Super Rugby: Victories for Brumbies, Stormers, Reds and Lions

A gripping draw started Round 5 of the Super Rugby season on Friday before four further games took place.

The match between the Highlanders and the Crusaders was cancelled in response to the terrorist attacks in Christchurch.

New Zealand Rugby said the decision to cancel the match in Dunedin had been made after consultation with both teams, police and local authorities.

Chiefs 23-23 Hurricanes

Damian McKenzie made full use of the space available to him at full-back as he scored a try and added 13 points from the boot to end the Chiefs' losing streak with their draw with the Hurricanes in Hamilton.

McKenzie had struggled to impose himself in his three previous appearances at fly-half as the Chiefs slumped to four successive losses and was shifted to full-back by coach Colin Cooper.

The decision paid off, with the All Blacks utility back exploiting space and revelling in the open field with his pace and footwork. That worked created opportunities for the home side with Anton Lienert-Brown also scoring a try.

Matt Proctor and Wes Goosen scored five-pointers for the visitors, while Beauden Barrett added ten points off the boot and younger brother Jordie slotted a long-range penalty.

Brumbies 19-13 Waratahs

Hooker Folau Fainga'a scored two tries, both from close range, as the Brumbies held off the Waratahs in a tight encounter in Canberra where neither side were able to dominate in the face of strong defences and big tackles.

Fainga'a also had his hands on the ball when the Brumbies were awarded a penalty try by referee Glen Jackson after the Waratahs had collapsed an attacking lineout drive. The hooker has now scored tries in five successive matches.

Captain Michael Hooper and winger Alex Newsome both scored tries, while fly-half Bernard Foley slotted a penalty for the Waratahs, who had both starting props Sekope Kepu and Harry Johnson-Holmes sin-binned for different offences.

Stormers 35-8 Los Jaguares

Replacement scrum-half Justin Phillips scored a late try to secure a bonus-point for the Stormers in a comprehensive victory over Los Jaguares at Newlands on Friday.

The visitors put the Stormers under pressure for large parts of the game, especially in the first half, but some excellent defence and dominance at the set-piece made the scoreline comfortable for the Cape Town-based side.

Phillips burrowed over from close-range to secure the extra point after centre Dan du Plessis, captain Siya Kolisi and scrumhalf Hershel Jantjies had earlier crossed for tries.

Los Jaguares were on the scoreboard early with the opening score through wing Bautista Delguy, but have now lost their last 11 games on South African soil.

Sunwolves 31-34 Reds

Hamish Stewart kicked a penalty with less than two minutes on the clock as the Reds stormed back from a 21-5 half-time deficit to beat the Sunwolves in Tokyo.

Tate McDermott had given the Reds hope when he pounced on the charge down of Keisuke Yuchida's clearing kick to level the scores at 31-31.

While Stewart missed the conversion of McDermott's try, the young full-back made no mistake with the penalty that gave the Reds their first win after three losses this season.

Replacement hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa scored two tries for the Brisbane-based side in their second-half fightback after the Sunwolves had raced out to the lead with first half tries from Jamie Booth, Dan Pryor and Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco.

Lions 36-33 Rebels

Replacement fly-half Gianni Lombard kicked a penalty after the hooter as the Lions staged a remarkable second-half fightback to secure a 36-33 Super Rugby victory over the Melbourne Rebels at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The visiting Rebels led 33-5 with 30 minutes to play but, following a yellow card for centre Bill Meakes, the home side came roaring back to score 31 unanswered points and steal the win.

The Lions turned down three kickable penalties in the dying minutes but forced a scrum penalty after the 80-minute mark with the Rebels pack down to seven players after flank Angus Cottrell was sent to the sin bin.

The home side shoved the Rebels off their own ball and when referee Egon Seconds blew for a penalty, Lombard, 21, held his nerve to kick the ball between the posts from a difficult angle.

The Rebels were let down by poor discipline, not only suffering their two yellow cards but also a negative penalty count of 20-1. They were perhaps fortunate, indeed, not to see more players sin-binned.