WELLINGTON (AFP) - The Crusaders, the Waratahs, the Sharks and the Hurricanes emerged as the Super 14 rugby semi-finalists after a gripping final round saw the play-offs decided by the final match of the regular season.

Only the table-topping Canterbury Crusaders, who suffered a shock 14-26 loss to the Otago Highlanders, knew in advance they had already qualified for the the knock-out phase.

Meanwhile the other semi-final places went through several permutations as the weekend unfolded.

The Auckland Blues were in with a chance for 24 hours after they beat the Wellington Hurricanes 19-17 on Friday.

But they were overtaken by the Western Stormers who beat the Golden Lions 22-13, and the Stormers were then eliminated when the Coastal Sharks ended the season with a 47-25 thumping of the Waikato Chiefs.

That bonus-point win lifted the Sharks to third on the ladder, one point ahead of the Wellington Hurricanes and a point behind the New South Wales Waratahs.

It also ensured the top South African side would only have to travel as far as Sydney to play the Waratahs in the semi-finals, rather than go to the Crusaders' fortress in Christchurch.

That role falls to the Hurricanes who had a nail-biting wait through the weekend before qualifying on a superior points differential over the Stormers, who failed to get a bonus point when beating the bottom-placed Lions 22-13.

The Hurricanes and Stormers both finished with 41 points from eight wins, a draw and seven bonus points.

The Hurricanes and Crusaders now go into the semi-finals on a losing note, with questions emerging about the Crusaders' tag of favourites after the 11th-placed Highlanders outscored them three tries to one.

"It wasn't what we intended," said captain Richie McCaw. "We thought we got a wake-up call last week, but this side put us under pressure and we made mistakes.

"Ideally, we didn't want to be in this situation, but one positive is we've got next week to look forward to and we're going to have to be a whole lot better if we're going to be competitive."

The Waratahs claimed second spot with a crucial 18-11 win over arch-rivals the Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium here Saturday.

Two tries, both in the first half, were enough for the Waratahs to notch up their ninth win of the season and cap a major resurgence after finishing 13th last year.

The Sharks made sure they collected the vital bonus point they needed against the Waikato Chiefs by scoring seven tries in their overwhelming 47-25.

Without the bonus point they would have been equal with the Hurricanes and Stormers and could well have slipped behind their fellow South Africans on differential.

Although the Chiefs narrowed the gap to 18-21 early in the second half, the Sharks were able to step up a gear and produce tries as required to regain the initiative.

The Hurricanes led the Blues 17-16 at halftime in their intense clash, with the outcome decided in the 59th minute when Blues fullback Nick Evans kicked a penalty, the sole points in the second half, to secure a 19-17 win.

Wave after wave of Hurricanes attacks were repulsed by a solid Blues defence and three desperate drop goal attempts by Hurricanes flyhalf Willie Ripia in the final three minutes all went astray.

In the two remaining matches, which had no bearing on the competition outcome, the Western Force beat the ACT Brumbies 29-22 and the Northern Bulls thrashed the Central Cheetahs 60-20.