Chiefs beat Hurricanes in golden point thriller

The Chiefs have claimed a thrilling extra-time 22-17 Super Rugby Pacific victory top side the Hurricanes.

With the scores locked at 17-all at fulltime on Saturday night, Super Point was introduced with the team first to score during a scheduled 10 minutes declared the winner.

If the scores were still tied after the 10 minutes, it would have been declared a draw.

But Wallace Sititi reclaimed a charged-down drop-kick at goal by Damian McKenzie to score in the fifth minute of extra time.

It was a great moment for the Chiefs captain Luke Jacobson, who was playing his 100th Super Rugby match.

The Chiefs have now won seven from nine matches and head off the Hurricanes at the top of the table by one point, though the Wellington side have a game in hand.

What made the Chiefs' win even more meritorious was that they had to make three changes to their named side, with Samipeni Finau, Kaylum Boshier, and Rueben O'Neill were all ruled out.

The Hurricanes had looked to have the better of the match, leading 17-10 in the 72nd minute when the Chiefs scored a try from nowhere, with Leroy Carter launching a scintillating burst from deep inside their own territory, with a brilliant offload putting Luke Sinkinson in the clear.

Crusaders feel the Force 

A dominant first-half performance from the Crusaders wasn't enough to see them home in their Super Rugby clash against the Force in Perth.

The Force won 31-26 on Saturday night (local time) - their fourth victory against the Canterbury-based side in their history and their first win at home this year.

They ran down the defending champions superbly after trailing 19-nil at one stage, after George Bell, Leicester Fainga'anuka and Johnny McNicholl all scored tries in the first 22 minutes.

But once Harry Robertson crashed over for the first of his two tries for the Force just before halftime, the tide turned.

The hosts scored four more tries in the second, with former rugby league international Zac Lomax, on his starting debut, getting his first try in just his second appearance, while Dylan Pietsch, and 100 game veteran Harry Johnson-Holmes were also try scorers.

The win keeps the Force in the hunt for a playoff spot, while the defeat for the Crusaders was their fifth in nine games this season.