Super Rugby 2015: Storylines to Follow in Semi-Finals

Super Rugby fans will find out on Saturday which two teams will contend for the competition's 2015 title, with the Hurricanes, Brumbies, Highlanders and reigning champions the Waratahs still in the running.

Michael Cheika's men play host to the high-flying Highlanders in Sydney while regular-season champions the Hurricanes, hoping to make their first final since 2006, welcome the Brumbies to Wellington.

Who will live up to their billing? Which side is capable of overturning the odds to stage an underdogs' rebellion? Will the hoodoos and bad omens of the 2015 campaign live on in the postseason?

Read on as we discuss all that and more ahead of this year's Super Rugby semi-finals.

Stephen Larkham takes his Brumbies team to Westpac Stadium on Saturday to provide the Hurricanes with their first post-season test after they topped the overall standings with the best attack in Super Rugby.

The Brumbies' major saving grace is that while their opponents' 58 tries may have been the most scored by any team in the regular season, they themselves conceded the fewest of any franchise, leaking just 21 in total.

If it is to be a finely poised fixture bereft of clear scoring chances, Brumbies fly-half Christian Lealiifano may require a more accurate boot than the one that missed several opportunities during the recent qualifying win over the Stormers.

Having finished sixth in the standings, the Brumbies are the lowest-placed outfit still in the play-offs and will need to complete a major upset of the odds in order to claim their place in the final.

Saturday's clash is set to be a symbolic collision of playing styles, but it will also provide us with an answer as to which method really is the best form of attack.

As has been the case every season in the now-five-year-old conference format, the Waratahs played four of the five New Zealand franchises in this year's campaign: the Hurricanes, Blues, Crusaders and Highlanders.

En route to clinching the Australian conference crown and a second-place finish overall, Cheika's side proved their Super Rugby credentials by beating all but one of their cross-Tasman rivals: the Highlanders.

The team that just so happens to be lining up against the Tahs in the semi-final also handed them one of their five defeats this season, emerging as 26-19 victors in Dunedin in Round 5.

All Jamie Joseph's best weapons were out in force that day as Waisake Naholo, Ben Smith and Patrick Osborne crossed for tries against their Sydney guests, who couldn't hold onto an early lead.

Beating the cream of New Zealand isn't beyond the Waratahs, but making their way to the final will require them to get the better of a foe that's already bested them this year, adding extra spice to the encounter.

A week's break can go one of two ways for any side, but it's very much dependent on the individuals therein, team mentality and the coaching staff as to whether it's a positive or negative respite.

Having been such dominant champions of Super Rugby, there is now an expectation on the Hurricanes to go on and deliver a Super Rugby trophy to Wellington—the first in the franchise's history.

Claiming a home semi-final is an important thing in Super Rugby; over the past 15 years, only four away teams have managed to make it to the Super Rugby final, equal to just 13 per cent.

With that knowledge, the Canes should feel confident, yet the Brumbies bring with them a threat as being a renowned giant of Australia.

Chris Boyd's team is undoubtedly terrifically talented and potentially on the verge of something quite unique, but he and his players will know nothing is won just yet.

The New Zealand Herald confirmed on Wednesday that Brumbies winger Henry Speight had seen his season come to a close after receiving a five-week suspension for his tip tackle on the Stormers' Juan de Jongh in the quarter-finals.

The Canberra outfit are assuredly a more dangerous beast with the services of the Wallabies wing, and with the Hurricanes blocking their route to the Super Rugby final, they need all they help they can get.

Speight will also be absent for the next two Australia internationals as a result of his suspension, but Larkham's only concern now will rest with how to replace his speedster's threat in attack.

Joe Tomane showed what an asset he can be with a hat-trick of tries against the Stormers, but losing Speight at such a crucial juncture is sure to hurt the Brumbies' chances of making the final.

If we were to rank the 2015 Super Rugby standings on points accumulated, it would be the Highlanders, not the Waratahs, boasting home advantage in Saturday's semi-finals alongside the Hurricanes.

Irrespective of the grievances some might have with the conference system, though, there's no fighting the fact New Zealand's franchises are enjoying an ascension this year—a well timed one, as far as All Blacks coach Steve Hansen is concerned.

Not since 2010 have we seen two teams from the same nation make up the Super Rugby final—the Bulls defeated the Stormers that year—and it's been nine years since two New Zealand franchises competed for the top prize.

The Waratahs and Brumbies most certainly shouldn't be treated lightly by the Highlanders and Hurricanes respectively, but both outfits charge into the semis knowing a proud moment for their nation could also lie around the corner.

All statistics come courtesy of Statbunker.