The Chiefs and the Stormers have already won their conferences, but the Capetonians haven’t yet confirmed second spot and a home play-off semifinal.

Depending where the loyalties lie, the big  action will take place at Loftus or Kings Park where the Bulls and the Sharks  need bonus point wins against the determined Lions and the fired-up Cheetahs to secure  fifth and sixth positions.

But there’s also a lot riding on the points difference, as the fifth placed team will probably have to travel to Christchurch to take on the Crusaders, while the sixth place finisher will have the “easier” route, probably having  to travel to Canberra to confront the Brumbies.

But the Bulls, who have a superior 17-point aggregate than the Sharks, will dig their own grave if they are out to manipulate the points outcome as the Reds and Hurricanes are only one point adrift in seventh and eight positions and could easily overtake the South Africans.

n The Chiefs, with 63 log points, need a full house of five points from their match against the Hurricanes in Wellington this morning to top the combined log.

n The Stormers, on 62, need a solitary log point against the Rebels at Newlands tomorrow to secure second position on the Combined Log, but they can move into first spot if they get one point more than   the Chiefs get today, since the Capetonians have won more games.

n One point will also ensure the Brumbies, on 58, win the Australian Conference and secure a spot in the play-offs.

But if they get a full house against the Blues, and the Stormers fail to get a single point against the Rebels, the team from Canberra can still slip into the top two.

 If the Brumbies lose and get no points  tomorrow morning and the Reds get five against the Waratahs in Brisbane, the defending champions can still win the Aussie Conference.

n The Crusaders, with 56 points, can’t finish higher than fourth and need at least three points against the Force in Christchurch to secure their spot in the play-offs.

n The Bulls, on 54, will feature in the finals series if they can get five points against the  Lions in Pretoria.

n The Sharks, also on 54, also need five points against the Cheetahs in Durban to secure their spot in the play-offs. 

If both the  Bulls and   Sharks manage five log points from their final league fixtures, the team with the best points difference will finish higher on the log.

n The two teams currently outside the top six that can still sneak in, are the Reds and the Hurricanes, who are both on 53. The Reds need to win  and if they catch the  Bulls or the Sharks on the log, the Queenslanders will advance as they have won more games. 

But they will remain  seventh   if both the South African teams win with bonus points – it could be an agonising wait for the team from Brisbane.

n A similar scenario applies to the Hurricanes – they would hope that at least two of the teams ahead of them slip up but they also need to give the Chiefs a hiding in Wellington, as they are worse off than all the teams ahead of them when it comes to points difference.