Congratulations to the Crusaders, as the champions-in-waiting finally got over the line with a game to spare after winning a thrilling game against the dogged Highlanders by a scoreline of 32-22.

The night before, the Hurricanes kept the pressure on their Cantebury rivals by beating the luckless Chiefs 31-18 with Gatland now left with much to ponder about his future.

Here are the major talking points from the penultimate weekend of Super Rugby Aotearoa.

Relentless Crusaders feel like mini All Blacks

The Crusaders are, quite simply, the best club side/franchise in world rugby. They can now add the Super Rugby Aoteraoa title to their ten regular Super Rugby championships, winning three in a row since 2017.

In a game that started badly for them, and in which they didn’t have it all their own way, they went through the gears to assert their already established stranglehold on NZ rugby.

It looked set to be an nervy afternoon as the Highlanders looked determined to, in the words of assistant coach Riki Flutey, “not see Scott Robertson breakdancing again” with the Dunedin men there to spoil the party.

They raced into a 17-7 lead after 25 minutes with the Saders sloppily conceding an interception try and a Shannon Frizzell score inside the opening minute.

It looked set to continue as Josh McKay’s stunning try saving tackle, with the score tight at 17-13 in favour of the Highlanders, denied a well earned lead for the champions.

However, much like the All Blacks, they went through the gears and a stunning brace from Kiwi international wing George Bridge saw them ease into a lead they never let go off.

With Ian Foster and New Zealand possibly seeing some Rugby Championship action in October, the nucleus of his squad will surely be from Canterbury.

Skipper Codie Taylor led from the front, with some key carries and good grunt work in the loose while Tom Christie has future All Black written all over him with 13 tackles and key turnovers in the pack.

However, this win was built on an outstanding backs display with Will Jordan sensational when he counter attacked from deep, coming into the line time and again to devastating effect as he ran a match high 118 metres.

Jack Goodhue and two-score George Bridge were their usual imperious selves while the little genius Richie Mo’unga ran the show from 10.

His eye for a gap, electric distribution skills and much improved kicking game make him a shoo-in for the fly-half role with New Zealand.

If they keep them together, this Crusaders team are already on the way to building a rugby dynasty in Christchurch not seen since the era of Carter, McCaw and Marshall.

Huge credit to Highlanders for a resilient performance

Lets face it, the Highlanders may have had a difficult time motivating themselves after their slim title hopes evaporated with a loss to the Blues last weekend.

However, it is not the rugby way to throw in the towel and certainly not the New Zealand way. The Highlanders came to cause an upset and were close to puling it off.

Shannon Frizell was arguably man of the match in a losing team performance as he made an incredible 15 tackles and even got on the score sheet in the opening minute.

Giant second row Pari Pari Parkinson got through a lot of work while Sio Tomkinson had an excellent game in defence, with one bone-shuddering hit on opposite number Jack Goodhue drawing winces from the crowd.

Josh Ioane was impressive at 10 where he orchestrated things nicely, throwing a delicious step on a flailing Goodhue en route to Michael Collins’ 54th minute try.

There is a lot to like about this Highlanders outfit, who more than held their own with their illustrious opponents who were roared on by the Christchurch faithful.

If not for a quick fire brace from the Saders’ George Bridge and a yellow card for their centre Tomkinson, which was a clumsy challenge but lacking intent or malice, they could have easily walked away with the chocolates.

A few good pickups from the Mitre 10 domestic league and the lads from Dunedin could find themselves in the playoffs for next seasons Super Rugby competition (fingers crossed we have one, that is).

Chiefs go out with a whimper and not a bang

To be fair to the Chiefs, in a regular Super Rugby season against franchises from across SANZAAR, they will have picked up wins due to their solid performances in recent matches.

However, playing their fellow New Zealand franchises week in week out has done them no favours as defensive frailties have been exploited ruthlessly.

It was again a case of missed opportunities for the Chiefs, with several small moments going against Warren Gatland and his men.

When you miss 25 tackles, combined with 42% possession and 44% territory, your’e going to struggle to come out on top in games and it showed.

Losing All Blacks skipper Sam Cane inside half an hour compounded matters after he attempted to tackle Jordie Barrett and it felt like the story of their season as the Waikato lads struggled to catch a break.

Sean Wainui had another solid game on the wing with a deserved try and 72 running metres to his name, while Luke Jacobson showed his All Black potential on the flank with nine tackles and great set piece work.

Kobus van Wyk's sin-binning at the end of the first half gave the Chiefs a brief numerical advantage but, even though Wainui touched down, they failed to take advantage as Dane Coles and Van Wyk tries stretched the Hurricanes' lead.

Gatland leaves to go on a year long sabbatical as he prepares to face world champions South Africa with the Lions. It feels a little bit like fiddling while Rome burns, but the former Wales coach may come back refreshed to turn the Chiefs’ fortunes.

Needless to say, the Chiefs will not look back at 2020 fondly with major conversations set to be had in the club.

Hurricanes fight to the very end with Umaga-Jensen a real prospect

Hurricanes did their part at the beginning of the weekend, securing a vital win to move within a solitary point of the Crusaders in the standings before their showdown with the Highlanders.

They did it with real intensity and panache too, forcing the Chiefs into errors and surviving a Kobus Van Wyk yellow card in the process.

The Wellington outfit play some gripping stuff at times, with their backline sizzling on a still night under the lights in Sky Stadium.

TJ Perenara and Jackson Garden-Bachop have developed a good partnership at halfback, with the former making his usual sniping runs in this game and the latter executing a lovely little chip through for Van Wyk to gather and score.

Jordie Barrett is the real lynchpin of the team, with his goal kicking vital in recent games and has now developed a new end over end high bomb that is near impossible to gather.

Wes Goosen made some good running yards, bagging a try himself, while the replacement for the injured fun bus Ngani Laumape, the slightly more nimble Vince Aso, trucked it up effectively with nine solid carries to execute his role to perfection.

However, the stand out man was Peter Umaga-Jensen for the second week running.

A brave runner always willing to take the ball into contact, he took on three defenders before wrestling his way to the chalk for his score and a deft floated pass sent Goosen in for his try.

In the pack, second rower Scott Scrafton put his head in where it hurts when making tackles, hitting rucks and being a genuine pest in the lineout. The one-time Blue has been a real good pickup for the ‘Canes in a breakout season.

However, the great entertainer Ardie Savea was up to his usual tricks in an all action display. Although, his “dummy” below leave much to be desired.

Better luck next time Ardie, but the hard running number 8 was destructive every chance he got his hands on the ball while doing his fringe work at the breakdown in a brilliant display.

North vs South set to be a humdinger but questions over format

The historic North vs South clash will take place for the first time in eight years at Eden Park on August 29, with the game effectively acting as an All Blacks trial the day before Ian Foster’s 35-man national squad is announced.

Selection is based upon which Mitre 10 Cup province each player first represented in their career, which will cause some conflict for players.

Jordie Barrett, for instance, is only be eligible for the South Island after having initially played for Canterbury at provincial level despite being born, raised and schooled in New Plymouth, with brother Beauden set to line up for the North.

Similarly, Invercargill-born, Christchurch-schooled All Blacks fullback Damian McKenzie said he felt weird about playing for the North Island after making his debut for Waikato earlier in his career.

He told Sky Sport’s NZ The Breakdown in June: “It’s a great concept. Great for the fans and great for the players. I’ve always been keen to bring back the North v South game.

“Obviously growing up in Southland, that’s where my roots are – and going to school in Christchurch.

“It would be nice to be eligible to play for the South Island squad but obviously my first provincial game was for Waikato so that’s the rules and the eligibility.

“If I was to play for either team I’m happy but it looks like my hand will be up for the North Island team.”

Either way, it looks set to be a mouth watering intra New Zealand clash with both sides going at it hammer and tong. The last time they met in 2012 it was certainly a spicy encounter, as seen below.

As The Flanker is UK based, we would love to see our own version here in the Premiership and even picked our potential teams for it. For now, we will sit back and enjoy the best trial game you are ever likely to see.