The seven-time Super Rugby champions the Crusaders showed great determination as they downed the Blues 23 – 16 in their derby to move to the top of the New Zealand conference.

Two tries from the flying Zac Guildford in the second half, one at the beginning and one near the end, sealed the win for the Men from Canterbury in what was the Blues’ fourth consecutive defeat.

The Blues were desperate to win and it showed, they did enjoy long spells of possession and were right in the game until the last ten minutes after a spirited effort in the second half.

The game was in the balance for much of the match as both heavyweights traded blows. The Crusaders scrum was at its impressive best while the Blues competed well at line-out time despite missing a few on their own throw.

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Dewaldt Duvenage slotted a late penalty to hand the Stormers a 26 – 28 Super Rugby win over the New Zealand conference-leading Blues at Eden Park after trailing 19 – 3 at halftime.

The Auckland venue has been the scene of some of the greatest Stormers triumphs, such as the 50-pointer they put on the Blues there in 2004, and this victory means that the Cape side have now scored four wins at Eden Park in eight appearances there since the start of the Sanzar tournament.

But arguably none of those wins were as important as the one the Stormers scored this time, as they looked dead and buried at halftime, when they were down 19-3, and their ownership of top position in the conference, as well as their place in the top four, looked in serious jeopardy.

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The Blues beat the Melbourne Rebels 40 – 23 in their Super Rugby match at North Harbour Stadium on Friday, but not without the Rebels making the team from New Zealand sweat at times.

The fourth-placed Blues resumed their blistering intensity from the first-half display against the Waratahs last week, running in three tries in the first 20 minutes, to set up their seventh win of their year with six tries in total.

The Rebels fell to their sixth defeat after managing two tries. They were kept in the game by Danny Cipriani’s boot.

But it was a muddle performance from the home side as the battled inconsistency after that initial onslaught.

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The Blues made it past the Cheetahs to earn 4 points by beating them 29 – 22 in a scrappy Super Rugby affair at Toll Stadium in Whangarei on Saturday.

The combative Cheetahs had no match for the core experience provided for the Blues by front row internationals Keven Mealamu and John Afoa. The pair were constantly running off rucks and hammering away at the close-quarter Cheetahs defence which had stymied many Blues efforts to run the ball during the first 50 minutes of the game. They had to step up after fellow international Tony Woodcock limped off with a calf strain in the first half.

They were instrumental in the 56th-minute try for number eight Peter Saili which assured the Blues of the win, typically taking ball into the ruck before flanker Luke Braid was fed into a gap to find replacement Benson Stanley who linked with Saili, who scored in the corner.

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Vodacom Stormers 42 Crusaders 14
Vodacom Stormers – Tries: Jaque Fourie (2), Sireli Naqelevuki; Conversions: Peter Grant (3); Penalties: Grant (7).
Crusaders – Tries: Daniel Carter, Colin Slade; Conversions: Carter (2).

Vodacom Bulls 27 The Sharks 19
Vodacom Bulls – Tries: Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Gerhard van den Heever; Conversion: Morne Steyn; Penalties: Steyn (5).
The Sharks – Try: Rory Kockott; Conversion: Kockott; Penalties: Andy Goode (4).

Vodacom Cheetahs 36 Blues 32
Vodacom Cheetahs – Tries: Juan Smith, Jongi Nokwe, Bjorn Basson, Phillip van der Merwe, Waltie Vermeulen; Conversions: Naas Olivier (2), Meyer Bosman (2); Penalty: Olivier.
Blues – Tries: Isaia Toeava, Rene Ranger, Alby Mathewson, Anthony Tuitavake; Conversions: Stephen Brett (3); Penalties: Brett (2).

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Reds 16 Vodacom Stormers 13
Reds – Try: Will Chambers; Conversion: Quade Cooper; Penalties: Cooper (3).
Vodacom Stormers – Try: Andries Bekker; Conversion: Peter Grant; Penalties: Grant (2).

Chiefs 25 Vodacom Cheetahs 25
Chiefs – Tries: Colin Bourke, Hika Elliot, Toby Smith, Dwayne Sweeney, Liam Messam.
Vodacom Cheetahs – Tries: Devon Raubenheimer, WP Nel, Meyer Bosman; Conversions: Naas Olivier (2); Penalties: Olivier (2).

Vodacom Bulls 51 Auto & General Lions 11
Vodacom Bulls – Tries: Gerhard van den Heever (2), Derick Kuün, Morné Steyn, Wynand Olivier, John Mametsa; Conversions: Morné Steyn (3); Penalties: Steyn (5).
Auto & General Lions – Try: Wandile Mjekevu; Penalties: Herkie Kruger (2).

The Sharks 23 Blues 10
Scorers: The Sharks – Tries: Ruan Pienaar; Penalties: Pienaar (4), Kockott (2).
Blues – Tries: Peter Saili; Conversion: Stephen Brett; Penalty: Brett.

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Chiefs 15 Vodacom Stormers 49
Chiefs – Tries: Tamerau Latimer, Tim Nanai-Williams; Conversion: Stephen Donald; Penalty: Donald.
Vodacom Stormers – Tries: Bryan Habana, Duane Vermeulen, Tiaan Liebenberg, Sireli Naqelevuki, Andries Bekker, Deon Fourie; Conversions: Peter Grant (4), Willem de Waal; Penalties: Grant (3).

Reds 19 Vodacom Bulls 12
Reds – Tries: Scott Higginbotham, Rod Davies; Penalties: Quade Cooper (3).
Vodacom Bulls – Tries: Dewald Potgieter, Pedrie Wannenburg; Conversion: Morne Steyn.

Crusaders 45 Vodacom Cheetahs 6
Crusaders – Tries: Thomas Waldrom (2), Kahn Fotuali`i, Ryan Crotty, Sean Maitland, Ben Franks, Zac Guildford; Conversions: Colin Slade (5).
Vodacom Cheetahs – Penalties: Riaan Viljoen, Meyer Bosman.

Auto & General Lions 28 The Sharks 32
Auto & General Lions – Tries: Michael Killian, Franco van der Merwe, Derick Minnie; Conversions: Herkie Kruger (2); Penalties: Kruger (3).
The Sharks – Tries: Patrick Lambie, Odwa Ndungane, Bismarck du Plessis, Jacques Botes; Conversions: Ruan Pienaar (3); Penalties: Pienaar (2).

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