mobanmarketThe Australian sides kept their strong form to start the year rolling but there was plenty of Super Rugby action abroad in round three.
In case you missed any of it, here are the full highlights and a quick wrap of each match.
BLUES V CHIEFS
The Chiefs took their unbeaten run against their New Zealand rivals to 13 matches, a record between two teams in the southern hemisphere competition.
Click Here: Golf special
The sequence includes 12 wins and one draw, with the Blues last tasting victory in the North Island derby in March 2011.
It was a particularly painful loss for coach Tana Umaga’s side, who led 14-5 mid-way through the first half and faced a Chiefs outfit weakened by 17 injuries.
SCORE
Blues 21
Tries: Gatland, Ioane, Pulu
Conversions: Gatland 3
Penalties: 0
Chiefs 27
Tries: Weber, Cane, Wainui, Seu
Conversions: McKenzie 2
Penalties: McKenzie 1
REDS V BRUMBIES
The Reds largely dominated possession and territory on Friday night but had only six penalty goals – three from James Tuttle and three from Jono Lance – to show for it.
Fortunately, it was all they needed to secure their first victory of the new campaign, proving the Reds are made of much sterner stuff than what their season-opening defeat to the Melbourne Rebels suggested.
The Brumbies went over twice – through scrumhalf Joe Powell in the first half and Isi Naisarani with five minutes to go.
SCORE
Reds 18
Tries: 0
Conversions: 0
Penalties: Tuttle 3, Lance 3
Brumbies 10
Tries: Powell, Naisarani
Conversions: 0
Penalties: 0
SUNWOLVES V REBELS
It’s the first time in their eight seasons that the Rebels have opened a campaign with two-successive wins, thanks to their influx of ex-Western Force stars and new coach Dave Wessels.
Jack Maddocks scored a hat-trick among a haul of six tries on Saturday at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, with the Rebels picking up another bonus point.
However, the exciting young winger faces being axed from the starting side for next week’s home clash with the Brumbies to make way for the return of Test flyer Marika Koroibete from a knee injury.
SCORE
Sunwolves 17
Tries: Tupou, Quirk
Conversions: Nakamura 2
Penalties: Nakamura 1
Rebels 37
Tries: Maddocks 3, Mafi, Naivalu, penalty try
Conversions: Hodge 1
Penalties: Debreczeni 1
Yellow card: Quirk (Sunwolves)
CRUSADERS V STORMERS
The Crusaders remain unbeaten but it may have may have come at some cost with fly-half Richie Mo’unga suffering a suspected broken jaw.
He was taken to hospital after colliding with Stormers prop Steven Kitshoff and could be sidelined for several weeks.
Winger George Bridge again tormented Stormers, scoring two tries after notching a hat-trick the last time the sides met in Christchurch.
Crusaders turned around 31-7 ahead at half-time and while Stormers won kudos for a brave second-half comeback, they never threatened to pull off a sensational victory.
SCORE
Crusaders 45
Tries: Mo’unga, Tamanivalu, Bridge 2, Harmon, Taylor
Conversions: Mo’unga 5
Penalties: 0
Stormers 28
Tries: Kitshoff, Schickerling, Louw, Van rensburg
Conversions: Whitehead, Marais 3
Penalties: 0
SHARKS V WARATAHS
A late try to replacement scrumhalf and NSW Waratahs debutant Mitch Short has earned his side a 24-24 Super Rugby draw with the Sharks in Durban.
The Tahs led 7-0 after an early converted try to starting scrumhalf Jake Gordon, but the visitors twice trailed by seven in the second half.
NSW played the second half without Wallabies centre Kurtley Beale, who reportedly suffered a rib injury, which forced a reshuffle in the visitors’ backline.
Both teams scored three tries in a scrappy mistake-marred match in which neither side ever led by more than seven points.
SCORE
Sharks 24
Tries: Am 2, du Preez
Conversions: du Preez 3
Penalties: du Preez 1
NSW Waratahs 24
Tries: Gordon, Hooper, Short
Conversions: Foley 3
Penalties: Foley 1
BULLS V LIONS
After beginning with a win over the Hurricanes, Bulls paid dearly for ill discipline as they were savaged by the Lions.
Conraad van Vuuren was yellow-carded on 54 minutes for offside and fellow forward Nic de Jager went to the sin bin a minute later for collapsing a maul.
The Lions added 14 points when numerically advantaged to go 42-21 clear and got a further try before Bulls scored twice in a late rally.
“I was really happy with our mauling,” said Lions skipper Warren Whiteley.
“We had to fight for the victory and there is plenty of room for improvement.”
Stand-in Bulls captain Handre Pollard said: “Losing two players to the sin bin in quick succession proved too much for us.”
SCORE
Bulls 35
Tries: Ismaiel, Gqoboka, Pollard, Kotze
Conversions: Brummer 3
Penalties: Boshoff 3
Lions 49
Tries: Cronje, Mahuza, Marx, Orie, Van Rooyen, Dreyer
Conversions: Jantjies 6
Penalties: 0
JAGUARES V HURRICANES
The Hurricanes scored five tries to none as they picked up their first points of the season with a 34-9 mauling of Argentina’s Jaguares at Velez Sarsfield.
The five tries were enough to secure a bonus point as the 2016 champions left their hosts with a third-straight loss – their worst start in three seasons in the competition.
Hurricanes flyhalf Beauden Barrett, making his first start after coming off the bench in the 21-19 loss to the Bulls in South Africa last weekend, converted three tries while his replacement Jackson Garden-Bachop slotted a penalty.
Winger Ben Lam and centre Ngani Laumape scored first half tries but flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez kept the Argentine side within sight, his third penalty in the 47th minute edging them within three points after the visitors had led 12-6 at halftime.
SCORE
Jaguares 9
Tries: 0
Conversions: 0
Penalties: Sanchez 3
Hurricanes 34
Tries: Thomson, Aso, Proctor, Laumape, Lam
Conversions: Barrett 3
Penalties: Garden-Bachop 1