The Blues have opened the final weekend of the Super Rugby Pacific regular season with a 16-9 home win over the Highlanders that severely dented the visitors' playoff hopes and opened the door for three of their rivals.
Mutual respect between competing Highlanders halfbacks Aaron Smith and Folau Fakatava was central to the hopes of creating an ongoing legacy for the side in their position.
A last-minute try has robbed the Queensland Reds of just their second win in 27 years in Dunedin and left the injury-hit side in grave danger of missing the Super Rugby Pacific finals.
The Melbourne Rebels' slim hopes of making the Super Rugby Pacific finals have suffered a hammer blow after their clash with the Highlanders ended in heartbreaking fashion in Dunedin.
The ACT Brumbies have dug deep to protect their perfect home record this Super Rugby Pacific season and return to second on the ladder with a 48-32 win over the Highlanders in Canberra.
Circumstances, and the demands of Super Rugby Pacific, have not made life any easier for the Highlanders, who travel to Canberra to play the Brumbies on Sunday.
Flyhalf Damian McKenzie and fullback Shaun Stevenson led the Chiefs counter-attacking game as the Hamilton-based team beat the Dunedin-based Highlanders 52-28 to extend their winning start to the season in Super Rugby Pacific to 10 matches.
Consequences after the loss to the Force are reflected in the Highlanders' choices for their DHL Super Rugby Pacific game with the Waratahs in Sydney on Friday.
The Western Force have produced their best first-half performance of the Super Rugby Pacific season to secure a 30-17 upset win over the Highlanders in front of 8293 fans at HBF Park.
Winger Salesi Rayasi has scored two tries for the Hurricanes in their 29-14 Super Rugby Pacific win over the Highlanders to take them joint-top with the Chiefs.
With his future confirmed at the Highlanders at least until 2026, Ethan de Groot faces one of his scrum tests of the season when going up against All Blacks teammate Tyrel Lomax when playing the Hurricanes in their Super Rugby Pacific game in Dunedin on Saturday.
The Dunedin, New Zealand-based Highlanders have dominated the second half after a tight and high-scoring first half to beat Moana Pasifika 45-17 in a sixth-round match in Super Rugby Pacific.
Improvements in their injury list, and their lineout performance against the Fijian Drua at the weekend, have boosted the Highlanders ahead of their game with Moana Pasifika on Friday in Auckland.
The injury-hit Highlanders conceded the first try of the match, then scored five of their own in the first half on the way to a 57-24 win over the Fijian Drua in Super Rugby Pacific.
