Two South African teams are safely ensconced at the top of the Vodacom Super 14 leg as the competition reaches the halfway mark this weekend – and the good news is that is how it will stay for at least the next fortnight.

The Stormers take their bye this coming weekend, but so do the third placed Crusaders, who have the same number of log points as the Cape team but lag significantly in the points differential. The Waratahs are currently fourth, and can draw level with the Stormers and Crusaders this weekend on log points. They though have a vastly inferior points differential to those teams.

By beating the Brumbies on Friday, the Blues did the front-runners a massive favour. The Brumbies were looking strong challengers, but this was their second defeat and they have some ground to make up. The Australian franchise face the Chiefs next weekend in a game that is going to seriously hurt the title aspirations of the team that loses.
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