SYDNEY: The Wellington Hurricanes repelled a Queensland Reds challenge to fight off the Waikato Chiefs and stay top of Super Rugby on Sunday.
The Hurricanes stayed on track for their first Super Rugby title with a 35-19 win over the Reds in Brisbane and leapfrogged the Chiefs back to the top of the standings.
Wellington's bonus-point win was enough to retain the overall lead after the Chiefs had gone top with a 35-27 win over the Western Force on Friday.
Under the tournament regulations, only the leaders of the three national conferences hold down the top three overall spots, so the Chiefs have to be content with fourth spot after 11 rounds of the southern hemisphere provincial competition.
Australian conference leaders ACT Brumbies lie second overall following their 31-18 win over New Zealand's Otago Highlanders in Canberra on Friday.
The Western Stormers are third after winning their South African derby over the Northern Bulls 15-13 in Cape Town to take over the South African conference lead.
The defending champions New South Wales Waratahs hung on for a scrappy 18-16 win over the Melbourne Rebels in Sydney to lie just outside the playoff positions in seventh place.
South Africa's Golden Lions are next after edging the Central Cheetahs 34-29 in an eight-try thriller at Ellis Park, while the Canterbury Crusaders kept the play-offs in sight with a 29-15 win over the Auckland Blues in Christchurch.
The Hurricanes trailed the Reds 12-3 after two Samu Kerevi tries in the opening 20 minutes before they hit their straps to lead 20-12 at halftime and go on to seal victory.
The win comes after the Hurricanes' first loss of the season against the defending champions New South Wales Waratahs at home last week. They have now won five straight games on the road.
Fly-half Beauden Barrett became the Hurricanes' all-time leading point-scorer with a match haul of 15 points from three conversions and three penalties.
The Chiefs held off a gallant 14-man Western Force to maintain their title challenge in Hamilton.
The 2012 and 2013 champions were in danger of blowing a 30-8 lead as their renowned defence deserted them in the second half, leaking three tries despite having a one-man advantage.
Wallaby flanker David Pocock scored three tries as the Brumbies bounced back with a bonus-point win over the Highlanders.
Pocock scored three of the Brumbies' four tries to return to the winners' list after back-to-back losses to consolidate their lead at the top of the Australian conference.
Stormers skipper Duane Vermeulen blocked a late drop-goal attempt by Bulls fly-half Handre Pollard to help his team win a pulsating clash at Newlands.
Victory lifted the Stormers to third on the combined championship standings while the Bulls slipped to fifth.
The Waratahs looked in control of their Australian derby at Sydney's Olympic stadium with a 13-0 lead, but wayward goalkicking by Bernard Foley and the never-say-die Rebels made for a gripping duel in the second half.
The Sydneysiders prevailed as the Rebels made an error with the ball in the fourth minute of added on time after the siren to trail the Brumbies by four points in the Australian conference.
The Waratahs scored three tries to one, but fly-half Foley could manage only one penalty goal from five attempts as Jack Debreczeni kept the Rebels in the contest with three long range penalties and a conversion.
The Lions made it six victories in seven games and climbed one place to eighth on the combined standings with their win over the Cheetahs.
Giant Fijian wing Nemani Nadolo was a central figure in the Crusaders bonus point win, creating the space and firing the last pass for three of his team's four tries.
The Crusaders now have five wins from 10 games with captain Kieran Read noting the seven-time champions had kept their play-off chances alive but had a lot of work to do.
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