The stats don't lie: Elimination round review

Stephen Brett missed five of his six tackle attempts against the Waratahs. Photo / Getty Images

Despite stuttering first halves, both the Blues and Crusaders head through to the Super semi-finals after winning their respective elimination play-off matches.

The Blues will travel to Brisbane to face the Reds, while the Crusaders will add to their already impressive eighty thousand-plus flying miles as they travel to Cape Town to play the Stormers.

BLUES v WARATAHS (26-13)

- The Blues won all but one of their 10 lineouts, with Anthony Boric their main jumper taking seven. Boric also stole one throw off the Waratahs before he left the field injured.

- Ali Williams continued his recent good form winning two lineouts, made one linebreak and scoring a try.

- Jerome Kaino had huge night on defence making 21 tackles and winning a breakdown turnover, while Luke Braid once again made the most metres gained with ball in hand of the Blues' forwards, clocking up 65 metres.

- The Waratahs made 139 tackles at a success rate of 85 per cent, while the Blues made 120 tackles at a 76 per cent success rate. Stephen Brett missed five of his six tackle attempts.

- The Blues conceded just five penalties (all at the breakdown) while the Waratahs conceded eight. The Blues were also victors at the battle of the breakdown, with seven turnovers won and just three lost.

- The Waratahs struggled in the wet conditions and knocked the ball on 10 times, while the Blues knocked the ball on seven times and threw two forward passes.

- Jared Payne was the most dangerous of the Blues' backs making 86 running metres plus one clean linebreak and two offloads in the tackle.

- Lachie Munro scored a try, kicked one conversion and landed three from four penalties. Luke McAlister kicked a conversion and a long-range penalty.

- Two sets of brothers were on the field for the Blues in the latter stage of the game, with Daniel Braid joining Luke in the loose forwards and Winston Stanley joining Benson in the backline.

CRUSADERS v SHARKS (36-8)

- Handling errors and sloppy work at the breakdown were hallmarks of the first half for the Crusaders, with five knock-ons and three breakdowns lost to counter-rucks by the Sharks.

- In total the Crusaders knocked the ball on 10 times and threw one forward pass. They also lost five breakdown turnovers, winning just two.

- Handling errors cost the Sharks dearly, with seven of their 11 knock-ons occurring in the Crusaders' half of the field. They were also inaccurate on defence making only 71 per cent of their tackles.

- Kieran Read made a slow start to the game but made the most running metres for his side with 140, including a 30 metre run for his intercept try. Next best was Sonny Bill Williams who made 96 metres, along with five offloads in the tackle.

- Matt Todd made 10 tackles, 19 metres with ball in hand, and managed to steal one breakdown turnover off the Sharks.

- The Crusaders won six of their seven lineouts, with Sam Whitelock the main ball winner taking two of his three throws but losing one to the Sharks. Whitelock was also the Crusaders' top tackler making 17 and missing just three.

- The Crusaders made six clean linebreaks with Tom Marshall and Sean Maitland leading the pack with two each.

- Maitland was back from a six week injury break and it was his ability to elude four tacklers and offload the ball to Sonny Bill Williams that led to the Crusaders' first try of the game.

- The Crusaders conceded six penalties, three at the breakdown. The Sharks conceded 10, including three for offside play.

- Dan Carter kicked five from seven penalties and both his conversion attempts for a 19 point haul. Matt Berquist kicked a conversion in the last minutes of the game when he replaced Carter from the bench.

Full game stats can be found at haka.co.nz

- HERALD ONLINE