Beauden Barrett missed a trick not coming to the Blues. He might feel safe at the Hurricanes and boosted by the growing vibe that Ma'a Nonu will not be a troublesome midfielder outside him.

The Highlanders have not shut the door on Ma'a Nonu but have not heard from the midfield back or his agent since April.

Super rugby chiefs are considering splitting the three-conference system into two from 2016 and adding two teams from Argentina.

As they do online, some bloke put his house on Benji Marshall being an All Black next season.

The Blues' first five-eighths intrigues have taken another turn with Chris Noakes heading for neck surgery.

There was a lot of pressure and expectation surrounding a kid who recently turned 22 and has only eight test caps to his name.

The Crusaders had momentum going into the play-offs, but tripped up again. Not good enough for a team with seven titles, writes Patrick McKendry.

Benji Marshall has given verbal confirmation he will sign with the Blues but Beauden Barrett confirmed last night he will be staying with the Hurricanes.

Tracey Nelson crunches the numbers following the Chiefs' second straight Super 15 final victory on Saturday.

Benji Marshall hasn't signed with the Blues yet but an announcement is expected soon.

Champion Chiefs Super rugby coach Dave Rennie is reluctant to talk about dynasties.

A Super 15 champion, named again as an All Black - and now a husband-to-be. It's been a pretty good week for Aaron Cruden.

The Chiefs didn't have to look far for motivation before and during their epic final with the Brumbies.

As far as his goalkicking goes, Aaron Cruden has had, in his own words, "a tricky old season".

Where does the Chiefs' latest success rank among the finals of the 18-year competition?

Patrick McKendry of APNZ, Wynne Gray of the NZ Herald and Gregor Paul from the Herald on Sunday answer three probing questions from last night's Super Rugby final.

The Chiefs have another title - that's all that really matters.

It wasn't pretty and two or three reputations suffered as the Chiefs let the Brumbies too far into this game - but they pulled it out of the fire, writes Richard Loe.

All the signs suggested that it was always going to take a supreme piece of individual skill to decide this one.

Chiefs fans earned their red, yellow and black stripes as they roared for their heroes to win the Super Rugby final last night.

Double delight came for the Chiefs but it took all their courage to claw their way past the Brumbies for the Super 15 title.

Lunch, tours of Eden Park and the waterfront - the Blues displayed their hospitality, business and sporting charms to Benji Marshall yesterday as they continued to woo the league star to their franchise.