Four years after suffering heartbreak at the final hurdle, Aaron Cruden's World Cup hopes have been dashed in equally unfortunate circumstances.

Every team has played at least eight games this season, which means we are at - or past - the halfway point of the 2015 Super Rugby campaign.

Aaron Cruden's season-ending injury is a dreadful blow for his ambitions, but we can appreciate the depth of our five-eighths talent, writes Wynn Gray.

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.

This week will start with a different feeling for the Hurricanes.

Blues coach John Kirwan believes his team are still in with a slim chance of making the play-offs but is considering resting his captain Jerome Kaino from the must-win match.

After watching the demolition job the Chiefs did on the Crusaders, there was one really disappointing aspect to emerge.

Step up Damian McKenzie. The question has always been when, not if, he'd be an All Black and given events of recent months, the answer might be 2016.

For the first three years of Dave Rennie's reign at the Chiefs, clashes with the Crusaders conformed to a certain pattern.

A dire opening half killed the Blues' season once and for all in Dunedin tonight.

Join us here for tonight's live blog of the Super Rugby clash between the Highlanders and the Blues.

Their most recent outing against the Stormers two weeks ago produced a 25-20 victory but there was collateral damage.

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.

Something's just not right with the Crusaders. They tinker with their combinations, often swapping test men for test men but progress is marginal.

Sharks players who are suspended because of foul play will now be docked their wages.

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.

Aaron Cruden will come up against a pair of mates and rivals when the Chiefs visit the Crusaders.

Kees was among 90 youngsters whose names were drawn from a ballot in an exercise in which 10 others received jerseys through the BNZ and team Facebook pages.

The last time Sonny Bill Williams and Charlie Ngatai started together in midfield, the Chiefs produced their attacking performance of the season.