ANALYSIS: When the Hurricanes play the Crusaders on Saturday, it might just be the biggest round-robin game Super Rugby has ever had.

Heading into this round, they have the strongest and fourth-strongest attacks in the history of the competition, which includes 301 teams over 22 seasons.

The Hurricanes are averaging an astonishing 45.6 points per game, which is almost three points more than the 2002 Crusaders managed - 42.7, the current best mark across a round-robin season.

PHOTOSPORT Kieran Read scores for the Crusaders against the Stormers this season.

Next comes the 2005 Crusaders, who scored 41.7 ppg, then it is this year's Crusaders, who are averaging 40.5 ppg.

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With tough schedules ahead for both teams, it is unlikely they will maintain those marks until the end of the season, but they should still finish near the top of the pack.

There is also a big caveat, and that is that Super Rugby is clearly weaker from top to bottom than it has been at any point previously, which means the comparative value of these numbers has taken a blow.

Even so, the Hurricanes and Crusaders are on track to hit heights that have rarely been scaled in recent years.

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Last year, in the first season with the current format, the Lions (12th, 35.7 ppg), Chiefs (19th, 32.7 ppg) and Crusaders got up there (26th, 32.5 ppg), but aside from that, there is no one in the top 30 from later than 2010.

To finish with an average of 35 ppg, the Hurricanes only need to average 20.8 ppg from here on out, while the Crusaders need to average 24.

But while those two are going great guns, they aren't the only teams with a shot at history.



For starters, the Lions are up there too, averaging 35.1 ppg, and they could very well end up as the top seed, and earn home advantage through the playoffs, as they face no New Zealand teams.



Then there are the Rebels, who sit right down the other end of the scoring charts, with an average of 12.9 ppg, .6 worse than the 2007 Lions.



To show just how bad those two are, the next-worst team, the 2015 Western Force, averaged 15.3 ppg, almost two points more.

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There is also another metric where the Hurricanes and the Crusaders lead the way, and that is point differential per game, where they sit at 26.2 and 21 respectively, marks that would make them the best and second-best teams ever, by some way, if maintained.

As it takes defence into account, point differential is a better indicator of a team's overall strength than points per game, and by that metric, this is easily the biggest round-robin game in Super Rugby history.

In the previous 21 seasons, it was the 2003 Blues who had the best mark (+18.9), followed by the 2002 Crusaders (+18.6), the 2000 Brumbies (+17.9), the 2005 Crusaders (+16.2), and the 2006 Crusaders (+15.5).

PHOTOSPORT Hurricanes winger Cory Jane has crossed the line plenty this season.

Of that group, only the 2000 Brumbies didn't win the title - the top 20 includes 10 of the 21 champions.

Here too, we should expect some regression, because the run-ins for the Hurricanes and the Crusaders are stacked with derbies, which tend to be tighter, lower-scoring affairs, though the Hurricanes do have the Cheetahs, Bulls and Force, which could help them build up a handy buffer.

After this weekend, the Hurricanes play the Cheetahs (at home), the Bulls (away), the Force (away), the Chiefs (home) and the Crusaders again (this time at home), while the Crusaders play the Chiefs (in Fiji), the Rebels (away), the Highlanders (home), and the Hurricanes (away).​

As with points per game, there is some action at the other end of the table, where the Rebels can be found once more, along with the Sunwolves.

Currently, they have average point differentials of -19.8 and -21.2 respectively, which leaves just five teams beneath them, the 1999 Bulls (-22.2), the 2016 Sunwolves (-22.3), the winless 2010 Lions (-24.2), the winless 2002 Bulls (-24.4), and the 2016 Kings (-26.8).

Given the rampant attacks on display, it should come as no surprise that there's not much of interest when it comes to points allowed per game, where this year's best effort - the Chiefs' 19 - would sit 43rd overall, though the Sunwolves are at risk of becoming infamous here too, having let in 41.9 ppg, which is a tick worse than their 2016 effort of 41.8 ppg, and still a way off the 2016 Kings' record 45.6 ppg.