Rugby-Force down Canes to stay alive, Blues edge Waratahs

Earlier, Waikato Chiefs held off Fijian Drua in a thrilling finish to lock up a home quarter-final with a 35-34 victory in front of a passionate crowd in Fiji. The win moved the Chiefs into third place in the standings behind the Canterbury Crusaders, a position they were able to hold onto after the ACT Brumbies were stunned 32-22 by Moana Pasifika in Auckland.

Western Force centre Byron Ralston scored a late try as the Perth-based side beat the Wellington Hurricanes for the first time in 15 years on Saturday to stay alive in the Super Rugby playoff hunt for at least one more day.

The 27-22 victory concluded a day of drama in the final round of the regular season and sent the Force above the Otago Highlanders into the eighth and final spot in the playoffs. The Highlanders only need to avoid defeat against the Melbourne Rebels in Sunday's last match of the round, however, to leapfrog the Force and earn a quarter-final fixture against the Auckland Blues at Eden Park next week.

The Blues, who sealed top spot last week, put out a second string side against the New South Wales Waratahs in Sydney but still managed a last-gasp 20-17 win to extend their winning streak to 13 games. Earlier, Waikato Chiefs held off Fijian Drua in a thrilling finish to lock up a home quarter-final with a 35-34 victory in front of a passionate crowd in Fiji.

The win moved the Chiefs into third place in the standings behind the Canterbury Crusaders, a position they were able to hold onto after the ACT Brumbies were stunned 32-22 by Moana Pasifika in Auckland. The Crusaders secured second spot with a 28-15 win over the Queensland Reds in Christchurch on Friday to set up a rematch with the same opposition at the same venue next week.

The Chiefs will now host the Waratahs in Hamilton, while the Hurricanes will travel to Canberra to take on the fourth-place Brumbies. Although the jockeying for the final playoff positions was the main business of round 15, it was the teams rooted to the last two spots in the standings who arguably displayed the most passion.

Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika entered Super Rugby for the first time this season but COVID travel restrictions prevented them from playing in front of their own fans for much of the campaign. A sell-out crowd of more than 11,000 turned out to support Drua in their first game in Fiji's second city of Lautoka on Saturday and they roared their heroes to within a whisker of a stunning upset.

The Drua played some brilliant rugby to cut a 22-point lead to one point in the final 10 minutes but they were just unable to overhaul the New Zealanders. "We just feel a sense of relief more than anything," said Chiefs skipper Brad Weber.

"Hats off to the Drua. That last 10 or 15 minutes they were just unbelievable. I haven't seen tries scored like that in my whole career." Moana did get the better of the Brumbies in front of their fans at Mount Smart Stadium despite skipper Sekope Kepu being shown a red card for a high tackle in the 11th minute.

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