The super rare occasions when weather conditions decided major rugby cup finals

Rugby may be an all-weather winter sport that starts in summer or autumn in both hemispheres, but United Rugby Championship and Super Rugby finals have oddly historically been blessed with decent weather.

One would be surprised to learn how rare weather-affected major rugby finals are. The four Super Rugby finals hosted by South Africa in 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2017 weren't affected by the elements.

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It has to be said, only one of those showpiece games was held on the coast when the Bulls famously upset the Sharks. But with the other three finals being firmly under autumn Johannesburg and Tshwane skies, they were spared the capricious highveld summer weather (infamous for late  afternoon thunderstorms).

The horthern hemisphere winter is known for its brutality and Cape Town's no different with its Mediterranean climate that sees the bulk of its rainfall in winter.

Two strong cold fronts swept in this week and thoroughly drenched the Cape after an unusually elongated warm snap.

Low-lying areas have been flooded, as is the norm with Western Cape winters, while the freeze has spread across the country.

With the Cape Town Stadium reasonably sheltered, but also close to the Atlantic Ocean, it has taken up its share of the rain.

That said, with the bulk of Super Rugby finals having taken place in New Zealand and three in Australia, it's also a surprise the weather hasn't had much of a say, especially in New Zealand.

On the other hand, the United Rugby Championship finals in its various Magners League, PRO12, and PRO14 variants, haven't been acutely affected by the weather either.

Here are three Super Rugby finals that have been impacted by the weather:

31 May 1997: