There is plenty to play for in the final round of Super Rugby regular season fixtures as teams battle for home advantage in the quarter-finals.
Six of the eight quarter-finalists have already been confirmed - South Africa's Lions and Stormers and the Chiefs, Crusaders, Highlanders and Hurricanes from New Zealand.
This weekend's 17th round will determine whether the Brumbies or Waratahs capture the only play-off place available in Australia and whether the Bulls or Sharks claim the wildcard spot in South Africa.
The competition remains so tight after 17 rounds that the top seven teams on the combined standings are in range of the first-place Lions, who have 52 points.
The decision of Lions' coach Johann Ackermann to make 15 changes for Saturday's trip to Buenos Aires to face the Jaguares means he is prepared to put first place in jeopardy.
The Jaguares have won only three matches in their debut season but their most recent win came against the Bulls and they have the ability at home to upset a weakened Lions team.
That could mean any of the next six teams, including the seventh-place Hurricanes, could snatch top spot depending on the outcome of other matches.
Ackermann has reasoned that travel from Johannesburg to Buenos Aires would take too heavy a toll on his top players only a week before the quarter-finals.
The Lions have already secured a home quarter-final and Ackermann can argue that unless they win that match, the feat of finishing first at the end of the regular season would have more academic than practical significance.
However, there is value in securing first place as it ensures them home advantage as long as they remain alive in the play-offs.
"The 15 players that stay behind [in Johannesburg] will have time to work hard physically for the next round of important Super Rugby matches that lie ahead," said Ackermann.
"It also gives us the chance to do some medical rehabilitation with some of them.
"With the long traveling hours to Argentina one loses a lot of time that could have been spent working with these players.
"That being said, we have a lot of faith in the players that we send to Argentina."
The last round begins with a match in Auckland between the Blues and the Waratahs, who might have to win with a bonus-point to head off the Brumbies and claim top spot in the Australian Conference.
The Brumbies and Waratahs are tied on 39 points, with the former hanging onto first place thanks to a superior win-loss record. The Brumbies host the Western Force on Saturday.
The Chiefs top the New Zealand Conference and are one point behind the Lions on the combined table, but they are only one point ahead of the Crusaders and three points ahead of the Highlanders and Hurricanes in their own conference.
The Chiefs play the defending champion Highlanders and the Crusaders face the Hurricanes in derby matches which are likely to be all the more ferociously contested for the competition points and placings that are still at stake.
The Sharks and the Bulls are separated by only two points in South Africa and both have the chance to join the Lions and the Stormers in the play-offs.
With 39 points to the Bulls' 37, the Sharks are more likely to progress as they face Japan's Sunwolves while the Bulls face the Cheetahs.
Whoever wins, they will have to travel for their quarter-final while the Lions and Stormers play at home.
The winners of the Australian and New Zealand conferences will also have home advantage in the quarter-finals while three New Zealand teams will travel.