Super Rugby Pacific

Blues have chance to highlight title credentials

The Blues, who dominated the regular season last year, have already suffered two losses and turned in an unconvincing performance in their round five win over Western Force, albeit after a stomach bug had ripped through the squad.

Fourth in the standings behind the Chiefs, Hurricanes and ACT Brumbies, the Blues welcome back All Blacks lock Patrick Tuipulotu for a match in which they could make a season-defining statement.

"The Chiefs have been the form side so far this season," said Blues captain Dalton Papalii, looking forward to Saturday's clash.

'We need to be decisive': Moana Pasifika coach looks for reaction

They're also seeking first win of the season following five defeats. The Highlanders, on the other hand, enter the game on a two-game winning streak including their most recent one, a 57-24 drubbing of the Fijian Drua.

"We are very aware of the Highlanders' strength," said Moana Pasifika head coach Aaron Mauger.

"You can see the confidence building in their game, but for us the actual focus has been ourselves...we need to be decisive, we lacked that last week and that's the big message: be decisive."

Shields heading back to the Hurricanes

The Hurricanes Centurion and former England international has signed for the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season.

31 year old Shields is currently playing for French club Perpignan on a short term deal.

He left Wellington in 2018 to play for London Wasps, who last year went into administration and were relegated from the English Premiership.

His signing will help offset the loss of captain Ardie Savea, who will take a sabbatical in Japan next year.

Blues overcome plucky Force at Eden Park

The Force made the Blues work for it early and didn't concede a try until the 29th minute, but were ultimately put away comfortably at Eden Park in their second straight defeat.

It leaves them still searching for their first win against an New Zealand-based side since returning to the competition in 2021, without a victory in seven attempts.

The Perth side matched it with opponents at the breakdown and forced some early penalties, although a missed shot at goal combined with Gareth Simpson failing to find touch from a kick meant they had no points to show for it.

Fainga'anuku leads Crusaders to bonus point win over Brumbies

The blockbusting wing scored a hat-trick against the Blues at Eden Park last night and his double for the defending champions – both from attacking lineouts where his power and pace combined to make him virtually unstoppable – was crucial.

The margin for this five tries to two bonus point victory was clear-cut but it wasn’t as straightforward as the Crusaders would have liked.

Both teams were missing a host of players – the Crusaders’ latest casualties were Sam Whitelock, Sevu Reece and lock Zach Gallagher, the latter replaced on the eve of the match by Dominic Gardiner.

Basics let Drua down in close loss

That was the Fijian Drua's biggest problem as they went down fighting, 27-24, in a close battle with the Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Sunday.

While offloads did wonders for the Fijian side, it also turned out to punish the team when they went overboard with it at crucial moments, resulting in knock-ons and losing possession, especially in the team's red zones.

Another area the Drua were culpable was not being quick enough to support the ball carriers, ensuring that their opponents tacklers and ball hunters were bulldozed out of the way.

Pasifika coach can't fault effort but heavy defeat exposes gaps

The ACT side eventually ran out 62-36 winner in Canberra on Saturday.

The match saw the lead change five times until the Brumbies, on the back of a strong lineout, took control of the game in the final quarter.

The Brumbies put on four late tries and Moana Pasifika ran out of steam in the final 20 minutes.

New flanker Miracle Fa'ailagi set the tone in in the second minute when he took an intercept and galloped 70 metres to score.

Fijian Drua drops to 7th place

The Drua side dropped from fifth place after the close 24-27 loss to Reds yesterday.

They now have nine points from four matches, recording two wins and two losses.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs and the Brumbies maintain their unbeaten run.

Chiefs is at the top with 19 points, the Brumbies second with 17 and the Hurricanes with 14.

With 11 points is the Blues in fourth place while the Crusaders and Reds share 10 points each.

The Drua will face the Highlanders in their next game on Saturday at 3.35pm (Fiji Time) in Dunedin, New Zealand.

     

Fijian Drua snatch it late against Moana Pasifika

Rakuro was part of the Drua Academy earlier this week, before being named in the No. 23 jersey ahead of their season opener in New Zealand.

But the wingers debut couldn’t have gone any better.

In the dying stages of the game, Rakuro found himself in space – but dramatically slipped over mere metres from the try-line.

But it worked in his favour, as the covering defender slipped over. After getting to his feet, the debutant jotted the ball down for a memorable score with about three minutes to play – which can be seen above.

Chiefs start Super Rugby season with big win over Crusaders

Despite being at the Crusaders fortress in Christchurch, the visitors have come-from-behind and then pulled away for a big 31-10 win over the defending champions in Friday night's opening match of the 2023 competition.

Trailing 10-7 going into the break, the Chiefs scored 24 unanswered points in the second half as they powered to a confidence boosting victory.

The Chiefs finished third in the regular season standings last season, before being beaten 20-7 by the Crusaders at the semifinal stage.