Scott Barrett bounces back as the Crusaders go top in Super Rugby

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - All Blacks captain Scott Barrett returned to form and helped the Crusaders to their accustomed station atop the standings after the weekend's ninth round of Super Rugby.

Both events would have come as a relief to New Zealand coach Scott Robertson who will lean heavily on Barrett and the Crusaders when he chooses his All Blacks squad to play France in three tests in July.

Barrett's lack of form had become an issue prior to Friday's match against the Hurricanes which the Crusaders won 31-24, holding on at the end with only 13 players.

Barrett produced a strong all-round performance as a reliable target at lineouts, a tenacious defender and offering a key try assist in a tight match.

Crusaders coach Rob Penney was quick to defend Barrett from critics who’d suggested the All Blacks captaincy was up for grabs.

"I don't know what they expect," Penney said after Friday’s win. "For us he's been awesome and today he had those moments which he's really capable of doing. He put one out there today and it was a game-changer."

Another eye-catching performances for the Crusaders came from former Wallabies flyhalf James O'Connor in a brief cameo off the bench. O'Connor pounced on an over-throw at a lineout, split two defenders and scored under the posts.

His form for the Crusaders may have piqued the interest of Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt, who is preparing to select an Australia squad to face the British and Irish Lions.

"I do want to play for the Wallabies in that Lions series," O'Connor said on the 'Good, the Bad and the Rugby' podcast. "If I'm playing well enough and I'm doing a job, why can't I be in the question still?

"I know where I went wrong last time I was in the gold jersey. But I didn't know how to play the game until I was 30. If my body is fast enough to do what my mind wants to do, let's see what can happen."

The Crusaders lead the competition with 28 points, one clear of the second-place Chiefs and four clear of the third-place Brumbies and Queensland Reds on 23. The Blues beat Moana Pasifika to move into seventh spot and the Highlanders beat Fijian Drua 43-20 to move to ninth.

Queensland dropped a 14-point lead before losing 39-26 to the Canberra-based Brumbies on Saturday but Reds coach Les Kiss remains the top candidate to succeed Schmidt as Wallabies head coach.

Schmidt will step down after the Rugby Championship in August and September and Kiss currently leads a dwindling field of candidates to replace him.

New South Wales Waratahs coach Dan McKellar is the latest prospective candidate to rule out any interest in the test job.

"How many times have I got to answer this? No, no I'm not in the mix for the Wallabies gig," he told reporters prior to the Waratahs 21-14 win over the Chiefs on Friday.

One of the sticking points around Kiss's candidacy has been the Reds' reluctance to lose a coach who has turned around the franchise this season. Kiss is contracted to the Reds through 2026.

Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh has indicated he’s prepared to consider an accommodation which would allow Schmidt's successor to also coach at Super Rugby level.

"We're going to get to the best possible outcome and if that includes a shared services, job share kind of thing, then we'll do that," Waugh said.

Waugh said the new Wallabies coach could be decided within the next fortnight.

Super Rugby might be pay-walled on Australian television from next year under the new, 215 million Australian dollar (US$135 million) deal signed by Rugby Australia with broadcaster Nine Entertainment.

The existing deal allows for one Super Rugby match per round to be shown on free-to-air TV, usually on Saturday nights.

Subscription TV provider Stan Sport will show all matches under the new five-year deal which makes no mention of a free-to-air component. But it has been reported Nine will have flexibility to show Super Rugby matches free if it chooses.

"We'll work with our partners to work out what's best for both the audiences as well as for the relationship with Nine," Waugh told reporters. "The future of Australian rugby is bright and our growth trajectory is strong."