MELBOURNE, April 30 (Reuters) - The Wellington Hurricanes will look to return to the top of the Super Rugby Pacific table and strike a big blow against the Canterbury Crusaders' title defence when the New Zealand heavyweights meet on Friday.
Victory for the high-scoring hosts at Wellington Regional Stadium would see them leapfrog the Waikato Chiefs, who are sitting out Round 12 with a bye, and spoil Crusaders captain David Havili's 150th Super Rugby match.
With home advantage vital in the playoffs, the fourth-placed Crusaders' bid for back-to-back titles is already on a knife-edge, and defeat could leave them in danger of missing the finals altogether.
Coach Rob Penney is taking the challenge in his stride, though.
"It’s all in front of us. The beauty is we’re masters of our own destiny and we’ll control what the future looks like, to a degree," he said.
Whichever way it goes, history suggests a tight contest, with the teams' last five matches decided by eight points or fewer.
Australia's best-placed sides will be eager for the Crusaders to slip up with five rounds left to play before the finals.
The fifth-placed Brumbies are a point behind the Crusaders, with the sixth-placed Reds three adrift.
The Reds and Brumbies face off at Lang Park on Saturday with each coming off losses against New Zealand opponents during the Super Round.
Les Kiss's Reds will be looking for back-to-back wins over the Brumbies for the first time in five years after upsetting Stephen Larkham's team 34-31 in round four.
The seventh-placed Otago Highlanders travel to Ba to take on Fijian Drua, hoping to extend their perfect winning record to five matches over the Pacific island team.
The Highlanders' sole victory in Fiji was in the Drua's debut season in 2022, though, and the hosts have since become much harder to beat on home soil.
The New South Wales Waratahs and Western Force have largely disappointed their Australian fans but their match-up in Sydney on Friday will be watched closely by Wallabies staff.
Wallabies back Joseph Suaalii makes a long-awaited return from injury, while fellow rugby league convert Zac Lomax will look to impress for Western Force.
"Zac's an exceptional footballer, had a very good career in the NRL, and it’s great that he’s now playing in rugby union," Waratahs coach Dan McKellar said.
"His skill set suits the game, to be honest, and to get a match-up between him and Suaalii .... it’s good for the fans and certainly the media to get excited by."
The Auckland Blues will look to shore up their place in the top three when they meet bottom-placed Moana Pasifika on Saturday.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
