New Zealand teams dominate Super Rugby top four

Sanzaar Media
4 days ago
6 min read

New Zealand teams have secured the top four places in the DHL Super Rugby Pacific competition with three rounds remaining.

The Hurricanes lead the table with 45 points, five ahead of the second-placed Chiefs. The Blues sit third, two points behind the Chiefs, while the Crusaders have moved to fourth after beating the Blues 36-20 in Christchurch. The Crusaders are six points behind the Blues.

The Brumbies remain in fifth place after their win over the Force, while the Reds sit in sixth.

The Highlanders are in seventh, three points short of the top six. They have two away games left against the Chiefs and Hurricanes.

Crusaders 36, Blues 20

Inspired by an outstanding all-round performance highlighting Leicester Fainga’anuku’s versatility, the Crusaders extended the Blues’ misery in Christchurch to breathe life back into their top-three play-off hopes. Fainga’anuku started at flanker, scored a try, put through a kick that resulted in fast following lock Jamie Hannah, another key contributor to the win, scoring and played a key role in the lineout move that saw centurion prop George Bower score the first try of his career.

Then, when centre Dallas McLeod left the field before halftime, he moved back to centre for the remainder of the game, securing more turnovers and slotting another kick to the in-goal for wing Sevu Reece to score.

An untidy Blues side extended their southern record to one win in their last 21 games. With games against the Hurricanes and Chiefs, there is no guarantee the Blues will make the top three. And should they miss out, their lack of composure and discipline will have much to do with that.

Down 31-13 with 11 minutes to play, and facing only 13 Crusaders, the Blues scored one try but botched other opportunities. They had moments with their breakout try to centre AJ Lam that started in their 22m area as hooker Bradley Slater’s turnover resulted in lock Sam Darry, halfback Sam Nock and first five-eighths Stephen Perofeta putting centre Lam into space on a weaving 70m run to score. With Nock scoring around a ruck, the Blues went to the break up 13-12.

But the Crusaders scored three unanswered tries in the third quarter to first five-eighths Rivez Reihana, replacement halfback Kyle Preston and Reece, to extinguish the Blues.

Reds 21, Chiefs 31

Responding within two minutes of the Reds’ opening try, the result of a blindside ruck break by halfback Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, who put wing Lachie Anderson across, the Chiefs showed their intentions for the night. And they needed to in a tight contest in Brisbane. A strong run by lock Josh Lord resulted in a goalline ruck that saw flanker Wallace Sititi in place to take a pass to reply with a try.

Up 10-7 in injury time, the Chiefs survived a controversial Reds held up over the line call. But 10 minutes into the second half, Chiefs' line-out power allowed replacement hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho to surge over the line at the back of the maul to score.

Denied two tries from penalties conceded in goalline rucks, the Reds stayed on point and after replacement first five-eighths Carter Gordon threw a long pass to No 8 Harry Wilson, flanker Joe Brial doubled around him to take a backhand pass on the sideline to run in the try.

When replacement prop Jeff Toomaga-Allen was sin-binned for a professional foul, the Chiefs turned to their lineout to produce a copycat drive to secure a second try for Taukei’aho with 11 minutes left. Another long Gordon pass, four minutes later, saw replacement outside back Treyvon Pritchard score to get within three.

But a disintegrating scrum gave Sititi the chance to seal the win three minutes from the end as he picked up untidy ball to charge ahead to score under the posts.

Highlanders 31, Waratahs 26

The Waratahs lost their 13th consecutive game in New Zealand when going down to the Highlanders in Dunedin. Wing Caleb Tangitau marked his return by taking a gap and back-passing to centre Jonah Lowe, who scored after six minutes. Five minutes later, after halfback Adam Lennox’s quick tap penalty pushed play into the Waratahs’ 22m area, Tangitau took the ball from the base of the ruck, powered past three tacklers to score in under the crossbar.

Poor Waratahs discipline allowed the Highlanders to end the first quarter with first five-eighths Cameron Millar throwing a long pass across to Lowe on the sideline.

He passed to fullback Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens, who scored. The Waratahs scored in the 23rd minute when right wing Andrew Kellaway stepped inside two defenders. But five minutes out from half-time, the Highlanders were in again when untidy ball from a ruck was flung wide in the direction of Lowe, who grabbed the ball to score for a 28-7 half-time lead

It got tougher for the Highlanders in the second half. Centre Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii showed his class with a break that led to replacement prop Apolosi Ranawai rolling over the line to score.

A yellow card against centre Jona Nareki was upgraded to a red, leaving the Highlanders with 14 men for the last quarter. Waratahs replacement lock Clem Halaholo got over after two TMO interventions ruled out tries. With two minutes left, hooker Ethan Dobbins ran around the back of the line-out to feed wing Sid Harvey in for a try to get within two of the Highlanders, who hadn’t scored all half before a Timoci Tavatavanawai turnover allowed Millar to land a penalty for the win.

Moana Pasifika 17, Hurricanes 50

Whipping up a try-scoring storm, especially for wing Josh Moorby, who scored four tries, the Hurricanes relished the chance for their extended squad to get games under their belts ahead of the playoff series at Moana Pasifika’s expense. It was a tough night for Moana Pasifika at North Harbour Stadium, not only because of the rain that fell throughout much of the game but also because they got into good positions to challenge the competition leaders, only to falter at key moments.

Some of the forward exchanges in the latter stages of the first half spoke to the heart of the home team but they couldn’t make an impact on the scoreboard.

The Hurricanes took a 19-5 lead to the break but in an 18-minute spell midway through the second half, they ran in five tries, two of them in two minutes to replacement wing Kini Naholo – back from an extended break due to injury – who had hardly taken the field before scoring his first.

Second five-eighths Jone Rova had a reward for an impressive night by joining the try-scoring list. Moana Pasifika were not to be outdone, with wing Tuna Tuitama scoring twice, while fellow wing Israel Leota also got over the chalk.

Brumbies 32, Force 15

Breaking a three-game losing streak, the Brumbies maintained their top-six place while the Force are out of the hunt for 2026. Lock Darcy Swain’s dropping of the starting kick-off did not help the Force’s cause as the Brumbies swooped under advantage to carry play to the goal line and it was lock Lachlan Shaw who had the power to drive over and score.

But into the 17th minute, Swain’s shoulder got in behind prop Harry Johnson-Holmes and helped over the line to score. A penalty to first five-eighths Ben Donaldson gave the Force the lead. However, it was short-lived after a break by wing Corey Toole after a line-out created the impetus for left wing Ollie Sapsford to score out wide.

Some Lonergan family magic put the Brumbies beyond the seven-point margin 10 minutes into the second half. Halfback Ryan Lonergan landed a 40m penalty goal, and then from a line-out maul five metres out, hooker Lachlan Lonergan ran off the back of the maul to feed brother Ryan in at the corner.

Into the final quarter, the Force launched a maul of their own at the line, and it was flanker Carlo Tizzano who scored. Another Lonergan penalty goal gave the Brumbies breathing space before replacement, and debut loose forward Chris Mickelson blasted over with a pick-and-go to complete the Brumbies' win.

With three rounds to go until the Finals three teams have a bye and the Highlanders (7) face a crucial match against the Chiefs (2) in terms of their top six and finals berth aspirations; equally the Fijian Drua (9) and NSW Waratahs (8) who meet in Suva need a win to stay in contention; top of the table Hurricanes (1) host the Blues (3) in a north island derby; while the Queensland Reds (6) will look for a win in Perth against the Force (10) to strengthen their top six position.

FIXTURES (All times local - home team)

Friday

Chiefs v Highlanders @ FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton (7.05pm)