Defending champions the Blues were stunned 29-21 by the Highlanders and the Western Force beat the Brumbies 45-42 as two shorthanded teams served up major upsets in round two of Super Rugby Pacific on Saturday.
The Highlanders snapped an eight-match losing streak against the Blues despite a rash of injuries and a red card for prop Daniel Lienert-Brown leaving them with 13 men for 20 minutes in the second half.
The Blues led 14-3 after 24 minutes but the home side stormed back into the contest with two tries from fleet-footed fullback Finn Hurley, the first a stunning individual effort, the second a brilliant team score.
Highlanders co-captain Timoci Tavatavanawai was outstanding in defence with a couple of turnovers and a 50-22 as the depleted Highlanders held the All Blacks-studded Blues attack scoreless for the last 27 minutes to secure a famous win.
"Really proud of our guys," said Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph.
"Everything seemed to be caving in a little bit and they showed a lot of resilience to stay in there and create an opportunity."
A second upset looked on the cards early on in the final match of the round when the Force scored three tries in the first 20 minutes to take a 21-0 lead over the Brumbies in Canberra.
The Brumbies battled back to lead 42-38 five minutes from time but, despite also being down to 13 men after two yellow cards, the Force worked their way up the pitch for replacement hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa to grab the winning try.
"We were playing a man down for most of that game, so yeah, bloody proud of the boys," said Force scrumhalf Nic White, a former Brumbies stalwart.
"I know how hard it is to come here and get a win, so that's pretty special."
It was the Force's first win in Canberra since 2011, their first win away from Perth for three years, and they joined the Chiefs as the only teams with two wins from the first two rounds.
There were 52 tries scored over the five matches in round two and the Chiefs scored seven of them on Friday as they firmed as early title favourites with a 49-24 victory over the Crusaders.
IRRESISTIBLE RUGBY
Losing finalists in the last two seasons, the Chiefs were in a dogfight at 17-17 after 50 minutes in Hamilton but blew away the 14-time champions with irresistible attacking rugby in the last half an hour.
Replacement centre Quinn Tupaea scored two of the home side's five tries in the last 30 minutes as they racked up their highest points tally against the Crusaders in three decades of Super Rugby.
The Hurricanes, who topped the regular season standings last year but lost to the Crusaders last week, notched their first win of the campaign when they came from behind to beat Fijian Drua 38-34 in a Napier thriller on Saturday.
There were more nightmares for defence coaches in Friday's second match in Brisbane, where the Reds kicked off their season with a 56-36 win over Moana Pasifika at a rain-soaked Lang Park.
The Reds raced to a 21-0 lead inside the first 13 minutes before three yellow cards over the remainder of the opening half stalled their charge.
Ardie Savea grabbed his first try for Moana and standout winger Kyren Taumoefolau crossed twice as the visitors fought back, but five second-half tries ensured the Reds stayed in front and ultimately pulled away for a bonus-point win.
