New Zealand's complaints about a "lop-sided" Super Rugby competition format has gained some unlikely support from Stormers coach Robbie Fleck.
The Stormers have been seeded third for the quarter-finals having won one of the African conferences and will host two-time champions the Chiefs on Sunday morning.
The Stormers are through to the quarter finals wihout having played a New Zealand Super rugby side at any stage. Photo: Photosport
The match at Newlands, will be the first time the Stormers have played a New Zealand side this season.
Fleck said he would have preferred to have played New Zealand teams throughout the regular season, given how well their rivals were playing.
Super Rugby's conference system has been criticized for rewarding the ACT Brumbies and Stormers with home quarter-finals at the expense of the Highlanders, Chiefs and Crusaders, who all have superior winning records.
Despite the dissatisfaction with the structure, Fleck said it was too early to change it for next season though there may be an opportunity to revisit it for 2018.
The Stormers have entered the playoffs with four successive wins but they have been against the Cheetahs, Melbourne Rebels, Western Force and Kings, teams in the lower half of the table.
The Chiefs, in contrast, have played the Crusaders and Highlanders in two of their three games since Super Rugby resumed following the international break and are well primed to step up the intensity against the South Africans.
-Reuters
