Aaron Smith and Waisake Naholo celebrate too soon as a try against the Chiefs in their final regular season game is disallowed.

The business end of the Super Rugby season is upon us, with four teams in action this weekend, seeking two spots in the final.

The Hurricanes host the Chiefs on Saturday night in the first semifinal, followed by the Lions hosting the Highlanders in the wee hours of the morning (NZT) in the other.

In anticipation of the two contests, here's a look at how the teams compare in four key statistical areas - scrums, lineouts, clean breaks, and metres gained.

GETTY IMAGES The Highlanders' scrum has been the most dominant of the four semifinalists.

HIGHLANDERS SCRUM HARD

That the Highlanders posess a strong scrum was easy to see at the end of their win over the Brumbies in Canberra in the quarterfinals, as they held the hosts out without conceding penalties that could have cost them dearly.

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The numbers back that up - they are at the head of the pack, winning 97 per cent of their own scrums.

In the Lions, they are now up against a team that wins just 91 per cent of their own feeds. That might only translate to one or two scrum turnovers in a game, but that could be all the Highlanders need to gain an advantage on the road.

HURRICANES' AIM ASTRAY

The Lions are better placed when it comes to the other set piece, leading the way at lineout time, where they win 89 per cent of their own throws.

The numbers for the Chiefs and Highlanders are only slightly worse, but then there is a decent gap back to the Hurricanes, who win 84 per cent.

Again, that only equates to a couple of failures a game for the Hurricanes, but with Brodie Retallick and Dom Bird likely to be playing at lock for the Chiefs, it's an opportunity they could seek to exploit on Saturday.

CHIEFS BREAK THROUGH

As they demonstrated against the Stormers in Cape Town on Sunday morning (NZT), the Chiefs are probably capable of tearing teams apart more so than any of the other three semifinalists, with the possible exception of the Lions.

The clean break numbers support that, with the Chiefs racking up 20 more than their nearest rival.

The other interesting titbit here is that the Highlanders have by far the fewest of the four teams left, suggesting that it is probably their defensive prowess that has got them this far, rather than their (still potent) attacking threat.

LIONS GAIN GROUND

It's fair to say the Lions have been the surprise package this season, for even if you saw them doing well, placed in a conference with the lowly Kings and Jaguares, it was hard to see them doing well and playing in the fashion they have.

Over the course of the season they have gained 8589 metres, 400 more than the Hurricanes, 700 more than the Chiefs, and 1600 more than the Highlanders, so if nothing else, they know how to get the ball up the field.

Of course, the big caveat is that they did have a fairly easy schedule, but then again, they showed the Crusaders up last weekend, and back at their Ellis Park home once more, they won't be going down without a fight.

AWAY DAY BLUES

There's one statistic that might render all others meaningless, however, and that is the relative success of home and away teams in the Super Rugby playoffs.

All told, there have been 74 playoff games, and home teams have won 77 per cent of them.

In the semifinals, the disparity grows even larger; there have been 40 such games, and home teams have won 80 per cent of them.

And unlike last week, where the Brumbies and Stormers had hosting rights, despite having had worse seasons than their opponents, the Highlanders and the Chiefs, the teams this week are all fairly evenly matched.

It stands to reason then that the Hurricanes and the Lions are the favourites to make it through to the final, especially given they have both spent the past fortnight in their own beds, and will be up against teams that have been across the Indian Ocean (and in the Chiefs' case, back) in the same timeframe.

AT A GLANCE

Hurricanes v Chiefs

Westpac Stadium, Wellington

Saturday, 7.35pm

Lions v Highlanders

Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Sunday, 1.00am (NZT)

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