Former champions the Bulls and Canterbury Crusaders open the eighth round of rugby's Super 14 with a match bearing heavily on both teams' playoff chances.
The Bulls, the 2007 champions, dropped from first to fourth place when they lost for the first time this season in round seven. The defending champion Crusaders improved to seventh place in the last round with their second straight win.
Their match Friday and another between the Sharks and Wellington Hurricanes are likely to shape the top half of the Super 14 table and exert a heavy influence over the four teams' playoff chances.
The Bulls were beaten 36-12 by the Otago Highlanders in round seven, ending their five-match winning streak and leaving them just inside the top four, four points behind the first-place Sharks and two points ahead of the fifth-placed Hurricanes.
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Former champions to clash in Round 8 of Super 14 rugby play
Former champions to clash in Round 8 of Super 14 rugby play
