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The lights dimmed on the Auckland Blues' Super 14 campaign when they were beaten 31-24 by the Queensland Reds in a match interrupted by a black-out at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland.

The lights dimmed on the Auckland Blues' Super 14 campaign when they were beaten 31-24 by the Queensland Reds in a match interrupted by a black-out at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland.

A power failure at an electricity substation caused the lights on two of the four lighting towers at the stadium on Auckland's North Shore to go out in the third minute and it was 45 minutes before play resumed.

The Blues appeared to be suffering from a lack of spark after the enforced break and the Reds quickly charged into an imposing lead on the back of tries from Berrick Barnes and James Horwill.

Barnes converted both to add to his penalty from before the lighting failed, giving the visitors a 17-0 advantage they never looked like relinquishing.

The Blues had almost 60 percent possession in the first spell but poor option taking by halfbacks Tasesa Lavea and Taniela Moa left them pinned inside their own half and they only got on the board a minute before the break when Isaia Toeava barrelled over.

The Reds extended their lead to 31-5 after some 10 minutes of the second half courtesy of tries from centre Digby Ioane and replacement winger Charlie Fetoai, both of which Barnes converted.

The Blues rallied in the final 30 minutes to score tries through replacement loose forward Peter Saili and lock Kurtis Haiu before Jimmy Gopperth, who had replaced Lavea at halftime, crossed in stoppage time.

Gopperth added two conversions to give the Blues a second bonus point for a tally of 30 points for the season, good enough for third before other matches later on Saturday.

Wellington Hurricanes 56-7 ACT Brumbies

A first-half four-try blitz propelled the Hurricanes to victory at the Westpac Stadium over the Brumbies and temporarily to the top of the Super 14 standings.

After commemorating Anzac Day with the match ball being delivered by an Air Force helicopter and an artillery gun firing two ceremonial shots into the cool Wellington night sky, the Hurricanes recovered from an early try to Brumbies prop Ben Alexander to blow the Australian team away.

Fullback Cory Jane, centre Conrad Smith and wingers Tamati Ellison and David Smith all scored within the first 30 minutes to give the home side a bonus point before the break.

The Hurricanes moved to the head of the table with 34 points, though the second-placed Waikato Chiefs (31) play the fifth-placed Bulls (29) later on Saturday (1505 GMT). The third-placed Sharks (31) have a bye this week.

It took the Hurricanes 15 minutes to add to their score in the second half with fly-half Willie Ripia slotting his second penalty before the Wellington-based side cut loose in the final 25 minutes.

Replacement winger Zac Guildford scored two tries, the second from an audacious training-park move when Ripia drew the defenders across field and produced a behind-the-back flip-pass to David Smith who burst through and fed the unmarked Guildford.

Loose forwards Faifili Levave and Victor Vito also scored for the home side, who completely outplayed the Brumbies throughout.

Ripia slotted five conversions and two penalties.

Cheetahs 31-20 Canterbury Crusaders

Recalled flyhalf Naas Olivier steered the Cheetahs to victory over the Canterbury Crusaders in Bloemfontein.

Olivier scored 10 points from two penalties and two conversions in his first Super rugby game in over two years.

He also produced an outrageous flip pass to fullback Hennie Daniller, who score the decisive try in the 75th minute to seal a rare victory for the South African team. The result dented the Crusaders's hopes of reaching the semi-finals with only three rounds remaining.

The New Zealand side's four-match winning streak was ended in the most unexpected fashion against a side that, before this match, had only claimed one win in the 2009 tournament.

The Crusaders were reduced to kicking over an injury time penalty through replacement fullback Leon MacDonald to ensure they earned a bonus point for losing by seven points or less.

The extra point moved the defending champions to 27 points in the standings and up to eighth. The Cheetahs remained bottom on 11 points, still seven behind the 13th placed Reds.

Bulls 33-27 Chiefs

Industrious hooker Derick Kuun scored two tries to lead the Bulls to a 33-27 win over the Chiefs in Pretoria.

With three rounds remaining the Bulls moved up to second place with 33 points, while the Chiefs dropped to third on 32.

In a free-scoring match that produced six tries and in which the lead change several times, the Bulls matched the physical New Zealanders in the set phases and at the breakdowns.

The South African team's halfbacks, Fourie du Preez and Morne Steyn, capitalised on their forwards' hard work by pinning back the hard-running Chiefs with an excellent kicking game.

The Bulls scored three tries in the first half, with two from Kuun, while the Chiefs stayed in touch with scores by giant eighthman Sione Lauaki and centre Callum Bruce and 12 points from the boot of fly-half Stephen Donald.

His opposite number Steyn enjoyed an excellent night with the boot, kicking a personal haul of 18 points, which included a long-range drop goal.

The Bulls extended their lead to 13 points shortly after the restart with two Steyn penalties but the Chiefs struck again on the hour mark when centre Richard Kahui sliced through unopposed to score underneath the posts.

That score set up a tense final quarter characterised by a string of substitutions but the Bulls could not score a fourth, bonus-point try that would have taken them to the top of the table.

The Chiefs had their chances to win the match at the death but had to be satisfied with picking up a bonus point for finishing within seven points of the Bulls.

Reuters