Julian Savea has made himself unavailable for the Hurricanes' match against the Stormers in Palmerston North on Friday night.

Blues midfielder Francis Saili has made a brief appearance in court to face one charge of driving while suspended.

The return of hard-working lock and co-captain Craig Clarke could hardly have come at a better time for the Chiefs.

The sparkling form of most of Australia's Super rugby teams can be partly explained by the looming Lions tour, says Blues coach Sir John Kirwan.

At the heart of what is among the most inept run of performances in NZ rugby is Andrew Hore, rugby's thug of the year in 2012, writes Chris Rattue.

This weekend marked the halfway stage of Super rugby's regular season, and as the dust settles on another round in which the New Zealand teams were less than impressive, it's worth asking - what's going on in our game?

The game see-sawed, emotions were high, punch-ups nigh - and the battle for the top of the Australian conference was spiced by individual battles for Wallabies jerseys against the Lions.

For the first time in Dave Rennie's coaching reign, the Chiefs' performances and results are posing more questions than providing answers.

The hunt for a victory continues for the Highlanders. For the Crusaders, a different quest - how to rediscover their attacking edge.

Join us here for our live blog of the Crusaders taking on the Highlanders from AMI Stadium in Christchurch.

The Crusaders perform best when they play with desperation and a burning sense of injustice, so the Highlanders would be advised to prepare to dodge the metaphorical kitchen sink in Christchurch tonight.

Hurricane Dane Coles has been ruled out of tonight's match against the Western Force with a fractured eye socket and could be sidelined for up to six weeks.

A syndicate keen on bankrolling and running the Blues hopes the deal will be completed soon.

The Blues' fortunes have risen in the Super 15 and so have their crowds.