Former champions face critical matches in the 11th round of Super Rugby as they struggle to keep title hopes alive and to head off the elevation of a new victor.
The Wellington-based Hurricanes, chasing their first title, had their first loss of the season to the defending champion New South Wales Waratahs last weekend but continue to lead the southern hemisphere tournament with eight rounds remaining in the regular season.
The Hurricanes on Sunday face the 2011 champion Queensland Reds, who edged the Cheetahs last weekend for their second win of the season but whose title hopes are likely extinct.
The seven-time champion Crusaders, three-time champion Blues and Bulls, two-time champion Brumbies and Chiefs and the Waratahs are all preparing for weekend matches that will bear heavily on title ambitions.
The Christchurch-based Crusaders host the Auckland-based Blues on Saturday in a match which has grown in importance after home losses to New Zealand conference rivals in each of their last two games.
An unprecedented third consecutive defeat for the 10th-placed Crusaders, who hadn't lost back-to-back Super Rugby home games since 2004, would severely damage their bid to reach the playoffs and reclaim the title they last held in 2007.
Crusaders coaching staff this week apologized to fans for the poor quality of the team's recent performances. They were outplayed by the Dunedin-based Highlanders and Hamilton-based Chiefs in each of their last two games — losing heavily to the Chiefs for the second time this season.
The performances of the team's senior players, notably flyhalf Dan Carter and All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, have fallen well below their usual standards, harming the overall performance of the team.
The Crusaders will face the table-topping Hurricanes twice and the Waratahs once over the next five weeks, making their need for a win over the struggling Blues even greater.
"We truly believe we can get ourselves out of it," assistant coach Aaron Mauger said. "We talked about the magnitude of that challenge — the hill has got a little bit steeper but we're still in it, we are still here and going about our work."
The Blues are in 14th place with only one win from nine matches and a loss on Saturday would certainly end their playoffs chances.
The Chiefs, in second place behind the Hurricanes in the New Zealand conference, open the round at home to last-place Western Force. Their playoff chances are strong but they've had a setback with the loss for the remainder of the season of All Blacks flyhalf Aaron Cruden, who is to undergo a knee reconstruction. Marty McKenzie has been selected o make his first start of the season in Cruden's place.
The Pretoria-based Bulls face the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday in a match which threatens their lead in the South African conference. The Stormers beat the Waratahs and Force on their just-completed tour to Australia and New Zealand and sit only two points behind the Bulls.
"On the whole, I would say the tour was satisfactory" coach Allister Coetzee said. "We are right up there on the (standings), in sixth place, with a string of home games ahead of us."
The Brumbies, who top the Australian conference, were beaten last week by the Melbourne Rebels and will host one of the form teams of the moment, the Highlanders, in Canberra on Friday.
The Highlanders have decided to rest All Blacks Aaron Smith, Ben Smith and Malakai Fekitoa for the match, giving the Brumbies some hope of holding out the Waratahs' challenge for first place in Australia. The Waratahs play the Rebels on Saturday.
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