SYDNEY: New Zealand's Wellington Hurricanes and Waikato Chiefs, along with South Africa's Western Stormers, have emerged as the form teams after the opening three rounds of Super Rugby.
The Hurricanes, Chiefs and Stormers remain unbeaten while South Africa's Central Cheetahs have yet to lose in two outings.
The Wellington-based Hurricanes showed they could be genuine contenders this season with an overwhelming 42-13 win over the Western Force in Perth on their way home from winning two games in South Africa.
Code-hopper Sonny Bill Williams inspired the Chiefs to a thumping 40-16 New Zealand derby win over the Canterbury Crusaders to maintain their perfect start to the season.
Heroic stoppage-time defending earned the Stormers a 22-19 victory over the Golden Lions at Johannesburg's Ellis Park to go top of the South African conference.
The ACT Brumbies are the Australian conference leaders following a gutsy 20-15 win over the Rebels in Melbourne.
The Cheetahs, coming off a bye, hold down fifth place overall after pipping New Zealand's Auckland Blues 25-24 with a late penalty goal in Bloemfontein.
Northern Bulls put a disastrous start to the season behind them with a lively 43-35 win over Coastal Sharks in a South African derby at Pretoria.
The return of ex-Wallaby James O'Connor ended in a 20-13 defeat for the Queensland Reds against the Otago Highlanders in Dunedin, while defending champions NSW Waratahs had a bye.
Despite having not yet played at home, the Hurricanes made it three wins in as many outings by scoring the first four tries of the match in a commanding performance against the Force.
The Force suffered their biggest-ever home loss and have just one win from three games, which came in the season opener against the Waratahs.
- Williams on song -
The Chiefs ran in five tries to one, with Williams scoring one and setting up two more as they made it three wins from three.
It was the Chiefs' biggest win over the seven-time champions Crusaders, confirming they are back to their best after winning back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013.
The Crusaders, finalists last year, struggled to cope with Waikato's combination of speed and physicality, falling to their second defeat in three starts.
In Johannesburg, the Stormers, clinging to a three-point advantage, repulsed 36 phases before Lions centre Howard Mnisi knocked on to take victory.
The Brumbies scored two tries to nil, but Mike Harris kept the Rebels in the contest with five penalty goals.
The Canberra-based team had less possession and territory but seized on the Rebels' errors to keep in front of the home side.
Joe Pietersen kicked a late penalty as the Cheetahs edged out the Blues after a seesaw in Bloemfontein.
The fly-half kept his nerve to convert an angled kick with a minute left for the Cheetahs to climb to second in the South African conference.
Defeat created an unwanted record for the Blues, who lost three consecutive matches at the start of a Super Rugby season for the first time.
After home losses to compatriots the Stormers and Hurricanes, the Bulls won one of the most pulsating Super Rugby games seen in South Africa against the Sharks.
It was the Reds' second loss in three matches, placing more pressure on a club still reeling after Australian police charged high-profile recruit Karmichael Hunt with supplying cocaine.
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