Blues

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.

A proud Muslim, Williams posted to social media on Sunday night saying he would be in Christchurch "later in the week to show love and give donations to the Christchurch Masjids for the people effected in this tragedy".

The Blues confirmed the 51-test midfielder would not play against the Highlanders at Eden Park.
The match would count as one of the two Super Rugby fixtures he must miss as an All Blacks player ahead of this year's World Cup.

Williams' confirmation of his trip to Christchurch followed an emotional video he posted on Friday after the terror attacks.

The nine-time champions scored four tries to three on Saturday at Eden Park, but only clung to victory when Blues reserve five-eighth Harry Plummer missed two late shots at goal.

Making his maiden Super Rugby appearance, Plummer skewed a handy conversion attempt and then a 45m penalty shot, both inside the final seven minutes of a fiercely fought Kiwi derby.

It was a gut-wrenching result for new Blues head coach Leon MacDonald, whose team look highly competitive and capable of breaking a seven-season run of failing to reach the finals.

Cook rated Ponga the best player in the NRL Telstra Premiership this season and the man that could single-handedly ruin plans of the Blues securing just their second series victory in 13 years.

With a mission of his own to terrorise rucks late in both halves, the 26-year-old expects to see more of Queensland's utility off the bench than he did of Anthony Milford in game one.

Ponga leads the NRL in tackle breaks (116), line break assists (13) and kick return metres with 871 in total.

Vice-captain Crotty will link with Jack Goodhue in the midfield.

The Crusaders have made six changes and one positional switch from the side that beat the Waratahs last week.

In the front row, Tim Perry makes his return from a hamstring injury and will start at loosehead prop. All Black Owen Franks also returns to the starting side this week, and Mike Alaalatoa moves to the reserves.

The Highlanders raced out to a 12-nil lead in the opening minutes of the game but the home side pulled the deficit back to 12-11 before the Highlanders edged out to a 20-11 halftime lead.

The second half though was dominated by the Highlanders running in six tries in all with loose forward Shannon Frizell scoring a hatrick.

The Blues have not beaten a fellow New Zealand side since they recorded a 33-31 victory over the Highlanders in the first week of the competition in 2016, a streak of 15 matches - 14 of them losses.

The Chiefs are now undefeated in their last 14 games against the Blues, which is the longest unbeaten streak for any team against another in Super Rugby history, but they were behind for much of the match before securing their hard-fought success.

The Chiefs came from a 14-19 half-time deficit to win when referee Paul Williams awarded a penalty try in the 74th minute as the home scrum powered towards the line against a battling Blues side, down to 14 men.

Both missed last week with niggling injuries, although the squad still has 12 players unable to be considered for selection.

Coach Tana Umaga said he is looking for a significant improvement in their team defence and discipline for the repeat game against the Chiefs, after last week's loss to the Sharks.

"We let ourselves down with our team defence. The boys all realise that and have come in this week with a determined attitude. Last year we were developing into a strong team defensive unit and we must get back to that level.

Coming off the bye, the Blues were comprehensively outplayed, with poor tackling and an inability to secure quality ball allowing the Sharks to open out a 26-7 halftime lead.

The Aucklanders hit back in the second spell with three tries in the space of eight minutes but could find no answer to a masterful display from Sharks fly- half Robert du Preez.

The 24-year-old playmaker kicked flawlessly, nailing seven penalties and six conversions as well as scoring a try of his own to total 38 points for the match.

Sanzaar has announced the May 5 match would switch from the regular Allianz Stadium in Sydney to Brookvale Oval, home of the NRL's Manly Sea Eagles.

The Waratahs requested the change due to the possibility Allianz Stadium will host the A-League grand final that day.

The kick-off time has also changed.

Scheduled for a mid-afternoon kickoff, it has moved to 7.45pm.

The changes was carried out in consultation with the Blues.