Rugby: Order restored for NZ Super rugby teams

The Highlanders achieved a stunning 35-28 victory over the Bulls in Pretoria. Photo / Getty Images

Order has been restored after three weeks of Super 15 rugby, with all five New Zealand teams unbeaten over the weekend - even if the Hurricanes had to rely on the bye to pick up their points.

The Highlanders top the New Zealand standings, and lie second on the overall table, by virtue of their stunning 35-28 win over the Bulls in Pretoria early this morning (NZT).

The unfancied Highlanders produced a committed display full of attacking zeal to run in four tries and down the defending champions at Loftus Versfeld.

Down to 14 men for the final seven minutes, the Highlanders dug deep as the Bulls threatened to sneak a draw with a storming finish.

Ahead 11-6 at halftime, thanks to an early Adam Thomson try, Josh Bekhuis extended the Highlanders' lead with another try almost immediately after the restart.

Veteran Tony Brown, playing in his 84th Super rugby match for the Highlanders, then laid on the first of Kade Poki's two tries with a smart inside ball before the Bulls fought back.

Tries to Flip van der Merwe and Fourie du Preez narrowed the gap to seven with 12 minutes to play, but Poki crossed again to wrest back the advantage.

On Friday, the Crusaders kicked off the round in putting aside 10 days of destruction and despair to mark their Super 15 rugby return by beating the Waratahs 33-18 in Nelson.

It was their first appearance since a 6.3-magnitude earthquake violently shook Christchurch on February 22, leaving more than 165 people dead, the city's infrastructure wrecked and their home venue unusable for the foreseeable future.

The Crusaders played in the red and white hooped jerseys of franchise partners West Coast, as a tribute to the 29 men who lost their lives in the Pike River mining explosion near Greymouth last November.

With last week's match against the Hurricanes cancelled, the Crusaders looked rusty early on, but battled back after the Waratahs forged an early 13-6 lead.

The match was won in a 10-minute spell leading up to halftime when the Crusaders scored 20 points, with two tries to big centre Robbie Fruean helping them to a 26-13 halftime lead.

First five-eighth Daniel Carter had an impeccable match with the boot, landing seven from seven for 18 points.

The Crusaders lie third in the New Zealand conference, two points behind the second-placed Blues, who mounted a second-half revival to subdue the Lions 42-31 in Johannesburg early yesterday (NZT).

Trailing 17-25 at halftime, the Blues stormed back to score 24 points after the break to stage their second stirring comeback in three games.

A brace of tries to replacement winger Rene Ranger, backed up scoring efforts from Anthony Boric and Keven Mealamu, denied the Lions a chance to end their losing streak which now stands at 17 games.

The Chiefs overcame the loss of captain Mils Muliaina to injury to hammer the Melbourne Rebels 38-10 in Hamilton on Saturday, their first win of the season and their first win at Waikato Stadium since May 2009.

All Blacks fullback Muliaina left the field after 20 minutes with a lower back injury in rain-soaked conditions which made for a slick surface and some sloppy handling.

However, the Chiefs did enough through tries to Lelia Masaga (2), Sitiveni Sivivatu and Sona Taumalolo -- and 18 points from the boot of Stephen Donald -- to pick up their first win of their campaign.

The Sharks top the overall table courtesy of a 39-12 win over the Western Force in Perth on Saturday after leading 19-9 at halftime.

The Australians were always the back foot after Force substitute Rory Sidey was given his marching orders by referee Keith Brown in the 18th minute for a dangerous lifting tackle on Sharks winger Odwa Ndungane.

In other Super 15 matches, the Reds downed the Brumbies 31-25 in Canberra yesterday while the Stormers and the Cheetahs played out a dour tryless battle in Cape Town, eventually won 21-15 by the Stormers after the scores were level at 6-6 at halftime.

- NZPA