Going into the final between the Waratahs and Crusaders at Sydney's Olympic Stadium.

• This will be the first time these sides have met this year.
• Since 2006, the Crusaders have won all nine meetings between these trans-Tasman rivals.
• The Crusaders also won both meetings in 2005 (including the final) and you’d need to go back to February 2004 for the Waratahs’ last success against the New Zealand outfit, a 43-19 away from home in round one.
• Only the Waratahs (29.8) have a better points per game average than the Crusaders (28.4) this year.
• Indeed, the Waratahs have averaged fewer points conceded (16.5) than any other side, with the Crusaders boasting the second best defence (19.3 points conceded per game).
• The Tahs continue to top the charts for average tries, carries, metres, passes, breaks and offloads.
• They have also missed the fewest number of tackles this year, an average of 14.1 per week.
• The Crusaders have averaged the most lineout steals (2.4) per game this year, with their opponents’ success rate of 78% being the lowest in the competition.
• The Crusaders’ opponents have an average scrum success rate of 76%, the second lowest in the competition after the Sharks.
• While the Waratahs top the charts for offloads, opponents of the Crusaders have produced fewer per game (eight) than any other side.
• Opponents of the Waratahs have won more turnovers (9.6) than against any other team.
• Bernard Foley has landed 78% of his shots at goal this year, while Colin Slade has notched 79%. Dan Carter has kicked 12 from 20, a success rate of just 60%.
• Kurtley Beale (225) and Israel Dagg (201) are the only men to make 200-plus carries this season.
• Both Nemani Nadolo and Israel Folau have accrued 50 defenders beaten this year, only two others can better this.
• Folau has scored the most tries this year (12), with Nadolo the only other player to hit double figures with 11. Both players have made 13 appearances.
• Beale has had a direct hand (score/assist) in 18 tries this season (eight tries, 10 assists), more than anybody else.
• Folau has made at least 21 more offloads (47) than any other player this season.
• Nadolo leads the way for clean breaks with 26, with Folau on 25 and Adam Ashley-Cooper 21.
• Of players to play more than 10 games this season, Nadolo has the best average gain per carry (9.97m).
• The Waratahs have a minus points difference (-13) in the second quarter of games this season, while the Crusaders’ is positive in all four segments.
• The Tahs have scored 15 tries in the opening quarter of matches this season, more than any other side. The Crusaders have managed just six in the same time frame.
• The Waratahs have conceded fewer first quarter (four) and last quarter (five) tries than any other side.
• The Crusaders have scored more first phase tries (25) than any other side this year and nine more than the Sydney side.
• Thirteen of the 58 tries the Waratahs have scored this season have originated from turnovers, more than any other side in the competition.
• Since the original inauguration of Super Rugby in 1996 the Crusaders have lifted the title seven times, no other side has won it more than three times and the Waratahs have never won it.
• This is the third time the Tahs have made it to the final, losing to the Crusaders on both previous occasions (2005, 2008).

Stats and facts provided by Opta Sports

Photo: Joseph Johnson/Getty Images