The New Zealanders went top of the table courtesy of four points from a weekend bye as the Brumbies were held to a 28-28 draw by competition newcomers Southern Kings in Canberra on Friday.
Last season’s finalists Coastal Sharks are in third place after downing Canterbury Crusaders 21-17, to hold on to the South African conference lead from the Central Cheetahs – who won their fifth consecutive match with a 26-24 victory over Western Stormers in a South African derby in Bloemfontein.
New Zealand’s Wellington Hurricanes powered into the top six with a 41-29 victory over the New South Wales Waratahs at home, while Queensland Reds and Northern Bulls had byes.
The Auckland Blues returned to winning ways with a 29-18 victory over the Otago Highlanders, while the Melbourne Rebels beat the Western Force 30-23 in Perth.
In Canberra, the Southern Kings fought back with a try three minutes after fulltime to snatch a draw with the Brumbies.
Number eight Cornell du Preez plunged over for his second try to deny the Brumbies a victory, after the Kings defended for most of the match.
The Kings capitalised on a out-of-sorts Brumbies to outscore them by four tries to two, and only Christian Lealiifano’s goalkicking kept the Brumbies ahead into the final moments.
Patrick Lambie succeeded with all seven penalty kicks to earn the Sharks a thrilling four-point victory over the seven-time champion Crusaders in Durban on Friday.
The Springbok fly-half landed three in the first half which ended with the visitors 11-9 ahead, and a further four during the second 40 minutes to give the Sharks only their third win in 17 clashes between the sides.