Super Rugby

Weber's second try came after a breath-taking buildup, with replacement back Alex Nankivell bursting out of defence and fullback Solomon Alaimalo punching a hole through midfield before giving off to the pint-sized number nine in the 70th minute.

The Chiefs, who also had tries from flanker Mitch Karpik and Anton Lienert-Brown, held on in a nail-biting finish to keep their slender finals hopes alive.

The Chiefs are in 11th place, three points outside the top eight playoff places.

A week after sitting out their scrappy 21-21 draw with the Sharks, the fleet-footed pivot scored two tries in the opening 22 minutes and put on a play-making clinic to fuel the red and blacks' bonus point win at Loftus Versfeld. 

Romping past the second-placed Bulls propelled the Crusaders seven points clear of the Hurricanes in the New Zealand conference and, with just four regular season matches remaining on their schedule, it was another big stride towards sealing the top seed. 

Disappointing because the Blues had so many opportunities, especially at five-metre scrums close to the Hurricanes, only to fail to score from any of them.

There were other basic errors that contributed to negating the possession and position advantages the Blues enjoyed. The Hurricanes had to make nearly three tackles to one by the Blues while the home side also looked to move the ball more often but lacked incision and accuracy.

 But the controversial first-five still harbours a strong desire to get back into the Wallabies in a World Cup year and confirmed he has been in further contact with the national team's management.

Cooper was sidelined from the competition last year when he was frozen out by Queensland coach Brad Thorn, but the 31-year-old has played more Super Rugby minutes than any of his Rebels teammates, who he joined for 2019.

Set to face the Reds in Melbourne on Friday night, Cooper said he really needed their bye two weeks ago.

Perenara missed the Hurricanes 29-19 win over the Rebels last Saturday as he had the second of his All Black rest weeks but returns for what will be his 121st appearance for the club.

Wing Ben Lam also returns after a two week absence because of a calf strain while Toby Smith has been named at loosehead prop in in the only other changes to the starting XV.

Lam's inclusion sees Chase Tiatia move to the bench while Richard Judd, who started at halfback against the Rebels, drops out of the match-day squad after he suffered a minor shoulder injury.

Smith suffered the injury in the Highlanders draw against the Chiefs in Dunedin at the weekend.

His injury raises concern in the All Black camp too with utility back Damian McKenzie already ruled out of the World Cup with a serious knee injury.

Highlanders assistant coach Glen Delaney says they're getting used to operating without key players.

"We've had guys dropping out throughout the year (through injury). We lost Aaron Smith for a bit, we had Liam (Squire) out for a bit and Waisake (Naholo's been out for a bit," said Delaney.

Writing in The Australian, Ella opined that the Sydney-based Waratahs were a "big team in a big city and that requires a big-name coach."

Gibson's contract with the New South Wales Super Rugby franchise expires at the end of the 2020 season and Ella believes the current Wales coach would be ideally placed to take over.

"The word in Europe is that Gatland will not get the England job after the World Cup in Japan later this year, which means his only ongoing commitment will be coaching the British and Irish Lions in South Africa in 2021," Ella wrote.

The Bulls led 21-7 early in the second half at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday but tries to Kurtley Beale and Curtis Rona put the Waratahs in position to secure a valuable away win and a share of top spot in the Australian conference.

But a try to loosehead prop Simphiwe Matanzima with ten minutes to play put the Bulls back on top for good to see the Waratahs fall behind the Rebels, Brumbies and Reds in the chase for a semi-final berth.

The two-time defending champions had trailed for much of the match as five- eighth Curwin Bosch slotted seven penalties for the visitors, but they managed to pinch the draw as they hammered away at the tryline for the final few minutes.

Codie Taylor and Jack Goodhue also scored tries for the home side, who moved to 42 points and extended their lead at the top of the New Zealand conference over the Hurricanes (32), who host the Melbourne Rebels on Saturday.

Jordie Barrett, brother Beauden and flanker Ardie Savea returned from an All Blacks rest week to fire up the Hurricanes, who could only draw 23-23 with the Chiefs at their last meeting in March.

Jordie reminded All Blacks coach Steve Hansen of his World Cup aspirations as Hansen looks at the makeup of his back three for the tournament in Japan after utility back Damian McKenzie ruptured a knee ligament and was ruled out for the rest of the year.