Super Rugby

"I don't see that as a forseeable option. He's contracted [to Montpellier], so we'll look at what we've got in our own group, in our region, and around the country," the Chiefs coach said on Tuesday.

Damian McKenzie (knee) and Tiaan Falcon (Achilles) are gone for the season, and Jack Debreczeni is a likely absentee for the coming weeks after suffering his second concussion in a month in last Friday's 23-17 loss to the Lions, leaving the Chiefs seriously short of playmakers ahead of facing the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday.

Smith has remained in New Zealand while the rest of the squad on Sunday departed Dunedin. It will mark his second - and final - All Blacks enforced rest week. 

Leaving out the 32-year-old All Black against the Sunwolves means he will be able to re-charge at home ahead of the Highlanders' home clash with the Chiefs Saturday week. 

However, the Sunwolves aren't the easy beats of previous years and the Highlanders can expect a heck of a challenge from the Tony Brown coached side. 

Seeking their first away win of the season, the Brumbies made the most of their rare visits into Stormers' territory with three tries then pulled off a massive 226 tackles to come out on top at DHL Newlands.

Captain Christian Lealiifano described the Brumbies' performance as "an incredible effort from our group".

"[The Stormers] just kept us under pressure the whole time and we couldn't really unlock our backline the way we wanted," Lealiifano said.

Just after half-time, with his side trailing 20-7, Daryl Gibson summed it up beautifully: "It's who's going to blink first."

The Rebels then conceded eight straight penalties to all but self-combust and throw away a 13-point lead and suffer their 14th loss from 16 starts against a Waratahs team with a clear psychological advantage over a Melbourne side that left the SCG shattered.

Captain Michael Hooper was outstanding in his 100th game for the Waratahs, who are now four points behind the Rebels in the Australian conference.

They found themselves down 23-7 just before halftime in front of a 27,000-strong capacity crowd at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium in Tokyo on Friday night, but kept the home side scoreless in the second half to surge back to win 29-23.

TJ Perenara, Ben Lam, Chase Tiatia and Wes Goosen scored their four tries, with the latter three coming in a 19-minute spell through the middle stages of the second half.

While they got the win, it was a performance riddled with a plethora of errors - they conceded 16 turnovers by the time all was said and done.

After four wins on the bounce, the Blues were handed a 33-29 defeat at FMG Stadium Waikato, despite the hosts losing Damian McKenzie to a leg injury early in the second half.

It turned into a thrilling contest for the 14,977 in attendance, in a tit-for-tat second half where the Blues just wouldn't say die. The collisions were typically fierce and the action blood-rushing.

It was the first time the two teams had met this Super Rugby season, after their March 16 match in Dunedin was cancelled following the Christchurch mosque shootings the day before.

Although the Crusaders initially looked out of sorts and trailed by three at half-time, they proved brutally efficient in the second spell in amassing five tries for a comprehensive win which extended their unbeaten run at home to 24 matches.

The decision by organiser SANZAAR to revert to a purely southern hemisphere Super Rugby competition was a major blow for Japan and those who champion the growth of the game, as the nation prepares to showcase its development as hosts of the World Cup.

Leitch, who hasn't featured for the Sunwolves this season due to commitments with the national team, believes this is a mistake and that exposure to higher levels of competition is the only way to grow the sport he loves.

"It feels like the strong teams play within themselves and won't let anyone else in," Leitch said.

Following the March 15 terrorist attacks that left 50 dead and dozens more injured, after a gunman opened fire on two separate mosques, the Crusaders have found themselves contemplating their identity as a team. The team name is a reference to the Crusades of the Mediterranean that saw Muslims killed by Christians.

Started by fan Shane Cannons, the petition is directed towards the New Zealand Government rather than the Crusaders or New Zealand Rugby. 

The Crusaders are a "team that thousands of people around the world have loved for so long", Mr Cannons wrote.

A milestone night for Waratahs fullback Israel Foloau ended on a sour note as his team went down 32-29 to the Blues in a tense clash in Auckland on Saturday night.

The result lifted the Blues to fourth overall and within sight of second in the New Zealand conference.

With his team trailing 22-21 midway through the second half, it was a loose pass from Folau that ultimately proved decisive, allowing Nonu to charge 40m for his team's final try.