The winners and losers from the second week of Super Rugby.
Scott Barrett (Crusaders)
This was another monstrous physical effort from lock Barrett, who followed his big shift against the Blues with a high-quality performance against the Hurricanes. And all this after playing no games in pre-season. Barrett's enthusiasm is symptomatic of his team. He and they look ominous.
Ben Smith (Highlanders)
Escape acts are becoming the norm for this Highlanders side and this one was led by Smith. They left it late against the Chiefs in Hamilton last week and back at home against the Reds they did it again. They say you should never kick away possession when you're defending a lead; that's doubly true when Ben Smith is your opposing fullback.
Dane Coles (Hurricanes)
The All Blacks hooker needs a little luck after his recent injury woes and while he didn't see much of it in Christchurch, Coles was one of the Hurricanes' best during his 59 minutes on the field. It was a promising return for later in the year because this was his first start for the Canes since 2017.
Burning frustration: Same old Blues punished by Sharks
Chiefs humiliated by Brumbies in Canberra
Crusaders blow away Hurricanes in dominant display
Highlanders hold off Reds in thrilling tryfest
Competition
Probably not a good sign in a Rugby World Cup year but New Zealand sides aren't exactly dominating Super Rugby this year as they have previously. The Blues and Chiefs are winless while the Hurricanes and Highlanders both snuck out wins over Australian opponents. Good for the competition – not great for fans north of Tokoroa.
Sharks
Come on down the early Super Rugby leaders. The Sharks have scored 10 tries in their opening two wins to secure a maximum 10 competition points. With games against the Stormers and Jaguares ahead it seems likely the Sharks could be 4-0 before their trip to NZ.
62 minute halves
Rugby is an 80-minute game. So they say. The first half of the Blues' defeat to the Sharks seemed to go on forever due to a water break, a potential neck injury and the TMO's TV remote getting a good work-out. A tough watch especially for those Blues fans that go up for the early kickoff.
Chiefs defence
There were clearly holes in their defensive plan and the Brumbies exposed them, getting 15 clean breaks and running for 463 metres while the Chiefs managed just two line breaks and 165 running metres.
Lineout accuracy
Dane Coles was everywhere around the field in his first Super Rugby start in over a year on Saturday but he struggled at lineout time as the Crusaders pinched four. Hard to say whether it was the hooker's fault or the jumpers and lifters were to blame but not a good look for one of the world's best.
Hagley Oval has a new head groundsman ahead of the first test of the summer.