5 Storylines to Follow in Super Rugby Week 14

It’s crunch time in New Zealand’s Super Rugby conference this weekend as the top two do battle in Wellington.

With the game throwing up some intriguing personal battles as well as national bragging rights at stake, the shape of the playoffs will be clearer after Week 14.

Elsewhere in the competition, it is hoped in Queensland that the return of a former legend can revive the fortunes of the worst team in the competition, while another stellar name from days past is fighting for his future in Auckland.

At the other end of the age spectrum, the form of a young tyro in Waratah light blue may well keep him from eventually donning the dark blue of Scotland, should the green and gold of Australia come calling before he gets on the plane north.

He’s from Fiji, by the way, and his current situation seems to provide an appropriate study of the current flimsy residency rules rugby has in place, which we’ll leave the venerable Will Greenwood to appraise in the Telegraph.

Here are the stories setting the scene for Week 14 of Super Rugby.

The season’s most tantalising fixture heads the bill in Week 14 with the table-topping Hurricanes hosting the Chiefs in an all-New Zealand clash.

The Waikato franchise sit fourth in overall table by virtue of the tournament format placing a team from each nation in the top three. But Dave Rennie’s side are second best in terms of points, with 38 on the board, while the South African Stormers and Australian Brumbies sit on 34 and 33, respectively.

Aside from its relevance in the context of this year’s championship, the game also features a fascinating mini-trial for the All Blacks midfield.

The Canes’ highly decorated pair of Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith have done it all in the game and are the incumbent centre combination for the All Blacks, but they come up against Sonny Bill Williams this weekend in their 50th outing together in Hurricane yellow.

The dual-code star burst into the squad for the last World Cup but had to settle for a place on the bench in the final, before returning to rugby league.

But he is back in union with the aim of going one better in time for the 2015 tournament and will be determined to prove he can usurp Nonu in the No. 12 jersey.

NZME’S Daniel Richardson’s piece for the New Zealand Herald explains: "The secret to Smith and Nonu's success is they have skills that bounce off each other, which helps them create a great one-two punch, while Nonu's game has improved exponentially during his career as his kicking and passing has developed."

Sonny Bill’s greatest asset is his ability to draw defenders and execute outrageous offloads, while his relatively brief union career perhaps means his game has not had time to become as rounded as Nonu’s.

The Toulon-bound beefcake has added the full repertoire of passing and kicking to his brute strength and provides the ying to Smith’s snake-hipped yang in the All Black and Hurricanes midfield.

It will be intriguing to see if this pair, likened by Richardson to an old married couple, can keep Williams’ X-factor in its box at the Westpac.

It has been a miserable season for the Auckland based Blues and their coach Sir John Kirwan.

The legendary All Blacks wing has seen his side labour in the lower reaches of the ladder all season. His men host the Bulls on Friday morning (BST) with stories swirling around him concerning his future in charge of the franchise, per TVNZ: "The Blues' playoff ambitions came to an end last month, and it is understood the Blues board may be prepared to let Kirwan keep his post next season after the former All Black great prepared a proposal last week of how he could improve the team's fortunes in 2016."

But that proposal reportedly featured the recruitment to his coaching staff of Tabai Matson from the Crusaders. Matson has rejected the chance to join Kirwan, a development the New Zealand Herald sees as a blow to Kirwan’s prospects of remaining in post: "The Crusaders' assistant was one of the main pillars of Kirwan's proposal to the board, which was effectively another job interview. One train of thought is that this rejection cannot be good for Kirwan's chances of retaining his job."

So the pressure is on the 1987 World Cup winner. Defeat at home to the Bulls could make for some interesting post-match coverage.

It is arguably the most unwanted tag in world rugby, but the latest player to have "The New Lomu" label hung around his neck is Waratahs Fijian-born wing Taqele Naiyaravoro.

His thunderous run against Western Force last week, bouncing off a handful of defenders as he went, dredged up memories of the All Blacks legend at his devastating best.

All eyes will be on the 23-year-old to see if he will be able to repeat the trick in Week 14 when the 2014 champions entertain the Sharks. Given the South Africans’ woeful defensive record this season, he could be a safe bet to cross the stripe at some point.

The giant wide man has a deal in place to join Edinburgh next season, with the Scottish Rugby Union looking to recruit the Pacific Islander to wear the Thistle after he completes the required residency period, per the Edinburgh News.

But Naiyaravoro can rip that agreement up if he earns a cap for Australia before then. One suspects wingers up and down the Pro 12 will be cheering him on this weekend.

Following their crushing defeat to the Crusaders in Week 13, the bottom-placed Queensland Reds acted swiftly to bring in former Wallabies head coach John Connolly to turn things around.

The short-term appointment of the man they call “Knuckles” brings back the architect of the Reds’ last great period of dominance, when the 63-year-old reared Australian legends like John Eales and Tim Horan, per the Courier Mail, during a decade at the helm.

His return as consultant to head coach Richard Graham is an appointment through to the end of next season, but in the more immediate future, he may have a key role to play in the retention of No. 10 Quade Cooper, rumoured to be weighing up an offer from Toulon, per ABC.

This week, there is the matter of a home tie with fellow Australian franchise Melbourne Rebels to address, who arrive at the Suncorp Stadium replenished with the return of three Test players, and on the back of a thumping win over the Blues, per SuperXV.

Connolly could be about to discover just how big a task he has accepted.

The Bulls arrive in Auckland to start a four-game tour of New Zealand and Australia that will determine their chances of a home semi-final place.

And they head overseas in the knowledge that they have been anything but successful on the road in recent seasons.

Vata Ngobeni of IOL Sport wrote:

Having not not won a single game away from home last season and not having had a successful tour in a number of seasons now, (Bulls coach Frans) Ludeke says his team now have the experience and belief to make good of a tour that will determine their fate in the competition.

'I think we have sorted ourselves out. We are a much better side and know how to get the results and have shown that this season. We have our experience back, it is a different story and a different tour.'

The return of captain and key man Pierre Spies could prove key in the City of Sails.

The rampaging No. 8 told the media this week he thinks his team can secure the trophy they last won five years ago and called on them to invoke the spirit of their 2013 visit to the same town when they beat the New Zealanders, per IOL Sport: "A lot of the guys who were at Eden Park that day will take a lot of confidence from that win and the rest of the team must feed off it. That win was important because it gave us the belief that we can win anywhere in the world. We must do it again on Friday."

A win would set the Bulls up nicely for the rest of their trip and with the Blues somewhat in disarray, the men from Pretoria will fancy the job.