An avid Chiefs supporter is switching his Super Rugby allegiance - but just for one night.

Give the Super Rugby trophy to the Waratahs now. Bookies in NZ are clinging to the notion that the Crusaders are on a roll, but Wynne Gray doubts that.

Mic Check versus the Silver Fox. The sub-plots in finals week are almost as interesting as the Big Show. The volatile Michael Cheika versus the understated Todd Blackadder.

In today's column I want to have an in-depth look at Nemani Nadolo and the way the Crusaders have improved him out of sight and vice versa.

The week of a grand final can be difficult to get right in terms of preparation, but for the Crusaders the experience of Richie McCaw and Kieran Read is shining through.

The All Blacks' policy of injured players not losing their places when they return to fitness could be given its sternest test if Israel Dagg returns to the fold.

It ended in failure but the Brumbies' efforts in their semifinal against the Waratahs in Sydney have provided the Crusaders with plenty of encouragement.

The Waratahs aren't worrying for a single second about their drought against the Crusaders going into Saturday's Super Rugby final.

The Waratahs are concocting a plan to suffocate Daniel Carter in the Super Rugby showdown.

The Crusaders' forwards, who provided the platform for their semifinal victory over the Sharks with a dominant performance that at times embarrassed the big South Africans.

Wyatt Crockett's work-load is about to ramp up even more with a Super Rugby final then a starting role for the All Blacks in their world-record winning quest.

So you don't believe in history's influence on rugby games?

Dan Carter, refreshed after his break away from the game and energised by his performance against the Sharks and the opportunities of the week ahead, is promising more.

The semifinal was a really good win for the Crusaders; it was a great win for Todd Blackadder and his staff.

Departing coaching director Laurie Fisher is convinced the Brumbies are close to ending their decade-long Super Rugby title drought.

We've got the Super Rugby final we wanted as a tantalising entree to the Bledisloe Cup, writes Wynne Gray.

Some years back, the Aberdeen Evening Express in Scotland reported on a big storm. At its height, a coastguard was asked by marine authorities to estimate wind speed.

It's off to Sydney then - which will host it's host final after the Waratahs clawed and scrapped their way into the last two.

The Crusaders juggernaut rolls on for another week, the Sharks dismantled piece by piece in Christchurch tonight by a team who look in clinical, and ominous, form.

Watch a replay of tonight's live blog of the Super Rugby semi-final between the Crusaders and the Sharks from AMi Stadium in Christchurch.

Corey Flynn's journey to tonight's semifinal, his 150th match for the Crusaders and a clash against Bismarck du Plessis, considered the best hooker in the world, has been a long and often painful one.

It's a very fine line between hero and zero. No one is more acutely aware of that than Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder.

Why the inquiry, surely it's superfluous? Why would the Waratahs alter an adventurous playing pattern that has vaulted them to the top of the Super Rugby series?