Super Rugby round five has wrapped up with some surprising results across the board.
The Highlanders-Crusaders match was cancelled on Saturday in the wake of a terror attack in Christchurch.
CHIEFS vs HURRICANES
The switch to fullback from five-eighth worked wonders for Damian McKenzie on Friday as he scored a try and added 13 points from the boot to help end the Chiefs' losing streak with a 23-23 draw with the Hurricanes in Hamilton.
McKenzie had struggled to impose himself in his three previous appearances and with the Chiefs mired in a run of four successive Super Rugby losses coach Colin Cooper decided to make a positional change.
The tactic paid off as the All Blacks' utility back was able to exploit space with his pace and footwork to create opportunities for the home side, who also got a try from Anton Lienert-Brown.
Matt Proctor and Wes Goosen scored tries for the visitors, while Beauden Barrett added 10 points off the boot and younger brother Jordie slotted a long-range penalty.
The match was played under the shadow of New Zealand's worst mass shooting, with 49 people killed after at least one gunman opened fire at two Christchurch mosques earlier on Friday.
Both teams stood silently in a huddle before the kick-off to commemorate the victims of the shooting, while the crowd also stood silently as a mark of respect.
RESULT
Chiefs 23
Tries: Lienert-Brown, McKenzie
Cons: McKenzie 2
Pens: McKenzie 3
Hurricanes 23
Tries: Proctor, Goosen
Cons: B Barrett 2
Pens: B Barrett 3
BRUMBIES vs WARATAHS
Brumbies coach Dan McKellar found plenty to be pleased with in his side's 19-13 win over the Waratahs but he has his fingers crossed for young backrower Rob Valetini.
Valetini hobbled off the field in the 53rd minute with a knee injury, after the joint was twisted awkwardly in a maul, and the no. 6 was walking on crutches donning a brace post-match.
The 20-year-old has been cruelled by medial ligament injuries in the past two seasons and though McKellar could say it wasn't a repeat of that, he couldn't confirm a full prognosis.
"It was awkward - fingers crossed he just got a fright," he said.
"There's the potential to be some damage but not medial ligament, just assess him."
Read the full match report here.
RESULT
Brumbies 19
Tries: Faingaa 2, Penalty
Cons: Lealiifano
Waratahs 13
Tries: Hooper, Newsome
Pens: Foley
Yellow Cards: Kepu (35’), Harry Johnson-Holmes (54’)
STORMERS vs JAGUARES
The Stormers have continued their Super Rugby turnaround, beating the Jaguares 35-8.
It was the third straight win for the Capetown outfit following a 40-3 mauling by the Bulls to open their season.
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi was one of four try-scorers as the home side rebounded strongly after conceding an early score to Jaguares wing Bautista Delguy.
Centre Daniel du Plessis, scrumhalf Hershel Jantjies and replacement Justin Phillips also touched down for the Stormers , who scored the final 25 points after Joaquin Diaz Bonilla's penalty pulled the Jaguares within 10-8.
The bonus-point win saw the Stormers move level with the Bulls at the top of the South African conference and joint-second overall behind the defending champion Crusaders of New Zealand.
The standings are something of a surprise development after Robbie Fleck's team looked so far off the pace to start the season.
RESULT
Stormers 35
Tries: du Plessis, Kolisi, Jantjie, Phillips
Cons: Marais 2, du Plessis
Pens: Marais 3
Jaguares 8
Tries: Delguy
Pens: Diaz Bonilla
SUNWOLVES vs REDS
The Queensland Reds have sealed their first win of the season with a thrilling second-half fightback against the Sunwolves in Tokyo.
A Hamish Stewart penalty in the 79th minute handed the Reds a 34-31 victory after an injection of bench players sparked a Queensland turnaround.
Trailing by 16 points at the break, the Reds scored three tries in seven minutes to take the lead before an error at the restart allowed the Sunwolves to score again and regain the lead.
But the Reds dug in and when Harry Hockings charged down a Sunwolves kick, Tate McDermott was there to pick up the scraps and dive over for a try that again levelled the scores.
Stewart missed the conversion but stepped up to slot a penalty after the Reds drove deep into their attacking zone from the restart after an outstanding run from Filipo Daugunu gave them the field position they needed to be in scoring range.
Daugunu came on in a second-half backline reshuffle and was among the bench players that reshaped the match for the Reds.
Read the full match report here.
RESULT
Sunwolves 31
Tries: Booth, Warren-Vosayaco, Pryor, Uchida
Cons: Parker
Pens: Parker
Reds 34
Tries: Paenga-Amosa 2, Wright, Hoopert, McDermott
Cons: Stewart 3
Pens: Stewart
LIONS vs REBELS
Melbourne have blown a golden chance to land their first Super Rugby win in South Africa, giving up a massive lead to lose to the Lions 36-33 in Johannesburg.
Lions reserve Gianni Lombard kicked the winning points after the final siren following a scrum penalty, taking advantage of the Rebels being down a forward with Angus Cottrell sidelined with a yellow card.
It was the Rebels' second yellow card of the match with a horror penalty count - 20-2 - proving disastrous.
The Rebels were up 33-5 early in the second half but a yellow card to Billy Meakes after repeated team infringements allowed the home side back into the match.
While the centre was off the field the Lions scored three tries with their lead narrowed to 33-26.
Read the full match report here.
RESULT
Lions 36
Tries: Marx, Schoeman, Coetzee, Mapoe, Skosan
Cons: Jantjies 4
Pens: Lombard
Rebels 33
Tries: Hodge, Cooper, Meakes, Naisarani, English
Cons: Cooper 4
