Super Rugby power rankings: Thank goodness for the Drua

Drua make a splash and Moana Pasifika come oh so close.

Beat Highlanders 52-28. Record: 10-0. No change. Table position: 1

The juggernaut rumbles on. The Chiefs responded to an early Ethan de Groot try by scoring three seven-pointers of their own in the space of nine first-half minutes to take control of the game. They comfortably found a way, just as they have all season and likely will against the Reds in New Plymouth on Friday.

Beat Hurricanes 27-24. Record: 4-6. Up 8. Table position: 8

Not to knock the Chiefs’ exploits in racking up the wins, but thank goodness for the Drua this season. The Fijians have brought badly needed flair, unpredictability and pure joy to a competition that would be poorer without them. The Hurricanes brought a full-strength team to Suva and simply couldn’t handle what the Drua dished out. “We weren’t good enough,” said Ardie Savea afterwards.

Beat Force 48-13. Record: 7-3. Up 6. Table position: 4

Simply out-muscled the Force. The Aussies had no answer to the Crusaders’ set piece, with hookers Brodie McAlister and Codie Taylor scoring a combined four tries. There was some good stuff off first phase from the Crusaders, with Will Jordan making a good return from his seven months away. Leicester Fainga’anuku and 19-year-old wing Macca Springer looked sharp. A good way to bounce back from the Chiefs loss. They have the Blues at home next.

Lost to Blues 30-31. Record 0-10. Up 7. Table position: 12

I told a friend on his way to Eden Park for this game that the Blues would win it by 50 points. In the end Moana Pasifika were dreadfully unlucky to lose it. After conceding three tries (two thanks to some shaky defence), the Moana boys came back to take the lead twice in the second half, losing after the final siren to a penalty try from a collapsed scrum after two of their forwards had been sent to the bin. Heart-breaking, but maybe a sign of things to come and their fans could certainly be heard around the sparsely-attended stadium.

Beat Moana Pasifika 31-30. Record: 7-3. Down 3. Table position: 3

Credit to the Blues, they got it done in the end, but it doesn’t get much tighter than that. They’ll obviously welcome the four competition points which keeps them in third place but will be disappointed they let the game slip from a position of dominance.

Beat Reds 32-24. Record: 4-6. Down 2. Table position: 6

The Waratahs’ recent domination of the Reds continues. This comfortable win – the Reds scored their last converted try after the final siren – allowed them to leapfrog their rivals on the points table.

Beat Rebels 33-26. Record: 8-2. No change. Table position: 2

The Brumbies wobbled a bit here but thanks to an incredibly helpful draw (their four-match run-in features only one truly difficult opponent – the Chiefs), they are virtually guaranteed a top two or three position at worst.

Lost to Drua 24-27. Record 7-3. Down 5. Table position: 5

The visitors struggled to handle the intensity with which the Drua played – and that was despite having the rub of the green in terms of the referee’s calls in the second half. A try for prop Xavier Numia was awarded despite him appearing to drop the ball over the line. The referee said: “there was no clear separation”. The crowd watching on the big screen and many thousands of television viewers would probably beg to differ.

Lost to Brumbies 26-33. Record: 3-7. Down 3. Table position: 9

To be fair to the Rebels, they probably got closer to “Australia’s best team” than most would have predicted.

Lost to Chiefs 28-52. Record: 3-7. Down 1. Table position: 10

They gave it a decent crack but are clearly light on power up front and attacking penetration. They are also now out of the top eight.

Lost to Waratahs 24-32. Record: 4-6. Down 4. Table position: 7

This one will hurt the Reds, who were already struggling and have now lost to their fiercest rivals in Townsville.

Lost to Crusaders 13-48. Record: 3-7. No change. Table position: 11

Bullied and on the way out.