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The Sharks returned to the top of the Super 14 standings after beating the Wellington Hurricanes 33-17 in Durban on Saturday.

The South African side have a three-point lead over the Chiefs and New South Wales Waratahs with five rounds left. The Hurricanes stay sixth after a third defeat in seven games.

The Sharks, who beat ACT Brumbies 35-14 last weekend, scored two quick tries after the break through new wing Luzuko Vulindlu and fly-half Francois Steyn to grab the initiative after a slow start had left them trailing by a point at half-time.

Vulindlu's opportunistic 44th minute score came from a quick lineout that caught their New Zealand opponents napping.

Steyn's simple touchdown underneath the posts four minutes later was the result of poor fielding of an up-and-under by replacement full-back Tamati Ellison.

Both tries were converted by scrum-half Rory Kockott, who also kicked three first-half penalties to keep the home side in the game after the visitors had made a strong start.

Fly-half Piri Weepu opened the Hurricanes' account in the sixth minute with a penalty before weak Sharks tackling saw flanker Faifili Levave barge over after 15 minutes.

In the second period, the Hurricanes remained scoreless until the 67th minute when winger Zac Guildford cut the deficit to eight points with a try in the right-hand corner as the home side showed signs of tiring.

Weepu made it 23-17 with his second conversion to suggest a nail-biting finish but the unpredictable Steyn kicked a drop goal shortly after to restore the advantage.

Replacement back Chris Jordaan scored the Sharks' third try with two minutes remaining to seal the victory.

Chiefs 36-29 Lions

Waikato Chiefs scored 26 unanswered points in the last 20 minutes to come from behind and beat the Lions 36-29 in Hamilton.

Waikato wing Dwayne Sweeney completed a hat-trick of tries while replacements Jackson Willison and Hika Elliott also crossed as the in-form Chiefs collected maximum points after trailing for most of the Super 14 match.

"The Lions really got stuck into us in the first half but I'm proud of my boys for the way they came back," Chiefs captain Mils Muliaina said.

The Johannesburg-based Lions, who had won only two matches this season, looked to be on their way to a third victory after leading 22-10 at halftime at Hamilton.

Scrum-half Jano Vermaak scored an early try and centre Jaque Fourie crossed twice before the break to give the visitors a healthy lead at the break.

They extended their advantage to 19 points early in the second term when substitute Earl Rose scored but failed to add to their total as the Chiefs stormed home in the last quarter.

NSW Waratahs 12-6 Stormers

NSW Waratahs winger Lachlan Turner scored two tries from chip kicks to lead the Australian side to a hard-fought win over the Stormers at the Sydney Football Stadium.

Turner completed a spectacular solo effort in the fifth minute when he beat two defenders then regathered his own kick to score next to the posts and give Daniel Halangahuna a simple conversion.

Turner, who also had a try disallowed because of a forward pass from Lote Tuqiri, scored a second touchdown four minutes from fulltime to seal victory for the Australians after winning the race to a kick from replacement Kurtley Beale.

The Waratahs squandered four try scoring opportunities and landed just one of six shots at goal but still managed to escape with the win to cement their place in the top four.

"We started off well with an early try but it's disappointing not to close out the game," Tahs captain Phil Waugh said. "When you get your chances you've got to convert that into points and we weren't doing that."

The South African-based Stormers were also left to rue their missed chances after they were restricted to two penalties, one in each half, to flyhalf Peter Grant as they suffered their fifth loss this season by less than seven points to slip to 10th place.

"It's not over yet," Stormers skipper Jean De Villiers said. "We'll stay positive and if we can keep on improving then we might still be in with a shout at the end of the competition."

Cheetahs 27-40 ACT Brumbies

The ACT Brumbies scored three tries in nine minutes on Saturday to crush the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

The Brumbies raced to a 13-3 lead after 30 minutes with flyhalf Christian Lealiifano taking advantage of indecision in the Cheetahs defence to jink his way over for a try from 20 metres out.

Wing Jongikhaya Nokwe replied for the Cheetahs who drew level and would have taken a nine-point lead if flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter had converted three penalties either side of halftime.

But the ruthlessly efficient Brumbies then ran in three quick tries to condemn the South African side to their eighth straight defeat.

Fullback Mark Gerrard scored a brilliant individual try, kicking ahead three times and grounding the ball after he had counter-attacked from deep in his own territory.

Three minutes later, Australia flanker George Smith set up replacement lock Peter Kimlin for a try and poor Cheetahs defending then allowed scrumhalf Josh Holmes to break from a scrum and score from outside the 22.

Reuters