A round-up of Saturday's Super Rugby matches from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
Hurricanes 29-19 Rebels
The Hurricanes scored four tries in the first 21 minutes to take a 26-0 lead before holding off a Rebels fightback in the second half to win their fourth match in a row.
Centre Ngani Laumape, fly-half Beauden Barrett, wing Wes Goosen and flanker Vaea Fifita all crossed in the early onslaught at the Wellington Stadium.
Lock Matt Philip finally got the Australian Conference leaders on the scoreboard when he crossed in the 53rd minute and tries from centres Billy Meakes and Reece Hodge gave the Rebels hopes of an unlikely comeback.
A long-range penalty from full-back Jordie Barrett in the 75th minute was the only score the home side managed in the second half but it was enough to keep the Hurricanes firmly in second place behind the Crusaders in the New Zealand conference.
Highlanders 31-31 Chiefs
Fly-half Marty McKenzie converted an Angus Ta'avao try after the hooter to grab a thrilling draw for the Waikato Chiefs as they rallied from 16 points down with 20 minutes to play in Dunedin.
Tries from fly-half Josh Ioane, full-back Ben Smith, wing Matt Faddes and flank James Lentjes had the Highlanders in control of the contest and seemingly on course for a comfortable win.
But after scrum-half Brad Weber and loose-forward Luke Jacobson had crossed for first-half scores, Ta'avao touched down twice to rescue the draw for the Chiefs.
All Black Smith had to be helped off the field during the final 10 minutes with what appeared to be a knee injury, while the Highlanders lost both loose forward Lachlan Boshier and lock Michael Allardice in the first half.
Brumbies 26-21 Blues
Hooker Folau Fainga scored a hat-trick of tries as the home side came from 12 points behind to beat their New Zealand visitors in Canberra.
Fainga'a, who turns 24 on Sunday, is now the competition's top try scorer this season with 10.
The Blues got off to a blistering start with tries in the opening 10 minutes from TJ Faiane and Caleb Clarke, who intercepted to run in.
But Fainga'a and James Slipper had the Brumbies on the board as they trailed 15-12 at half-time and they dominated after the break to secure a deserved victory.
Bulls 28-21 Waratahs
A late try from replacement prop Simphiwe Matanzima secured a deserved victory for the Bulls over the Waratahs at Loftus Versfeld, but they were made to sweat over what should have been a more comfortable success.
The Bulls showed dominance up front with their forwards, but could not convert that into a larger margin on the scoreboard as they allowed the Australian side to creep back into the contest.
Fullback Warrick Gelant and number eight Duane Vermeulen scored the Bulls other tries, both inside the opening quarter, before Matanzima popped up with what proved the winning score 10 minutes from time.
Scrumhalf Nick Phipps, fullback Kurtley Beale and wing Curtis Rona all crossed for the Waratahs, who capitalised on errors from the home side to stay alive, but could not pull off what could have been a crucial victory in the tightly-contested Australian Conference.