If the financial details can be sorted, Jerome Kaino wants to sign on for the Blues' next campaign as the opening bid in his attempt to make the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Few players combine the power and dexterity Chiefs prop Ben Tameifuna showed when he barged across for two tries against the Blues.

Kieran Read last year watched the Crusaders' semifinal defeat to the Chiefs in Hamilton from the discomfort of his couch.

The Brumbies are eyeing the Bulls' revamped lineout as a potential pressure point ahead of tomorrow's knock-out Super rugby semifinal.

Todd Blackadder lives in a house about a kilometre from Crusaders' headquarters in suburban Christchurch.

The "dream team" label is hawked around sporting circles. We've heard it for the Blues but it might more aptly be applied to those who have been guiding the Chiefs.

What is shaping up as an epic semifinal deserves a similarly gigantic subplot.

With Herald Fantasy Rugby allowing managers a maximum of six players from one team it's time to stack up heavily on the remaining four teams.

The Blues have been boosted by Benji Marshall's positive reaction about playing Super 15 rugby next season and have made an offer to the Kiwi five-eighth.

The Chiefs will be without the injured Tim Nanai-Williams when they take on the rapidly improving Crusaders' midfield in Saturday's Super rugby semifinal.

Tracey Nelson looks at the key statistics from the Crusaders thrashing of the Reds on Satutrday.

The Chiefs are aware of the awakening monster that is the Crusaders forward pack but are confident they have the personnel to combat it

They fell at this hurdle last season, but the Crusaders feel they have the momentum and confidence to leap the Chiefs and go all the way this year.

Even All Black rivals are getting sick and tired of Kiwi fans jeering Wallaby playmaker Quade Cooper.

Amidst the pantomime booing of the AMI Stadium crowd, Cooper appeared to get stage fright, writes Patrick McKendry. He hardly ran the ball.

The Brumbies and Cheetahs head out of Canberra to South Africa today with the hosts the only side who will unfurl their playing gear again.

The new Wallaby coach would have dearly wanted his boys to beat the Crusaders in his first match against a NZ team since his Wallaby appointment, writes Richard Loe. Bad luck, Ewen.

Referees say it's knowing when to show the yellow card that troubles them.

He warned that despite their emphatic performance in despatching the Reds, they can't take anything for granted.

The Crusaders produced a scintillating display of footy tonight to thrash the Reds 38-9 at AMI Stadium in Christchurch.

Join us here for our live blog of the Crusaders taking on the Reds in the Super Rugby playoffs in Christchurch.

For the Crusaders, the pressure of the finals series was embraced shortly after the final whistle of the Hurricanes victory in Christchurch a week ago.

A layer of talent arrived who were new to Super 15 or had just dipped their toes into the tournament last year.

When it comes to rugby coaching, Jake White wants to operate in a manner similar to the style and methods Rod Macqueen brought to the Brumbies when he worked with them around the birth of Super rugby.

Blues coach Sir John Kirwan and ceo Andy Dalton are flying to Sydney this weekend to talk to Benji Marshall about coming to the franchise.

All the buzz is about Benji Marshall but a greater mission for the Blues will be finding a centre to replace Rene Ranger.

The Reds eye a chance at history tomorrow night, with a win against the Crusaders giving them victories over all five New Zealand teams this season.

I'm happy to be proven wrong on this one, but I can't see any value in Benji Marshall going to the Blues, writes Ian Jones.