All eyes seemed to be focused on the Brumbies-Waratahs clash in Canberra, and the fixture matched expectations with huge hits and a tight scoreline; but the Rebels' match against the Chiefs provided the biggest talking points - and not just because it featured one of the biggest upsets of the season (tipped by a couple of our pundits in Super Rugby Preview: Round 12). Read on so you are fully prepared for the discussions in the office on Monday morning and through the week.

Highlanders 45-15 Sharks

The Highlanders were a completely different team to that beaten by the Brumbies in Canberra seven days earlier, and it had a lot to do with the return of All Blacks Aaron and Ben Smith. The duo, along with star centre Malakai Fekitoa, were forced to satisfy one of the New Zealand Rugby-enforced rest weeks in Round 11; clearly refreshed, they helped run the Sharks riot. The Smiths were at the heart of everything the Highlanders did well, with Aaron's slick service also facilitating a far more accomplished performance from fly-half Lima Sopoaga - who was badly out of sorts against the Brumbies.

The Highlanders scored seven tries in all; the pick of which featured some superb interplay from the Smiths and a pin-point cross-kick from Sopoaga that found the competition's form winger and leading try-scorer, Waisake Naholo. The Sharks, meanwhile, have plenty to work on if they're to come away with anything other than four losses on their Australasian tour.

@aad_Adz @witho68 Wouldn't have thought so. The Wellington Lions could beat the Sharks currently..

— Brett McKay (@BMcSport) May 3, 2015

Brumbies 10-13 Waratahs

The was billed as the battle for the Wallabies No.7 jersey, but Michael Hooper and David Pocock walked away from Canberra sharing a split decision while the Waratahs came away with the spoils. In what was a typically physical derby between the two sides, the visitors held off a final surge from the Brumbies after full-time to claim their fourth straight win over the two-time champions and close the gap to just one point in the Australian conference. Earlier, the match looked as though it could have been a far more open encounter than usual as both sides crossed for tries within the opening 15 minutes. Beautifully floated passes from first Robbie Coleman, and then Nick Phipps, set up tries for Joe Tomane and Adam Ashley-Cooper, respectively, but that was about as open as it got as the match descended into a breakdown scrap. The Hooper-Pocock bout followed the expected script with the Waratahs No.7 showing his class in the loose to take first-half honours before Pocock's authority at the tackle led to a pilfers and forced penalties in a fine second-half effort.

Blues 41-24 Force

Sir John Kirwan is likely breathing just a little bit more easily after his side secured their second win of the season in a week when he continued to spruik his claims for a contract extension. Kirwan may or may not remain at the helm next season, but the Blues will certainly want to keep Akira Ioane for many seasons to come after the young back-rower announced himself in fine style at Eden Park on Saturday night. Ioane is easily the franchise's most exciting prospect, the young gun showing all the skills of his Sevens background in an awesome all-round display. He was powerful with ball in hand, dished offloads, showed fine footwork, and rounded it all out with a superb solo try that any of Super Rugby's top wingers would have been ecstatic to call their own. The Force fought on well at the end, inspired as usual by outstanding skipper Matt Hodgson, but they were left to lament an awful TMO call that saw full-back Dane Haylett-Petty yellow-carded for an aerial challenge gone wrong. It was a penalty, sure, but the yellow card was unnecessary and 10 minutes later the visitors had shipped 21 points.

Hurricanes 29-23 Crusaders

New Zealand's playmaking quality and depth was on show on Saturday night, but what started as an awesome display of first, and second, five-eighth skill finished in a worrying injury departure for All Blacks coach Steve Hansen. Hurricanes fly-half Beauden Barrett left the field late with a knee injury, and the free-running Taranaki native is likely to miss the Canes' next clash even though early reports suggest it isn't overly serious. Barrett had earlier, along with Crusaders stars Colin Slade and Dan Carter, shown their class in a cracking clash that was for grabs until after the final whistle. Slade scored one and set up the other try for Carter while Barrett ran for an incredible, and match-high, 184 metres and generally played a part in everything that saw the Hurricanes roll forward. The ladder-leaders again scored some fantastic five-pointers with Blade Thomson's second-half effort the pick of an excellent bunch.

Rebels 16-15 Chiefs

Melbourne Rebels have now beaten each of New Zealand's five sides after they played with loads of determination and character at AAMI Park on Saturday night. But there is little doubt they benefited from a string of debatable calls from referee Andrew Lees and the TMO. The Chiefs were first denied a try in the first half when a rolling maul was ruled illegal, while Nic Stirzaker's five-pointer on the stroke of half-time had more than just a little bit of doubt about it - again for obstruction. There could be no arguing against James Lowe's yellow card, that also saw the Chiefs miss out on a try to Charlie Ngatai, as the winger lashed out with his knee in a moment of frustration. But there was a degree of doubt as to whether skipper Liam Messam, himself later sin-binned, was onside at the kick from which Ngatai eventually scored. Neverthless, few outisde the Waikato (and perhaps New Zealand) will begrudge the Rebels a gutsy win, one that keeps them in the hunt for a maiden play-offs berth.

Bulls 35-33 Lions

The Bulls ended the Lions' five-game winning run, and extended their three-year drought at Loftus, in this seven-try spectacle, the result of which saw the hosts rise to second place on the Super Rugby ladder. Piet van Zyl scored two tries within 10 minutes before limping off in the second half, and Pierre Spies came off the bench to produce a nice try from a quick tap near the line. Super Rugby's leading points scorer this season, Handre Pollard, continued to add the extras and the Lions had to make do with a four-try bonus point secured minutes from the end. Both sides are well in contention for the play-offs from South Africa, with the Stormers shocked in Bloemfontein, and perhaps we need to start considering the country's derbies as something other than a stereotypical bash-fest.

Cheetahs 25-17 Stormers

A crucial half-time injury replacement played a huge role in ending the Stormers' three-game winning run: Demetri Catrakilis slotted a penalty and a conversion to increase to 27 his consecutive successful kicks at goal this season, but his replacement, Kurt Coleman, couldn't provide the same results - converting just one kick from in front of the posts while fudging four penalties, including a stoppage-time effort to snatch a losing bonus point. The Stormers dominated the scrums and really should have had a better night out, but the Cheetahs stole three consecutive lineouts early before their never wavering backline produced some great tries to upset the visitors.