The Sharks' Andy Goode is shown a yellow card by referee Paul Marks while his skipper John Smit protests © Getty Images

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Tournaments/Tours: Super 14

Teams: Australia | Blues | Brumbies | Bulls | Cheetahs | Chiefs | Crusaders | Force | Highlanders | Hurricanes | Lions | New Zealand | Sharks | South Africa | Stormers

The Waratahs condemned the Sharks to their fourth straight loss of the current Super 14 campaign with a narrow 25-21 victory in their clash at the Sydney Football Stadium.

Tries from Daniel Halangahu, Tom Carter and Tatafu Polta-Nau and 10 points from the boot of Berrick Barnes saw the hosts bounce back from defeat at the hands of the league-leading Bulls last time out. The Sharks, who were reduced to 13 men in the first half with both Jannie du Plessis and Andy Goode shown yellow, produced a battling display with tries from Ryan Kankowski and Adi Jacobs but were unable to notch their first win of the season.

Barnes slotted a penalty in the first minute to give the Tahs the lead but they were pegged back by a long range drop goal from Goode and the two exchanged further penalties before Du Plessis was the first to be sin-binned, soon to be followed by Goode for his second yellow card in successive weeks. But the Sharks stunned the home crowd with a breakaway try from Kankowski and a penalty from Ruan Pienaar whilst two men down.

But they also leaked a try from Halangahu and another from Carter before the break. Polota-Nau burrowed over in the second half to give his side some breathing room but the Sharks struck back through Jacobs and were unlucky not to steal the win when Tahs replacement Kurtley Beale deliberately knocked a scoring pass from Stefan Terblanche to Kankowski.

Bryan Habana bagged a last-gasp, bonus-point clinching try as the Stormers moved into the play-off places with a resounding 33-0 win over a hapless Highlanders side at Newlands later in the day.

In a desperately one-sided game, Jaque Fourie, Schalk Burger and Pieter Louw also touched down for the men from the Cape. Joe Pietersen contributed 11 points with the boot before being replaced late on, thus passing the goal-kicking duties on to Peter Grant, who converted Habana's crucial late score.

The Stormers made a stirring start to the game and Pietersen had already landed two penalties by the time the afternoon's opening try arrived 13 minutes in, Fourie touching down after Sireli Naqelevuki had been held up just short following a sweeping, crossfield attack from the home side.

The Stormers managed just three more points before the break, courtesy of Pietersen's boot, but they came back to life in the final quarter - and to devastating effect. Burger crashed over on the hour after some excellent drive from the pack before more good work from the forwards resulted in a third try, this time for Louw.

The victory now assured, the final ten minutes was all about securing the bonus point and the vital fourth try arrived in the dying seconds, Habana diving over after winning the race to his own kick forward.

Meanwhile, the Hurricanes' perfect start to the new season was ended on Saturday evening, the Wellington outfit suffering a shock 28-12 by the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

The Kiwis, who went into game in search of a fourth successive win, had started brightly in the Free State, with David Smith pouncing for an early try. However, the deadly goal-kicking of Meyer Bosman and Naas Olivier, who between them contributed 21 points to the Cheetahs' cause, and a 48th-minute try from Kabamba Floor turned the game decisively in the home side's favour.

Indeed, while the Hurricanes managed a late try from Cory Jane it was not enough to prevent Colin Cooper's men from even salvaging a losing bonus point from their first defeat of the season.

The Hurricanes, ultimately, paid the price for their ill-discipline. It was evident in almost every aspect of their play from the off. Indeed, just eight minutes had elapsed when John Schwalger was pinged for binding illegally in the scrum, allowing Bosman to open the scoring with a booming, long-range kick.

The visitors initial response to falling behind was impressive, with Smith jinking through to score almost straight from the restart after some good work from Ma'a Nonu and Alapati Leiua. Weepu, who endured an awful night with the boot, failed to convert, though, and that enabled Olivier to edge the Cheetahs back in front midway through the first half with his first strike on goal.

Bosman then landed two more penalties from distance to extend the home side's advantage to seven points. The Hurricanes' frustration at being repeatedly penalised manifested itself in a reckless 'spear' tackle from Nonu on Juan Smith which saw the All Black sent to the sin bin in the 31st minute.

The Cheetahs failed to score whilst their opponents were down to 14 men but they effectively sealed their win when Floors barged his way through to score after collecting Jongi Nokwe's clever chip through.

Olivier and Bosman then took it in turns to kick the Cheetahs out of sight, with Jane's 70th-minute touchdown the one bright spot on what was an otherwise dismal second half for the Hurricanes.

On Friday, the Reds bounced back to winning ways with a 23-18 upset of the previously unbeaten Chiefs in Hamilton on Friday. After rattling off three thrilling tries in the opening quarter, the Chiefs spluttered and allowed their more dogged opponents to steal the game and end a run of six straight wins at Waikato Stadium. The Reds, who have been ravaged by injury, only scored one try in each half but they stuck to the basics to pick up a second win while the hosts self-destructed with handling errors and weak tackling.

Reds fly-half Quade Cooper was a clear winner in the goalkicking battle with opposite number Stephen Donald. Cooper slotted five from six while Donald managed one from five. The Chiefs had a chance to steal a late win but a botched lineout on the Reds tryline summed up their evening. The result undid much of the good work the Chiefs achieved with three wins on the road last month, only giving their vaunted back three limited opportunities as the match wore on. That wasn't the case in the opening exchanges, with wingers Sitiveni Sivivatu and Lelia Masaga crossing in opposite corners inside the first nine minutes.

It appeared a rout could unfold when prop Sona Taumalolo barged over in the 20th minute to take the score to 15-0. Winger Will Chambers responded for the hosts after some slick hands from Cooper but Donald landed his only kick of the night soon afterwards, a penalty for a lifting tackle by Brando Va'aulo on opposite Sivivatu which saw the Reds winger sent to the sin bin.

Being reduced to 14 men seemed to lift the Reds, with Cooper slotting two long-range penalties to have his team trailing 18-13 at the break. The bumbling hosts were kept scoreless in the second half while the Reds surged clear via a third Cooper penalty and decisive try to 19-year-old fullback Luke Morahan, who chased a hacked kick 75m and beat Masaga in a race to the tryline. Former sevens international Morahan was a late call up for the injured Peter Hynes and his desperation mirrored that of his team.

Flankers Daniel Braid and Scott Higginbotham were at the helm of a hard-working Reds pack, who were more efficient at the breakdown and defended doggedly. The Chiefs were slick at lineout time, with lock Romana Graham outstanding, and they offloaded superbly in the first half but that sort of play eventually translated into errors and they will need to be significantly better when they host the Crusaders on Friday next week. The Reds return home next weekend to play the Western Force.

Elsewhere on Friday, the Brumbies made it back-to-back victories with a 24-13 win against the Lions in Canberra. Second half tries from centre Christian Lealiifano and hooker Stephen Moore and some assured kicking from fly-half Matt Giteau saw the Brumbies home in their first home game of the year.

The Brumbies dominated the opening period but failed to capitalise until five minutes from the break when they were rewarded with a penalty try after repeated scrum infringements from the Lions. The visitors' cause had not been helped by a yellow card for tight-head prop Kevin Buys who was sin-binned just short of the half hour having been repeatedly warned for hitting too early at scrum time.

The Lions had opened the scoring with a penalty from fly-half Burton Francis but his effort was cancelled out by Giteau with the converted try handing the hosts a 10-3 lead at half-time. A Francis penalty after the break reduced the arrears before Lealiifano struck with Giteau adding the conversion. The Lions rallied with a try of their own from replacement hooker Hannes Franklin, converted by Francis, but the tit-for-tat exchange continued with Moore crossing a few minutes later. Giteau added the conversion but the Brumbies were thwarted in their bid to claim a try-scoring bonus point.