Crusaders

The former Western Force player was sent to the sin-bin in the first half for a high hit on the Crusaders' Israel Dagg, who was taken from the field and failed a head injury assessment.

The citing commissioner believed Peni should have been shown a red card for the incident upon reviewing the match.

The nature of the offence is a player must not tackle an opponent dangerously.

Peni will face the SANZAAR Foul Play Review Committee on Monday.

The Brumbies lost the game 21-8 and slumped to fourth in the Australian conference with a 3-6 record.

The pair have been named in the Crusaders starting lineup for Saturday night's match against the Japanese side the Sunwolves.

Prop Franks makes his return from an Achilles injury and Dagg a knee injury with the pair not having played since September.

Dagg will start on the right wing.

Regular skipper All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock has been rested with fellow with fellow All Black Matt Todd to lead the side.

The Chiefs have made four changes to their starting lineup for their match against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane on Saturday night.

The visitors scored six tries to two, including doubles to wingers George Bridge and Manasa Mataele, while five-eighth Mitch Hunt scored 13 points.

The bonus-point win lifts the Crusaders to one point behind the Lions at the top of the overall standings through eight rounds.

They narrowly lead the New Zealand conference from the Hurricanes and the Chiefs.

A third-straight win was the Crusaders' eighth in a row at an offshore venue.

The only team to have won a final overseas, the Crusaders have built their eight titles on an ability to travel.

There are 24 men’s teams and four women’s teams taking part in the two-day event. Teams taking part include Harlequins, Juggernauts, Crusaders, Brothers and Baike Brothers.

Three teams from outside centres also made the trip into the nation’s capital to participate: PNG Highlanders, MadGauns and Black Orchids.

Tournament coordinator, Paul Joseph, said: “We have six pools of four teams for the men’s and one pool of four teams for the women’s.

“All teams will play three games each today and after the last matches we will rank the teams from 1-24.

Cold, wet conditions stripped Friday's game of any colour with six of the seven tries scored from close range in a match dominated by the packs.

It was good enough for the Crusaders to put losses to the Highlanders and Hurricanes behind them, a rare double setback after marching through 2017 with only one loss.

The Bulls slumped to a fourth-straight defeat, paying the price for their lack of clinical finishing, having edged the hosts in territory and possession.

The Crusaders led by a flattering 21-7 scoreline at halftime.

Coach Scott Robertson has made five changes to the starting line-up from the side that lost to the Highlanders in Dunedin last Saturday night.

Both Whitelock and Crotty suffered head knocks in the Crusaders loss to the Hurricanes in Wellington two weeks ago and missed the Highlanders match.

Prop Tim Perry returns to start pushing Wyatt Crockett to the bench.

Flanker Billy Harmon will earn his second start replacing All Black Matt Todd, who took a knock to the ribs and will be rested.

This has meant he couldn't complete the post-concussion return to play process this week, the Crusaders said in a statement.

Luke Romano will start alongside Scott Barrett, with Quinten Strange brought on to the bench. Matt Todd will now captain the side and Tim Bateman will be vice- captain.

Utility Mike Delany has jarred his knee at training on Thursday and will also miss this weekend's game, with Brett Cameron brought into the match-day 23 as first five-eighth cover.

Mo'unga was in the thick of everything the defending champions did well as they ran in seven tries to four against the belligerent South Africans.

The man who made his All Blacks debut in November after some sublime domestic form in 2017 was the game's influential figure.

He had a key hand in five tries, including scoring their last in a 15-point haul.

There will be some concern in the Crusaders' camp after Mo'unga's exit in the dying minutes after an apparent blow to the head.

It was a game that once again showcased the incredible array of talent in the New Zealand Super Rugby conference. However, while both sides produced glimpses of unbelievable skill, there was also enough ill-discipline from both sides to cause some concern for coaches Scott Robertson and Colin Cooper.

The first half started brightly for the Chiefs, who almost scored off the opening passage through a McKenzie break. However, that was basically the last they saw of the ball for the next 12 minutes.

Jonah Lowe bagged a hat-trick as the visitors ran in seven tries to four in ideal conditions, with both teams using a host of different players.

None of the All Blacks in both squads were available for the contest.

It left Crusaders coach Scott Robertson to blood 18 players who are yet to experience Super Rugby, while Northampton-bound Hurricanes mentor Chris Boyd also surveyed his depth.

There were no apparent serious injuries suffered.

The next assignment for both teams is next week's Brisbane 10s tournament.