Page 32 - Sam Gilbert News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Meanwhile, the rest were reflecting on what might have been. None more so than the Blues, who at least finished with a win over the Chiefs, albeit against a team without its stars who were resting up for the decider. The Blues also finished level on points, 20, with their northern neighbours and had a superior points differential (+19 to -43), but Super Rugby’s first tiebreaker is decided by matches won (the Chiefs won five and the Blues four). Will that have been comfort to Blues fans drowning their sorrows on Saturday night? Probably not. Here are Stuff's last Aotearoa power ranking...

Beyond that, where does his test future lie? In the black of New Zealand or the white of Fiji? At 26 years old, the skilful and tough Fijian is in his prime and may feel the All Blacks door is closing if he doesn’t make Ian Foster’s squad this year. One thing is certain, though. His talents deserve the bigger stage that test rugby offers. He’ll be 28 when the next Rugby World Cup rolls around in 2023, and he could make a serious impact in that tournament. He deservedly takes the No 8 jersey in Stuff’s Team of the Week.

The Chiefs' Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu makes a break against the Blues on Saturday. OPINION: Watching the Blues v Chiefs women play on Saturday was like an antidote to the embarrassing finger pointing and leaking that has been going on between New Zealand Rugby and the New Zealand Rugby Players’ Association over the past week. The row over the Silver Lake deal is ‘not about the money’, we are assured, although when either side is pressed about why a deal has not been done it quickly degenerates into a fight over player pool percentages, what goes where, and who gets what. In other words, ...

Highlanders (Dickson, Nareki, Dixon tries; Hunt penalty goal, conversion Gilbert conversion) Click here for a full match wrap and highlights. Full time 80 mins - Try Hurricanes to Salesi Rayasi What a try to the Hurricanes through big winger Rayasi. Quick hands from Iose and Proctor find Rayasi in space. He uses his footwork to beat Milner-Skudder and sprint clear to score the home sides sixth try.  Barrett converts the try as the siren goes. (HUR 41-22) 75 mins   The Highlanders are back onto the attack with five minutes remaining. After six-phases, Amoua wins a breakdown turnover and d...

Hurricanes finish disappointing Super Rugby Aotearoa season with a flourish. Former All Black Nehe Milner-Skudder made a successful return to rugby but his former side the Hurricanes surged to a 41-22 win on Friday on the back of powerful nights for Ngani Laumape and Du’Plessis Kirifi – and an eventful one for captain Dane Coles. Wound up by an early obstruction play by Highlanders No 10 Mitch Hunt, Coles was a like a heavily shaken bottle of fizzy drink at Sky Stadium – best left alone for about 30 minutes. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images Hurricanes No 12 Ngani Laumape makes a break agains...