Super Rugby: All Blacks star can reshape playoffs prospects of Hurricanes, Chiefs, Crusaders – Phil Gifford

He can relate to players, having toiled in the sweaty heart of a top-level forward pack as a hard-grafting lock. Perhaps most importantly, the former Crusader always struck me, as he moved through the administrative ranks in Canterbury, as totally grounded. Any calls he makes will not be panicky or off the cuff.

With just three full rounds left, the Hurricanes and the Chiefs look at ease at the top of the Super Rugby Pacific table.

In the weekend’s rounds, the Canes imperiously swept past Moana Pasifika 50-17 at Albany to stay in the No 1 position on 44 points, and while it was tougher for the second-placed Chiefs in Brisbane, they were ultimately too good for the Queensland Reds (now in sixth place), winning 31-21.

The top Aussie side, the fifth-placed ACT Brumbies, rolled the hapless Western Force 32-15. A crucial game against the Blues in Christchurch drew a sellout crowd, with the Crusaders outgunning the visitors 36-20 to stay in fourth, while the Blues remain in third place.

The Highlanders clung on to seventh by beating the Waratahs 31-16 but the Highlanders’ programme now is brutal, with the Chiefs in Hamilton, the Canes in Wellington and a bye. If they can somehow force themselves into the playoffs, I’m sure many of us would be delighted to have more chances to see the electrifying Highlanders wing Caleb Tangitau shred opposing defences.

The odds-makers at the TAB got it exactly right when they made the Crusaders hot favourites to beat the Blues in Christchurch, the home team paying $1.55 to the Auckland side’s $2.40.

There are more than a few hints that the Crusaders of 2026 are nudging memories of the 1998 campaign that culminated with the first title for the Crusaders, when they beat the Blues 20-13 at Eden Park. The most obvious reminder is in the fact the Crusaders have managed for three decades to build a remarkably consistent team spirit, which is now happening again under coach Rob Penney and captain David Havili. If you’re sentimental, you could detect it in the obvious affection towards, and delight for, prop George Bower from his teammates as Bower played his 100th Super game. Or you could pick it up in the way the Crusaders stormed to victory after the Blues, totally against the run of play, had led 13-12 at halftime.

There’s still a razor’s edge to walk for the Crusaders, with a bye and then the Chiefs and the Hurricanes in Christchurch to come in the next three weeks.

But any side facing the Crusaders when knockout games start in three weeks, especially if Will Jordan is back in the No 15 red-and-black jersey, will need a 100% performance to take the match.

When we look back on the 2026 Super season, there’s already one man whose remarkable year will be front of mind. The success of the switch of Leicester Fainga’anuku from the backline to openside flanker almost defies belief. Against the Blues, he made up, with Christian Lio-Willie and a revitalised Ethan Blackadder, the most dynamic loose forward trio we’ve seen this year.

What’s astonishing about Fainga’anuku is his range of skills and strengths. Physicality? Three Blues forwards swatted away in a bruising run. A constant threat at the breakdown. Skills? A delicate, perfectly weighted 60th-minute chip for Sevu Reece’s try. Fainga’anuku is no novelty act. He’s currently the country’s form openside flanker.

With the Canes at Eden Park, a bye and then the Chiefs in Hamilton, the last three rounds of pool play for the Blues make for a rocky road to the playoffs. The success of the Blues to date has been largely based on a big, hard-nosed pack that usually performed with clinical precision.

What would have been disconcerting for Blues supporters was to see how disjointed the team became against the Crusaders when the forwards were unsettled. When the Blues were out-hustled in the loose, and the forward drives that had worked brilliantly so many times this year were often nullified, the need to give tryscoring machine Caleb Clarke a metre’s start on attack largely went unanswered. For the title to return to Auckland, the Blues must urgently find some alternative attacking strategies.

The Hurricanes continue to impress as the team to beat this season and they’re doing it in a style that aims to put points on the board with tries from the fliers they have on the flanks. So it was appropriate that the man of the match in their 50-17 disposal of Moana Pasifika was wing Josh Moorby, who ran in four tries.

The Hamilton Boys’ High School graduate’s rugby career has taken him from Invercargill to Montpellier in France. But right now, being in Wellington and playing outside a gifted backline feels like a perfect fit for the 27-year-old.

“A bit of a dogfight” was how Chiefs captain Luke Jacobson described his team’s 31-21 victory over a grimly determined Reds team in Brisbane.

The Chiefs had two vital cards up their sleeves in blockbusting hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho and hugely promising No 8 Wallace Sititi. Both scored two tries, with the second, in both cases, vital. In the 70th minute, Taukei’aho was unstoppable from a lineout to take the Chiefs, with Damian McKenzie’s conversion, to an apparently unbeatable 24-14 lead.

Four minutes later, the lead was down to 24-21 when 19-year-old Reds wing Treyvon Pritchard sprinted over for a try. But come the hour and so did the man. Sititi, who can sniff out a try blindfolded, streaked past a bewildered Reds defence to seal the victory.

Phil Gifford is a Contributing Sports Writer for NZME. He is one of the most-respected voices in New Zealand sports journalism.