Intriguing semis loom as form teams chase Super Rugby title

Comment - And then there were four: The good thing for Super Rugby Pacific is that it's the right four; the semifinalists are the top performing teams of the competition and there is a strong Australian presence that has done a pretty good job of disproving the pre-competition predictions that the New Zealand sides would sweep the table.

Plus, there's the added bonus of the Black Ferns on Sunday afternoon, who face another big challenge on their road to the World Cup.

So let's have a look at what will happen this weekend:

Crusaders v Chiefs, Orangetheory Stadium 7.05pm Friday

Way back in early March, the Chiefs went down to Christchurch with not many giving them a hope of winning at the Crusaders' much-maligned but undeniably formidable pile of scaffolding they call a home ground (even though it was empty due to the crowd restrictions of the time).

For 75 minutes, it looked as though the form guide was right, with the Crusaders looking like they'd sewn up a solid, if unremarkable, 21-10 win. However, two late tries seized the game for the Chiefs and inflicted the Crusaders' first home defeat in almost six years.

Since then, the Crusaders have earned their revenge in Hamilton, then both sides have maintained enough momentum to orbit back around to meet each other again in this sudden death match.

The Crusaders have been, well, the Crusaders - often happy to absorb whatever other teams throw at them for the whole first half before opening up a sudden blitz that takes the game away from their opposition before they even know what has happened.

For the Chiefs, it's been a little different. Apart from a couple of hidings they put on the Force and Moana Pasifika, while they have won the games that mattered the aforementioned win in Christchurch is really their only true 'statement' victory .

But, it is hard not to see this one being reasonably tight, due to the matchups across the park. The in-form Bryn Gatland goes against Richie Mo'unga, Pita Gus Sowakula takes on Cullen Grace and likely the ball-hungry Pablo Matera as well, while in midfield Alex Nankivell marks Jack Goodhue. It's all there to be a tight, physical encounter.

Blues v Brumbies, Eden Park 7.05pm Saturday

The mood among a lot of Auckland rugby fans is that they are not going to truly believe this Blues side is the real deal until the impressively cartoonish Super Rugby Pacific trophy is safely put away in the cabinet.

Which is understandable yet a bit unfair at the same time - it has been so long since the Blues have truly been the top dogs, but they now have a home semi and home final if they can get over the Brumbies. Oh, and a team record 13 wins this season.

Everything about the Blues is working right now, a lot of which is that their key players are in highly contestable All Black selection spots so have even more motivation to perform week in and out.

The loss of tireless skipper Dalton Papalii is a setback, for sure, but the hunger of the Blues' wider group to pull off unexpected wins against the Waratahs and Brumbies earlier this year shows that whatever reshuffle that occurs won't have to account for lack of effort and desire.

That's a lot of smoke to blow up the Blues' rear-end, for sure, especially considering the Brumbies are coming in with a typical Aussie back-to-the-wall attitude that is probably worth about 20 points on its own.

They have a very in form Wallaby axis of Rob Valetini, Nic White and Noah Lolesio running the show, but will have to contend with a hostile Eden Park crowd and a Blues team averaging 37 points on home soil this season. Expect the ball to be given a bit of air in this one.

Black Ferns v Canada, Trusts Stadium 2.45pm Sunday

Well done to the NZ Rugby comms department, who managed to time the last word on the painful Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate saga to coincide (and therefore be utterly buried) with the almost the exact moment the Warriors suffered another self-inflicted groin punch on Tuesday.

Now, with a full stop finally put on that narrative we can concentrate on the rugby itself, which kicked off against the Wallaroos on Monday in conditions that can be best described as a biblical-level downpour.

The one glaring issue is that it took the Black Ferns the entire first half to figure that out, as they attempted and failed to play a high tempo game. They did get it right in the second half, moving to a more direct approach to grind out a 23-10 win, but they will need to lift substantially against a Canadian team that will be full of confidence after dismembering the USA by 36-5.

Make no mistake: this is a huge test for the Black Ferns and the much milder conditions will show us just how their conditioning programme has been going.