Thought worthy of only a couple of games for the Hurricanes development team this season, Ihaia West could help the Blues pose a few problems against the franchise that didn't want him.

It doesn't take much to leave Matt Proctor speechless. The Hurricanes fullback is a reserved young man and one of the things he and his coach Mark Hammett acknowledge he has to improve is his communication skills.

Wayne Smith's defensive wizardry has won the Chiefs a fair few games over the last three seasons.

The New Zealand Rugby Union today confirmed that Crusader Zac Guildford's contract has been terminated.

Ihaia West could be the next roll of the dice for the Blues as they seek a first five-eighths with the attacking instincts to ignite their backline.

Hurricanes lock Jeremy Thrush knows his best chance to remind the All Blacks selectors of what he can do will come on the field.

The competition to wear the No10 jersey for the All Blacks against England next month is wide open after Hurricane Beauden Barrett engineered a demolition of the Chiefs.

The Saturday evening clash between the Highlanders and Crusaders was a perfect showcase of NZ rugby, writes Justin Marshall. It showed the excitement and skill levels of Super Rugby at its best.

Dave Rennie described the Chiefs as "a distant third" in their heavy defeat against the Hurricanes but there was one bright spot amid the gloom.

Apart from their slip-up to the Blues at Eden Park at the start, winning away this season hasn't been an issue for the Crusaders.

Super Rugby's dreaded June hiatus won't be a thing of the past as plans to shift the international window to July have been rejected by the Six Nations.

Ihaia West may have done enough against the Sharks to be handed his first start for the Blues this week when they take on the Hurricanes.

Every nut-job and psycho in the Southern Hemisphere will have rejoiced having seen that Super Rugby values hamstrings more than it does heads.

He was sporting four stitches after the game but referee Glen "Jacko" Jackson's shiner had nothing to do with contentious calls in last night's Super 15 nailbiter.

A classic game and maybe the cruellest ending. Patrick Osborne was adjudged to have simultaneously placed the ball on the junction of both the goalline and touchline in the last act of the game.

The Crusaders v Highlanders was the game of the year so far. An absolute epic, ending with video referee Vinny Munro having to make one heck of a corner post decision

Watch a replay of our live blog of the Super Rugby clash between the Hurricanes and the Chiefs, from Westpac Stadium in Wellington.

The Brumbies have been steamrolled by a rampant Bulls outfit 44-23 in their Super Rugby clash in Pretoria.

Rugby players often withdraw a little as their next match looms and the Sharks followed that pattern as last night's match with the Blues approached.

The Blues' hopes of making the playoffs were on a knife edge before last night's defeat to the Sharks. Now they have been filleted and sliced and diced for good measure by the men from Durban who look increasingly like championship material.