Chiefs look to cement top spot in Canberra and close the door on Crusaders

MELBOURNE : The Waikato Chiefs will look to sew up top spot and home advantage through the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs on Saturday when they take on the ACT Brumbies in a tough road trip to Canberra.

The Auckland Blues and Wellington Hurricanes will also battle for hosting rights in the quarter-finals and a top-four spot when they clash at Eden Park in the competition's penultimate regular season round.

Although eight points clear at the top, the Chiefs will hope to slam the door early on the second-placed Canterbury Crusaders, who have reliably shifted up a gear at the business end of the season.

Unbeaten at home this year, the Brumbies will not be rolled over easily, though.

Chastened after a costly defeat at Western Force, Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham has recalled seven rested Wallabies as they look to claw back second spot.

"They're nice and fresh ... They're very keen at the moment to get into it," he said.

"It's an exciting time for the boys to get out there and test themselves against a team that's going to go deep into the finals."

A point ahead of the Brumbies, the Crusaders are dealing with a prop crisis after loosehead Joe Moody joined George Bower and Fletcher Newell on the sidelines following season-ending ankle surgery.

That may give some encouragement to the sixth-placed New South Wales Waratahs as they look to end a 10-match losing streak at the Crusaders when they meet in Christchurch on Saturday.

However, Scott Robertson's Crusaders have plenty of reinforcements elsewhere, with lock Sam Whitelock back from injury and playmaker Richie Mo'unga among a slew of rested All Blacks returning to action.

The contentious policy of resting test players ahead of the World Cup has overshadowed the competition and may have