The official heat has been coming on the Hurricanes to patch up their differences with Ma'a Nonu.

Hundreds of Chiefs fans - some queuing for close to 12 hours - have braved the cold to snap up tickets for their side's Super Rugby home grand final.

Chiefs coach Dave Rennie has beefed up security at his home so he can concentrate on the big game this Saturday.

Global warrior George Smith is delivering another snapshot of his remarkable skills which were lost to the Wallabies for three seasons in the middle of Robbie Deans' tenure.

Defending champions have put in the hard yards and have shown they are ready to grab consecutive titles.

All Black great Sir Colin Meads says Super rugby defending champions the Chiefs aren't getting the respect they deserve but it probably doesn't worry them too much.

There's a sense of the Chiefs being on track to be the dominant force in Super Rugby.

As a qualified pilot, Richie McCaw knows an ugly landing when he sees one.

As the Super 15 draws to a close, viewers may have reached their threshold of players declaring "rugby was the winner on the day", "full credit to the opposition" and "giving 110 per cent".

Crowds have tumbled for four out of five Kiwi Super Rugby franchises this season as the post-Rugby World Cup love affair with live sport fades.

On a night when the future of Super Rugby was cast into doubt, the Chiefs showed they were a team for the present, downing the Crusaders in a semifinal thriller.

There's no doubt about it now, the Chiefs are New Zealand's new legacy franchise after their thrilling 20-19 win over the Crusaders tonight.

Watch a replay of our live blog from tonight's Super Rugby semi final between the Chiefs and the Crusaders from Waikato Stadium.

Aaah the serenity. It was a well-worn line delivered by Michael Caton in a mocking movie The Castle which seems to fit Chiefs coach Dave Rennie and his conduct.

If the financial details can be sorted, Jerome Kaino wants to sign on for the Blues' next campaign as the opening bid in his attempt to make the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Todd Blackadder lives in a house about a kilometre from Crusaders' headquarters in suburban Christchurch.

Few players combine the power and dexterity Chiefs prop Ben Tameifuna showed when he barged across for two tries against the Blues.

The "dream team" label is hawked around sporting circles. We've heard it for the Blues but it might more aptly be applied to those who have been guiding the Chiefs.

What is shaping up as an epic semifinal deserves a similarly gigantic subplot.

With Herald Fantasy Rugby allowing managers a maximum of six players from one team it's time to stack up heavily on the remaining four teams.

The swagger has come from the Crusaders, the stagger from the Chiefs.

The Chiefs will be without the injured Tim Nanai-Williams when they take on the rapidly improving Crusaders' midfield in Saturday's Super rugby semifinal.

The Blues have been boosted by Benji Marshall's positive reaction about playing Super 15 rugby next season and have made an offer to the Kiwi five-eighth.

Tracey Nelson looks at the key statistics from the Crusaders thrashing of the Reds on Satutrday.