Former All Black and Super Rugby centurion Hosea Gear has signed with the Chiefs for the next Super Rugby season.

An avid Chiefs supporter is switching his Super Rugby allegiance - but just for one night.

Even though Henry Speight has been busy with the Brumbies for a while now, you still wanted to rub your eyes.

Three years ago, Gareth Anscombe was on track to be an All Black. Now he is likely to find himself playing against the All Blacks in November as the 23-year-old first-five commits to Wales.

What a maddening night for the Chiefs. Their dream is over. They won't win their third successive title and they will only have themselves to blame.

Watch a replay of tonight's live updates from the Super Rugby playoff match between the Chiefs and the Brumbies from GIO Stadium in Canberra.

Of the eight new names to be announced among the Chiefs ranks in Canberra tonight, one will reverberate around GIO Stadium a little louder than most.

Aaron Cruden, his voice all but gone after shouting instructions to the Chiefs throughout their gritty victory over the Blues in the wet and wild conditions at Eden Park.

They have wobbled and battled, scrambled and scraped their way to the final six without ever looking convincing and yet now they are in the playoffs, the Chiefs have the look of champions.

The Chiefs have kept their hopes of three consecutive Super Rugby titles alive with a win over the Blues at Eden Park tonight.

He arrived under a metaphoric cloud, left under a literal one and yet Ma'a Nonu was nothing but a little ray of sunshine in his second stint with the Blues.

Foot and ankle injuries have combined to make this a frustrating year for Francis Saili, but as the Blues' season comes to a conclusion, he need only look at how he might fit into next year's midfield equation to put a fresh perspective on things.

If it takes until their backs are against the wall for the Chiefs to find true form, then the champs are exactly where they want to be tonight.

The first match in which Blues first-five Ihaia West plays with his short-term future secured could also be the one in which he feels the most pressure.

The Chiefs will live to fight another week after producing a timely display to condemn the Hurricanes to a damaging defeat in Hamilton tonight.

The Chiefs are still full of hope but they will need to be a lot more clinical and patient when they meet the Hurricanes on Friday night at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton.

The Chiefs looked like the same side who entered the June window during Friday's 29-25 crushing loss to the Highlanders.

Versatility was their key strength last year but the Chiefs have desperately missed specialists and consistency of selection in 2014.

The Chiefs’ reign as champions is virtually over but the Highlanders have shown there remains at least one Kiwi challenger for the Super Rugby title

Watch a replay of tonight's live blog of the Super rugby clash between the Highlanders and the Chiefs from Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.

The Chiefs are hoping some "top secret" changes made during the June break can propel them towards the Super Rugby playoffs.

The Chiefs' title defence suffered a serious blow in the Waratahs' gutsy win and the question now for the defending champions will be whether they can even make the playoffs