Hat-trick hero Wynand Olivier dives over during the Bulls' demolition of the Melbourne Rebels in Pretoria © Getty Images

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News: Carter guides Crusaders past Chiefs

News: Brumbies lose Edmonds and Ma'afu

Matches: Chiefs 30 - 23 Stormers | Queensland Reds 37 - 31 Blues | Highlanders 13 - 6 Hurricanes

Tournaments/Tours: Super Rugby

Teams: Australia | Highlanders | Hurricanes | New Zealand | South Africa

Wynand Olivier helped himself to a hat-trick as a rampant Bulls side hammered the Melbourne Rebels 47-10 at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday evening.

The home side ran riot in the first half, racking up six tries in total. Olivier bagged the first just six minutes in and he was followed over moments later by fullback Zane Kirchner. Fly-half Julien Huxley got the visitors off the mark with a penalty on 16 minutes but that offered little offered little hope to a Rebels defence that was being completely overrun. Indeed, the Rebels ran in four tries during a stunning 11-minute spell to put the game to bed.

Bjorn Basson scored the first before Olivier and Kirchner both dotted for a second time. Scrum-half Fourie du Preez then cruised over as the Bulls went in 40-3 up at the break. The Rebels managed something of a consolation score when replacement Cooper Vuna touched down early in the second half but the Bulls, who eased off considerably after the break, had the final say through Olivier, who completed his hat-trick just before the hour.

Later in the day, Sias Ebersohn scored 23 points as the struggling Cheetahs upset the Crusaders 33-20 at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.

Ebersohn opened the scoring with a penalty but the Crusaders hit back through a try from wing Zac Guildford and a penalty from fly-half Dan Carter to lead 10-3. The Cheetahs levelled matters courtesy of a converted try from Robert Ebersohn at the tail end of an eventful first quarter before edging in front courtesy of two successful strikes on goal from his brother, Sias. However, it was the Crusaders who led at the interval, with Carter bursting through to score before getting up to convert his own try.

The third quarter, though, belonged to the Cheetahs, or, more accurately, fly-half Ebersohn. He slotted a penalty shortly after the re-start and then emulated Carter by converting his own five-point to make it 26-17 to the home side. Carter had been taken off by that point and his replacement gave the Crusaders some hope with a 61st-minute penalty. However, the Cheetahs were not to be denied and they sealed a massive win when flanker Ashley Johnson flopped over in the closing stages.

Also on Saturday, the Chiefs pulled off a terrific comeback to claim a 30-23 victory over the Stormers at the Waikato Stadium.

The Stormers had built up a 20-3 lead by half-time thanks to some ferocious defence and ruthless finishing - Gio Aplon scoring a great individual try and the ubiquitous Schalk Burger also touching down with Peter Grant kicking ten points.

But the Chiefs fought back superbly after the break with a five minute blitz that took them to within three points of the visitors. A fortuitous penalty try gave them momentum at the start of the second half before All Blacks winger Sitiveni Sivivatu crossed minutes later. Fly-half Stephen Donald kicked both conversions and was accurate from the tee once again in the 59th minute after Liam Messam barged over to give the hosts the lead.

Donald, who enjoyed a far better second half than first, landed a further penalty to seal the win and condemn the Stormers to their second successive defeat following last weekend's defeat to the Crusaders.

The Brumbies slumped to a fourth successive defeat as they lost 29-20 to South African strugglers the Lions in Canberra. A fantastic length of the field try, which was started by Matt Giteau on his 22 and finished by winger Andrew Smith, gave the Australian outfit some hope of overhauling the Lions heading into the final five minutes. But the Lions held on for only their second win of the season.

Wallabies hooker Stephen Moore had given the hosts an early lead with a try in the tenth minute, which was converted by Giteau who added a penalty minutes later. But the Lions, who were prompted by lively performance from fly-half Elton Jantjies, went on to score 22 unanswered points with tries from Michael Rhodes, Alwyn Hollenbach and JC van Rensburg. Giteau finally replied with a penalty but fullback Jaco Taute crossed for the Lions, meaning Smith's late try was insufficient to revive the Brumbies' ailing season.

The Reds climbed to the top of the Super Rugby standings with a 37-31 victory over title rivals the Blues at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Friday. Reds fly-half Quade Cooper led the way with the opening try of the night and 17 points with the boot, but the hosts had to withstand a second-half onslaught from the Blues before claiming their 10th win of the campaign.

Hooker Saia Faingaa and flanker Scott Higginbotham followed Cooper over the whitewash to power the Reds into a 24-0 lead after half an hour but the Blues struck back before the break with scores from blindside Chris Lowrey and replacement centre Lachie Munro. Cooper edged the Reds further ahead after the break but there was more joy for the visitors with a try from scrum-half Alby Mathewson.

Blues centre Luke McAlister, who finished with 11 points, continued to chip away at the lead and brought his side to within three points before Reds replacement James Hanson pounced for the bonus point try. Cooper gave his side some more breathing space with a penalty but the Blues would have the final say, with winger Rene Ranger squeezing over to ensure one bonus point before McAlister's conversion bagged them another.

The Highlanders picked up their second win over the Hurricanes this season on Friday, taking a low-scoring game 13-6 in Invercargill. The loss cemented the Hurricanes at the bottom of the New Zealand conference, with just three wins from 12 games, although there was one plus as All Black Piri Weepu made his return from injury off the bench.

'Canes fly-half Aaron Cruden opened the scoring with a penalty in the third minute, as both teams struggled with handling errors in steady rain early on. Highlanders No.8 Nasi Manu went close to the first try after half an hour only for Chris Eaton to dislodge the ball over the line, but two minutes later fullback Ben Smith latched onto a perfect Jimmy Cowan chip kick from an attacking scrum to score the game's only try.

Fly-half Limo Sopoaga came good to slot the conversion, following that up with a penalty right on the half-time whistle to give the Highlanders a 10-3 lead going into the break. A penalty apiece to Sopoaga and Cruden were the second-half's only scores, which suited the home side just fine.