April 2005	Bulls	35 – 20	Crusaders	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
					Attendance: 27,267

	9 April 2005	Chiefs	40 – 5	Sharks	Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
					Attendance: 11,000

	9 April 2005	Blues	23 – 6	Cats	North Harbour Stadium, Albany
					Attendance: 12,677

	10 April 2005	Hurricanes	26 – 24	Waratahs	Wellington Stadium, Wellington
					Attendance: 25,400

Round 8

	15 April 2005	Bulls	32 – 7	Reds	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
					Attendance: 33,243

	15 April 2005	Chiefs	45 – 14	Cats	Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
					Attendance: 12,223

	16 April 2005	Stormers	23 – 51	Crusaders	Newlands, Cape Town
					Attendance: 40,153

	16 April 2005	Blues	36 – 13	Sharks	Eden Park, Auckland
					Attendance: 26,794

	16 April 2005	Brumbies	6 – 10	Waratahs	Canberra Stadium, Canberra
					Attendance: 27,040

Round 9

	22 April 2005	Hurricanes	16 – 26	Highlanders	Wellington Stadium, Wellington
					Attendance: 30,270

	23 April 2005	Bulls	29 – 26	Chiefs	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
					Attendance: 26,382

	23 April 2005	Stormers	24 – 37	Blues	Newlands, Cape Town
					Attendance: 27,000

	23 April 2005	Crusaders	40 – 36	Cats	AMI Stadium, Christchurch
					Attendance: 34,000

	23 April 2005	Reds	30 – 25	Sharks	Ballymore, Brisbane
					Attendance: 12,274

Round 10

	29 April 2005	Bulls	38 – 24	Blues	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
					Attendance: 34,357

	29 April 2005	Crusaders	77 – 34	Sharks	AMI Stadium, Christchurch
					Attendance: 24,500

	29 April 2005	Reds	21 – 15	Cats	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
					Attendance: 10,482

	30 April 2005	Stormers	34 – 37	Chiefs	Newlands, Cape Town
					Attendance: 25,000

	30 April 2005	Highlanders	20 – 41	Waratahs	Carisbrook, Dunedin
					Attendance: 16,033

	30 April 2005	Hurricanes	49 – 37	Brumbies	Wellington Stadium, Wellington
					Attendance: 30,560

Round 11

	6 May 2005	Blues	10 – 22	Hurricanes	Eden Park, Auckland
					Attendance: 45,017

	6 May 2005	Waratahs	27 – 8	Reds	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
					Attendance: 38,220

	7 May 2005	Sharks	17 – 23	Bulls	Kings Park Stadium, Durban
					Attendance: 31,342

	7 May 2005	Stormers	25 – 20	Cats	Newlands, Cape Town
					Attendance: 27,503

	7 May 2005	Highlanders	13 – 27	Crusaders	Carisbrook, Dunedin
					Attendance: 22,000

	7 May 2005	Brumbies	28 – 28	Chiefs	Canberra Stadium, Canberra
					Attendance: 20,077

Round 12

	13 May 2005	Crusaders	40 – 20	Hurricanes	Lancaster Park, Christchurch
					Attendance: 35,700

	13 May 2005	Waratahs	25 – 20	Blues	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
					Attendance: 36,031

	14 May 2005	Bulls	75 – 14	Stormers	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
					Attendance: 50,000

	14 May 2005	Cats	20 – 20	Sharks	Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein
					Attendance: 8,675

	14 May 2005	Chiefs	31 – 8	Highlanders	Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
					Attendance: 20,317

	14 May 2005	Reds	21 – 38	Brumbies	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
					Attendance: 28,233

Finals

Semi finals

	20 May 2005	Crusaders	47–7	Hurricanes	Jade Stadium, Christchurch
		Tries: Scott Hamilton (3), Rico Gear, Daniel Carter, Greg Somerville Cons: Daniel Carter (4) Pens: Daniel Carter (3)		Tries: Jimmy Gopperth Cons: Jimmy Gopperth	Attendance: 29,000 Referee: Andrew Cole

	21 May 2005	Waratahs	23–13	Bulls	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
		Tries: Morgan Turinui, Nathan Grey Cons: Peter Hewat (2) Pens: Peter Hewat (3)		Tries: Johan Roets Con: Morné Steyn Pens: Morné Steyn (2)	Attendance: 35,433 Referee: Steve Walsh

Grand final

	28 May 2005	Crusaders	35–25	Waratahs	Jade Stadium, Christchurch
		Tries: Scott Hamilton, Dave Hewett, Leon MacDonald, Caleb Ralph Cons: Daniel Carter (3) Pens: Daniel Carter (2) Drop: Aaron Mauger		Tries: Mat Rogers (2), Phil Waugh Cons: Peter Hewat, Mat Rogers Pens: Peter Hewat (2)	Attendance: 36,500


Crusaders
FB	15	Leon MacDonald
RW	14	Rico Gear
OC	13	Caleb Ralph
IC	12	Aaron Mauger
LW	11	Scott Hamilton
FH	10	Dan Carter
SH	9	Justin Marshall
N8	8	Mose Tuiali'i
OF	7	Richie McCaw (c)
BF	6	Reuben Thorne
RL	5	Ross Filipo
LL	4	Chris Jack
TP	3	Greg Somerville
HK	2	Corey Flynn
LP	1	David Hewett
Substitutes:
HK	16	Tone Kopelani
PR	17	Campbell Johnstone
FL	18	Sam Broomhall
FL	19	Johnny Leo'o
FH	20	Jamie Nutbrown
CE	21	Andrew Mehrtens
CE	22	Casey Laulala
Coach:
Robbie Deans


Waratahs
FB	15	Mat Rogers
RW	14	Peter Hewat
OC	13	Morgan Turinui
IC	12	Nathan Grey
LW	11	Lote Tuqiri
FH	10	Lachlan MacKay
SH	9	Chris Whitaker(c)
N8	8	David Lyons
OF	7	Phil Waugh
BF	6	Rocky Elsom
RL	5	Daniel Vickerman
LL	4	Justin Harrison
TP	3	Al Baxter
HK	2	Brendan Cannon
LP	1	Matt Dunning
Substitutions:
HK	16	Adam Freier
PR	17	Gareth Hardy
LK	18	Alex Kanaar
N8	19	Stephen Hoiles
SH	20	Chris O'Young
FH	21	Shaun Berne
CE	22	Cameron Shepherd
Coach:
Ewen McKenzie

Player statistics

Leading try-scorers

Top 3 try scorers
Pos	Name	Tries	Team
1	Rico Gear	15	Crusaders
2	Peter Hewat	10	Waratahs
3	Bryan Habana	9	Bulls

Leading point-scorers

Top 3 Point Scorers
Pos	Name	Points	Team
1	Peter Hewat	174	NSW Waratahs
2	Daniel Carter	171	Crusaders
3	Jimmy Gopperth	139	Hurricanes

Attendances

Team	Main Stadium	Capacity	Total Attendance	Average Attendance	% Capacity
Blues	Eden Park	50,000	180,533	30,088	65%
Chiefs	Waikato Stadium	25,800	80,276	16,055	62%
Hurricanes	Westpac Stadium	34,500	146,855	24,475	78%
Crusaders	Jade Stadium	36,500	200,342	28,620	84%
Highlanders	Carisbrook	29,000	90,310	15,051	55%
Reds	Ballymore Stadium	18,000	90,653	18,130	72%
Brumbies	Canberra Stadium	25,011	114,475	22,895	91%
Waratahs	Sydney Football Stadium	44,000	236,179	33,739	76%
Sharks	ABSA Stadium	52,000	130,994	26,198	50%
Bulls	Loftus Versfeld	51,762	171,249	34,249	66%
Cats	Ellis Park	62,567	156,245	26,040	43%
Stormers	Newlands Stadium	51,900	207,906	34,651	66%