Think of the final month of the Super Rugby Pacific regular season like the run-up to final exams.

All year, you’ve been grinding away in the classroom, building your standing and trying to impress any peers who are watching. You’ve had your breaks and opportunities to prove yourself. Soon, you’ll be tested on what you learned throughout the weeks and weeks of preparation.

It’s much the same in Super Rugby right now – the league’s top eight teams, or teams that will make the playoffs at the end of the regular season, have shown varying degrees of evidence that they belong toward the top of the class. 

One has been totally perfect. A few have had occasional slip-ups, but are mostly in good standing. Others have struggled more and are in danger of falling behind, if passing grades don’t get more consistent.

For those in trouble, however, there isn’t much time left to rescue their reputations with just five regular-season matches left to play – the final third of the schedule. 

And, with the final tests of the year coming up, they need to hope the preparations outside of the pitch are enough to help them make the grade.

Here’s a look at the Super Rugby Pacific matches to watch for Round 11 of the 2023 season, with numerous fixtures (including all listed below) being streamed throughout the year on FloRugby.

Crusaders Vs. Western Force

Is the longstanding Crusaders dynasty atop Super Rugby nearing its end, as former All Black Jeff Wilson alluded to following the four-time defending champions’ 34-24 loss to the table-topping, unbeaten Chiefs last weekend? 

There’s still a lot of season left to play and plenty of opportunities left for the Christchurch club to rebound back into the thick of the title mix, but the Crusaders’ chances for a five-peat got smaller after losing to the Chiefs for the second time this season and dropping down to fifth in the table, critically now out of the discussion for having a home game for the first round of the playoffs. 

Here’s the good news for the club – just four points separate the Crusaders from the second-place Brumbies, meaning that in as little as one matchweek, coach Scott Robertson’s side could return to a cozier spot in the standings. 

A win against the Western Force, who are in 10th place with 13 points and on the outside of the playoff race looking, would help put the New Zealanders right back on the right track. 

The Crusaders haven’t lost back-to-back matches since March 2018 and have won 32 of their past 34 matches against Australian teams, stacking the deck in their favor even more at the Orangetheory Stadium.

Some good moments to take away from last nights match 🏉@FortescueNews pic.twitter.com/fqgDd6Bgpd

— Western Force (@westernforce) April 30, 2023

However, the Force have a powerful variable in their possession – Zach Kibirige. 

The 28-year-old winger from England, who moved to Super Rugby in the offseason after the Wasps (formerly of Premiership Rugby) entered administration and were relegated to the country’s second tier, is on a historic scoring spree.

Kibirige has scored at least one try in each of his past six appearances for the Force (including two against the Queensland Reds last weekend), which is the longest try-scoring stretch by an individual in Super Rugby for 13 seasons. 

The Crusaders still will be favored, especially considering that the Force have lost four of their past five fixtures, but they must respect the in-form Kibirige, while getting back to the dynamic style of rugby that’s won them plenty of past silverware. 

Queensland Reds Vs. New South Wales Waratahs

Over the past few seasons, if there’s been a late-season clash going on between Aussie sides in Super Rugby, chances are there are plenty of postseason implications.

It’s no different here – both the Reds and the Tahs (who’ll be competing for the Bob Templeton Cup this weekend) are on the right side of the playoff bubble in sixth and seventh place, respectively, but with the drop zone out of the top 8 not out of either team’s sights, both clubs could use a victory in Round 11. 

Queensland, in particular, looks to be finding form at just the right time, having earned consecutive victories over Moana Pasifika in Round 8 and the Force last weekend. 

The team’s playoff odds drastically have improved with just a few weeks remaining, and winner’s points against New South Wales would further increase the gap between the Reds and the playoff cutoff line and give coach Brad Thorn’s squad some breathing room in a final four-round grind that includes matches against the Chiefs and Blues. 

Lock Angus Blyth is expected to make his 50th Reds cap in the derby, which Queensland has ruled, winning four straight against the Tahs, but NSW does have a right to feel good about its chances in its trip to Townsville, too. 

A thrilling 21-20 victory last weekend over the Highlanders – when Ben Donaldson kicked through a last-minute conversion to win it after a 79th-minute try from Mahe Vailanu – was huge for the Tahs, as it put them back among the top eight teams. They’ve won two of their past three after starting the Super Rugby season 1-7. 

To make it three out of four, NSW has got to find a way to stop Fraser McReight, which few teams lately have proven capable of being able to do. 

The Wallabies flanker has crossed over four times in his past three appearances for the best try-scoring run of his career, and with new national team coach Eddie Jones seeking core pieces to run with at the Rugby World Cup later this year, McReight probably is in the mood to extend his good form for as long as he can to improve his standing with his new boss.

Melbourne Rebels Vs. Brumbies

Round 11 will give the Brumbies a platform to prove a point, though the opponent they’re facing doesn’t necessarily play a major part in that equation. 

The Brumbies, for how talented they are – they’re in second place in the Super Rugby table – can fall flat on the road. 

The two blemishes on their record come away in New Zealand (including last week in a 32-27 defeat to the Hurricanes), while numerous other close calls have come when they aren’t in the blanket of home support in Canberra at the GIO Stadium. 

Thus, when they visit Melbourne this weekend and try to keep hold of both second place overall and top standing as Australia’s best hope for a Super Rugby title this season, the goal is clear – dominate and leave no doubt, firmly establishing the idea that the Brumbies can compete for a Super Rugby title. 

Coach Stephen Larkham’s side certainly has the horses (pun intended) to do it, as the Brumbies are the second highest-scoring team in the competition on 320 points, and one that’s in position to host a first-round playoff match, with recent history against the Rebels favoring the Brumbies, as the latter team has won five of the past six meetings. 

🐴 Did you miss us? @SuperRugby

R1 - 8 and the bye in the 📚 #ProudToBeABrumby pic.twitter.com/yRXZDDr6Fa

— ACT Brumbies (@BrumbiesRugby) April 23, 2023

Melbourne’s playoff hopes are fluttering, but still kicking. 

A victory over last-place Moana Pasifika last weekend put the team one point behind the eighth-place Highlanders, and though a Brumbies upset (even at home) is going to be tough to pull off, an underrated attack (39 tries, the joint-most of any team outside of the current top 4) that’s broken the 30-point barrier on four occasions this year, should be positioned to at least give the Brumbies’ back line plenty of fits. 

But, with lock Tom Hooper, who has missed the first 10 matches of 2023 due to injury after a breakout 2022 campaign, back in the mix for the Brumbies and able to give his team a fresh burst of energy – along with returning Wallabies Len Ikitau and Pete Samu – Australia’s gold standard of Super Rugby this season will have little excuse to not get the job done in a derby match.