The Chiefs are aware of the awakening monster that is the Crusaders forward pack but are confident they have the personnel to combat it

They fell at this hurdle last season, but the Crusaders feel they have the momentum and confidence to leap the Chiefs and go all the way this year.

Even All Black rivals are getting sick and tired of Kiwi fans jeering Wallaby playmaker Quade Cooper.

The Brumbies and Cheetahs head out of Canberra to South Africa today with the hosts the only side who will unfurl their playing gear again.

The relentless squeeze started from the man in the No1 Crusaders jersey and carried on through the pack and into their backline, writes Wynne Gray.

Amidst the pantomime booing of the AMI Stadium crowd, Cooper appeared to get stage fright, writes Patrick McKendry. He hardly ran the ball.

He warned that despite their emphatic performance in despatching the Reds, they can't take anything for granted.

The new Wallaby coach would have dearly wanted his boys to beat the Crusaders in his first match against a NZ team since his Wallaby appointment, writes Richard Loe. Bad luck, Ewen.

Join us here for our live blog of the Crusaders taking on the Reds in the Super Rugby playoffs in Christchurch.

For the Crusaders, the pressure of the finals series was embraced shortly after the final whistle of the Hurricanes victory in Christchurch a week ago.

A layer of talent arrived who were new to Super 15 or had just dipped their toes into the tournament last year.

When it comes to rugby coaching, Jake White wants to operate in a manner similar to the style and methods Rod Macqueen brought to the Brumbies when he worked with them around the birth of Super rugby.

Blues coach Sir John Kirwan and ceo Andy Dalton are flying to Sydney this weekend to talk to Benji Marshall about coming to the franchise.

All the buzz is about Benji Marshall but a greater mission for the Blues will be finding a centre to replace Rene Ranger.

The Reds eye a chance at history tomorrow night, with a win against the Crusaders giving them victories over all five New Zealand teams this season.

I'm happy to be proven wrong on this one, but I can't see any value in Benji Marshall going to the Blues, writes Ian Jones.

This seems like a straightforward pick. Carter (243 points) has been in great form the past four rounds scoring an impressive 116 Fantasy points over that time, including 31 against the Hurricanes last week.

Gregor Paul lists 15 things we have learned from this year's Super Rugby competition.

A Super 15 scheduling quirk means the tournament quarter-finalists have scant knowledge of their rivals.

Give me Beauden Barrett any day. Barrett in Blue, bring it on, writes Wynne Gray. Hopefully the Blues have sent brother Kane down south while he is on his ridiculous tap-dancing sabbatical.

What, Todd Blackadder was asked the other day, should the Reds fear most about the Crusaders on Saturday?

The Blues will have to self-fund their deal to bring Benji Marshall to Auckland as the New Zealand Rugby Union has confirmed it is unlikely to provide much.

With speculation Tigers playmaker Benji Marshall is set to jump codes, we look at why the Blues wouldn't be wise to sign him.

The chances of Benji Marshall switching to rugby and playing for the Blues took a step closer last night.