Steve Walsh has retired from all forms of refereeing to pursue business interests outside of rugby.

Sonny Bill Williams will miss the Chiefs' encounter with the Sharks but the second-five is symptom-free after suffering concussion last weekend.

James Lowe and Bryce Heem have already added much-needed bite to the Chiefs' backline this season and the pair will again be called upon this Sunday in Durban.

Ask Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph about his side's "battlers" tag and see what happens. Actually, let me save you the trouble.

As the Blues search for answers to their tumbling fortunes, they should be looking up the Japanese and Welsh phone directories, writes Wynne Gray.

The two sides with the best tackling percentages in Super Rugby sit at opposite ends of the ladder.

Former Kiwis coach Graham Lowe has a simple message for Sir John Kirwan - resign.

At the start of the season it was mentioned that the Highlanders had a tough draw and how important it was that they got away to a good start because they're going to feel the brunt at the end with....

The Blues' players are now on a bye week which represents a few days off to get away from what is becoming a train-wreck of a season.

Some teams would wilt in the face of a formidable Stormers defence that appeared determined to dominate the collision from the outset.

The John Kirwan coaching era began in a blaze of glory against the Hurricanes in Wellington two years ago.

What the Hurricanes have been doing well is taking the gainline. That's where the battle is so often won and lost, writes Ross Fillipo.

Speed was the weapon of choice as the Chiefs gunned down the Super Rugby leaders, running in three tries in Cape Town to bounce back in style from last weekend's loss to the Highlanders.

Something mysterious is going on around this Highlanders mob; they are somehow winning matches which they have no right to win.

The Hurricanes have often been the best team in Super Rugby ... the best team to watch that is.

Holding pattern or way forward? That's the question which immediately springs to mind regarding Dan Carter's selection at second-five for the Crusaders today.

With the powerful Stormers pack and destructive defence having taken them to the top of the competition, the Chiefs know they need to avoid their opponents' strengths.

It wasn't their best performance of 2015 but the Hurricanes eventually ground their way to a 30-23 win in Palmerston North tonight as they kept their unbeaten record intact.

Some of what the Hurricanes did against the Blues last night was out of a Harlem Globetrotters' playbook.