A penitent Bismarck du Plessis will return to the Sharks' front row for tomorrow's match against the Highlanders in Dunedin but will not resume the captaincy.

The Highlanders' three-match winning streak came to a brutal end at the hands of the Brumbies in Canberra last night.

In sporting circles and rugby conversation, failure has become the accepted outcome for the Blues and they stayed true to that course against the Highlanders, writes Wynne Gray.

Jimmy Cowan is going back to his roots - back to Dunedin to face the team he played for more than 100 times, a team he freely admits are much better now.

Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph is completely satisfied with the condition of prop Josh Hohneck, saying that anyone who can go pig hunting and capture a boar must be all right.

Cowan, Bekhuis and Woodcock or Naholo, Fekitoa, Aaron Smith, Ash Dixon and Dan Pryor - Wynne Gray wonders, which team got the better deal?

The Highlanders made a big pitch to keep star winger Waisake Naholo but he had all-but signed a deal to go to France before the season had even kicked off.

At the start of the Super Rugby season, the Blues had a mish-mash of backs while the Highlanders would struggle with forwards. Combine them and they might be handy, writes Wynne Gray.

Time to take the Highlanders seriously. A victory in Christchurch suggests they are good enough to win this thing and no one should take their eye off them now.

We are always very quick to criticise coaches when teams are inept or failing to get results so I would take this opportunity to give credit to the coaches at the Highlanders and Hurricanes.

Hurricanes preserve their unbeaten record for the season with hard-fought win over unlucky Highlanders.

Ask Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph about his side's "battlers" tag and see what happens. Actually, let me save you the trouble.

At the start of the season it was mentioned that the Highlanders had a tough draw and how important it was that they got away to a good start because they're going to feel the brunt at the end with....

The Highlanders scored a late try through Waisake Naholo to earn their first win of the season against the Reds in Dunedin.

In another compelling Southern derby, the Crusaders held off a late charge from the Highlanders to claim their first win of the Super Rugby season.

Join our live blog of the Super Rugby clash between South Island rivals the Highlanders and the Crusaders in Dunedin.

Justin Marshall, in the first of his twice-weekly columns, casts his eyes over the strengths and weaknesses of the New Zealand franchises.

With Minnesota Vikings tight end Rhett Ellison visiting training this week, it's tempting to ponder how some of the Blues' best would handle a job swap.