All Black coach Steve Hansen has put the form struggles of Blues' loose forward Steven Luatua down to poor fitness.

The Hurricanes have their backs against the wall and they know it.

The Blues, in desperate need of competition points to keep their slim chance of a play-off place alive, will probably be wishing for a venue change on Friday.

As the twists and turns in the New Zealand Super Rugby conference continue, the best players have been forced to put aside their differences for an All Black training camp.

After a four-year hiatus, the familiar scarlet jersey of the New Zealand Barbarians returns for two relatively high-profile games next month.

Rugby was being ruined and the Reds were robbed, skipper James Horwill ranted after his side caved in once more.

If Hurricanes coach Mark Hammett watched the Crusaders go down to a short-handed Sharks side, he may have cracked a wry smile as the final whistle blew.

Todd Blackadder was at a loss over how the Crusaders failed to beat the Sharks in Christchurch.

After two and a half years of hard work at the Chiefs, Aaron Cruden has made the most of the down time his broken thumb has presented.

Jason Woodward kicked a last-minute penalty after Queensland replacement Ed O'Donoghue was sent off for eye gouging to give the Melbourne Rebels a first Super Rugby win over the Reds with a 30-27 victory in Brisbane on Saturday.

The Stormers ran out of steam towards the end but did enough earlier on to run out convincing 24-8 victors over the Western Force in a Super Rugby clash at Newlands.

Of all the things it's easy to imagine the 1.98m, 120kg Patrick Tuipulotu being, scared is not one of them.

The Blues future is easy enough to predict with five games of this campaign left.

A couple of things will have become clearer for the All Blacks coaches after the Highlanders' defeat of the Hurricanes - not least the fact they will be feeling pretty good about Malakai Fekitoa.

The Blues probably lack a genuine team culture and departing Hurricanes coach Mark Hammett failed to understand the region he represented, according to Massey rugby researcher Jeremy Hapeta.

An academic has lifted the lid on how the Chiefs have won Super Rugby titles, highlighting the use of Maori cultural themes and responsibility to the community.

If the recent defeat to the Chiefs marked the death knell for the Blues' season, the haemorrhaging started last year.

The Hurricanes may have to start relying on more than themselves if they want to make the Super Rugby playoffs.

Watch a replay of tonight's Super Rugby blog from the match between the Hurricanes and the Highlanders from Westpac Stadium in Wellington.

A stray $5 blows into your path as you saunter past the TAB on your way to watch coverage of tonight's Hurricanes and Highlanders clash.

From two seasons in the All Blacks' wider training squad to fighting for a place on the Hurricanes bench, it has been a tough run for Brad Shields.

The Coltmans will be at Westpac Stadium tonight, watching their son hopefully be part of a Highlanders victory over the Hurricanes, and complete what has been a dream week for the bush-bearded hooker.

Kieran Read's concussion-enforced absence from the Crusaders is likely to end next week. Coach Todd Blackadder said yesterday that Read was now back to 100 per cent health after his head injury suffered in the narrow victory over the Chiefs in Hamilton.

Tim Bateman has put family first in his decision to leave the Hurricanes at the end of the Super Rugby season.