Standings undisturbed despite drama

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The weekend’s 13th round of Super Rugby Pacific contained patches of drama which might have pleased Shakespeare. In the end, it proved to be much ado about nothing.

There were two penalty tries, including one which might have ousted the defending champion Crusaders from the playoffs for the first time in a decade. There was a red card for foot tripping and there were closer than expected matches for top four teams the Hurricanes, Chiefs and Brumbies.

But those events had no impact on championship standings: the Blues stayed first, the Hurricanes second, the Brumbies third, the Chiefs fourth, the Queensland Reds fifth, the Melbourne Rebels sixth, the Highlanders seventh and the Fijian Drua eighth.

Those standings look almost locked in with two rounds remaining in the regular season, after which the top eight teams contest the playoffs.