RUGBY: Crucial final round matchups in US Super League

This weekend’s final round of the regular season is taking on major importance as it will determine seedings for the US Super League playoffs.

With most teams having completed their regular season schedule, all eyes will be focused intently on three of the four remaining games because the results will influence whether clubs play at home or away and who they’ll play in the quarter-finals the following weekend. The top two teams from both the Eastern and Western Conferences will have home field advantage, while the third and fourth placed sides from each will have to travel.

In the East, much rides on the matchup between the Chicago Lions and Kansas City Blues in Chicago because the result has a direct bearing on three teams. Only 4 points separate second-placed Boston and fourth-placed KC with the Lions in between, so any one of them could finish in the all important second spot.

If Chicago was to win they’d jump ahead of Boston and clinch home field, but if the Blues were to win and get a bonus point they’d leapfrog both Chicago and Boston to finish second in the Conference behind Life College. However, if KC were to win, but not earn a bonus point, Boston would hold onto second spot based on their victory over Kansas City earlier in the season giving them the head-to-head advantage.

Both Chicago and Kansas City go into this crucial game with 4-2 records and both are coming off solid away wins last week, so the game should be a corker and could go either way.

In the West, OMBAC (San Diego) will be looking to clinch the number 1 seeding with a win against Denver on Sunday. The southern Californians are currently in second place on the ladder 2 points adrift of Aspen, but are favored to grab maximum points from the game and win the Conference.

Because of postponements and byes, OMBAC has had two weeks off and will be well rested for the contest against the Barbarians. On the other hand, Denver (1-4) will be hard pressed to field a fully fit side on Sunday after hosting Belmont Shore (Los Angeles) on Saturday. Assistant coach Howard Kent said his club can’t be expected to be competitive in this kind of situation.

The final game of the final round is a bay area shoot-out between San Francisco Golden Gate and Old Blue-Griffins (Oakland). They will finish third and fourth in the West regardless, but this game has huge significance because it will determine which of them will play Life and who will play the second seed in the East.

SFGG currently lies third on the ladder 4 points clear of OBG, but a victory by OBG, even without a bonus point, would lift them into third place because they would win the head-to-head contest. OBG have hit their straps at the right time of year coming off two big wins in the last couple of weeks, while SFGG are also on a roll having won their previous three matches.