KEY POINTS:
You know the Super 14 is getting serious when the Crusaders clear their throats.
Their 53-0 shellacking of the Force happened a few hundred kilometres south of Blues territory - but the message was heard loud and clear in the competition leaders' back yard.
Having escaped serious setbacks on the points table in the early rounds when they were minus six All Blacks, the defending champions are now stretching their legs. The Force are no slouches, but they shipped eight tries, several text book examples of rich skill and perceptive support play.
No team does that better than the Crusaders, for whom lock Ross Filipo, with three tries, had a storming game. The other eye-catching display came from No 8 Mose Tuiali'i, who scored one and had a big hand in the Crusaders' other two first-half tries.
Hurricane Rodney So'oialo was in possession of the No 8 All Black jersey last year. His team have been ordinary since he returned from reconditioning.
Both Tuiali'i and the Blues' Jerome Kaino have produced compelling form in the two best Super 14 teams. The next few weeks shape as a fascinating pointer to their World Cup prospects.
The Blues host the Sharks, who ran over the rubbishy Reds in Brisbane, 59-16, before two games in South Africa and ending against the Force in Perth. Some players are showing signs of wear and tear, notably in-form flanker Daniel Braid.
"Player management is going to be very important," Blues coach David Nucifora said.
"We've got some particularly hard games coming up against South African teams and after this week a travel component in there as well."
Blues halfback Steve Devine survived an upending from Cheetahs fullback Bevan Fortuin at Eden Park, which has earned Fortuin a trip to the judiciary tomorrow on a dangerous tackle charge.
The Crusaders trail the Blues by four points. Put your shirt on both being in the semifinals, which leaves six teams battling for two spots.
The only good news for the Force was that hooker Brendan Cannon, stretchered off after a scrum collapsed late in the second half, was released from hospital yesterday.
Cannon, who needed surgery for a neck injury last year, was expected to return to Perth early this week.
"It's all good news," a Force spokesperson said. "He stayed in hospital overnight, but an MRI this morning showed no new injury and he was cleared of serious injuries. He's got a bit of numbness and a weakness in the left arm, but he's rejoined the group and he's in good spirits."
Less encouraging was the state of Highlanders All Black locking hopeful James Ryan's left knee, after suffering ligament damage in the high-scoring loss to the Chiefs. He is to have a scan in Dunedin tomorrow to assess the injury, which happened in the opening minutes at Queenstown. The scenarios range from a few weeks on the sideline to saying farewell to his World Cup hopes.
"It's a pretty sore knee. It felt like I'd completely destroyed it," Ryan said. "I'm not resigned to anything. But if it is the ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] I've done, that's when you start looking at a long time out."
A rousing weekend produced tries in both quantity and quality. Of the 36 in five games before last night's Brumbies-Waratahs match, several were scintillating.
Anthony Tuitavake's third for the Blues is a candidate for try of the year; Richie McCaw's for the Crusaders was one of several in which the virtues of supporting the ball carrier were spelled out in capital letters.
And the quote of the round? Furious Reds coach Eddie Jones, who in a curious turn of phrase reckoned his players were "physically molested" by the Sharks. Then followed an expletive-laden, dressing-room dressing down. So what chance of "Fighting Harada" seeing out the remaining two years of his contract?
