Richie McCaw may be the All Blacks captain, but Dan Carter is indisputably the on-field director - a peerless pivot responsible for keeping the All Blacks at the top of the world.
Manawatu made heavy work of it but in the end they ground out a late 27-23 victory over Tasman in Nelson to secure their spot in the NPC championship final next month.
Brian O'Driscoll and Sean O'Brien will miss Ireland's clash with England at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday through injury.
England coach Martin Johnson has handed the captaincy reins of a strong team to veteran centre Mike Tindall for their World Cup warm up clash with Ireland at Lansdowne Road this weekend.
So important is Quade Cooper to the Wallabies that pundits believe Australia cannot win their third World Cup without the gifted flyhalf.
Imanol Harinordoquy's favourite saying is 'live until you die; until then don't panic' which is reflected in his play on the pitch - making the most of it and remaining calm while others around him have lost their heads.
Martin Johnson has named a new-look midfield of Jonny Wilkinson, Mike Tindall and Manu Tuilagi for England's final World Cup warm-up game.
The new Top 14 season gets underway on Friday but while most fans can't wait for the World Cup to begin in September the quadrennial global showpiece is a headache most of the domestic coaches could do without.
With apologies to, inter alia, Boishaai, Oakdale, SACS and Wynberg, the major question on the lips of Western Cape rugby followers is whether or not Rondebosch can inflict double misery on Bishops when the Platinum Blues visit Canigou Avenue for the traditional end of season showdown.
The Wallabies have undergone massive changes under Robbie Deans since their traumatic exit to England in the quarterfinals of the last World Cup, and they have set their sights on a record-breaking third title.
Italy will as-ever be relying on their pack when they tackle one of the toughest groups at the World Cup in New Zealand next month but their Achilles Heel remains the lack of a top-class flyhalf.
Ireland will travel to New Zealand with high hopes of redeeming themselves after their worst ever performance in a World Cup four years ago, in what should be a swansong for many of their senior players.
The United States head to New Zealand for their sixth crack at the World Cup knowing that there is little to no chance that they will make it through to the last eight of the tournament.
For 75 years the most famous Russian rugby player has been Prince Alexander Sergeevich Obolensky, an escapee from the purges of the Soviet revolution who famously ran in two tries for England in their win over the All Blacks at Twickenham in 1936.
Waterkloof have a team in each of the four Beeld Trofee Finals to be played at Hoërskool Florida on Saturday. The first team did not have an easy time against HTS Middelburg but they won on Tuesday.
