Super Rugby

While his Jersey team-mates have been resting and recuperating after a long season, flanker Ryan Hodson has been in action against All Black stars like Kieran Read and Richie McCaw.

Super Rugby Round 16 saw only two matches go according to plan as upset results spoiled the round for most Super Rugby tipsters.

Crusaders bounced back after last weeks defeat to Sharks with a 30-32 victory over Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin. Second-half tries from Tim Perry, Nepo Laulala and Nemani Nadolo saw them overturn a 12-10 half-time deficit after a first half which saw Richie McCaw sin-binned and Saders unable to make 62% territory dominance count.

Centre Dan Bowden has played his last game for Leicester after signing with New Zealand Rugby and the Blues for the 2015 and 2016 Super Rugby seasons.

The Waratahs claimed their third successive win with a 41-19 triumph over the Melbourne Rebels in Friday's Super Rugby clash at AAMI Park.

The 14th round of Super Rugby featured an unprecedented number of upsets, some crucial refereeing calls and only one obvious result as most tipsters were left tearing their hair out by the end of the round.

The RaboDirect Rebels have beaten the Reds for the first time in Super Rugby, with a double from Luke Burgess leading the way to a nail-biting 30-27 victory secured at the death.

Hayden Parker kicked all his side's points as the Highlanders earned a hard-fought 18-16 win over the Hurricanes to keep themselves well in the Super 15 play-off hunt.

Talking Rugby Union’s very own man down-under, Scotty Donaldson, in his latest article looks past international frequency and picks his Rugby Championship teams, based purely on Super Rugby form.

Super Rugby’s thirteenth round was largely predictable for tipsters with the two Australian teams beating two South African teams, providing the main stumbling block for most tipsters while a few margins were larger than expected – like the Crusaders and Bulls victories.

Christian Leali'ifano has signed a new two-year contract with the Brumbies and committed himself to the Australian Rugby Union until 2016.

The Crusaders claimed their fifth consecutive Super Rugby victory with a 57-29 bonus-point win over the Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium.

A try-scoring double for prop Ben Tameifuna helped reigning Super Rugby champions the Chiefs to a hard-fought 32-20 derby win over the Blues in New Plymouth.

Beauden Barrett's boot proved the difference as the Hurricanes bounced back from their loss to the Waratahs last weekend with a 25-15 victory over the Rebels in Melbourne.

Super Rugby Round 12 was relatively easy with the exception of the Stormers upset win over the Highlanders. The Highlanders have cost some tipsters twice in two weeks after being involved in an upset the week before too.

The twelfth round of the Super Rugby competition was more predictable than previous Super Rugby rounds, with the Highlanders costing some punters (including myself) a Grand Slam Bonus Point for picking the winner of every game two weeks in a row.

Waratahs head coach Michael Cheika has been handed a suspended six-month ban for abusing a cameraman in South Africa in March.

The Super Rugby team of round 11 has a real Hurricanes flavour with four players making the cut; while the Stormers, Cheetahs and Reds also contributed more than one player to the team which is calculated using statistics from the weekend’s games.

Centre Tevita Kuridrani and Wallabies star Matt Toomua scored two tries apiece as the Brumbies thumped defending Super Rugby champions Chiefs 41-23 at Canberra Stadium.

The Blues held on to claim a 21-13 win over the Waratahs in their ANZAC Day clash at Eden Park on Friday.