What the coaches and captains said:
Chiefs 27, Reds 15
Clayton McMillan (Chiefs' coach)
"The conditions made it a little messier than what your typical top-of-the-table matchup would be like. But there was high intensity out there as the Reds came to play.
"We felt we were dominating most of the game but weren't able to get on the scoreboard. We needed to create more in the first half. The message at halftime was to find some solutions around our set-piece. We needed to exit efficiently with a strong, connected chase line.
"They [the Reds] showed an appetite to want to run and hold onto the ball, so if we were connected, made our tackles, and were disciplined, we'd get our opportunity to force a turnover.
"When we got our opportunities late in the game, we got enough possession and territory to create pressure, which we turned into points, which was enough to win.
"It was one of those games you want to have at this stage of the year where it's a little untidy and a bit of an arm wrestle because these are the sorts of games you're going to get.
"We're far from the finished product, but we showed signs we've got the ability to roll up our sleeves.
"We'll go over to the Waratahs next and they'll be fired up. It is always a tough place to go and play. They've proved that already this year."
Luke Jacobson (Chiefs' captain)
"We had a job to do this week, to beat the Reds as they were top of the table. Those are the games you look forward to and get excited for. It wasn't perfect but we performed and we won. We've got another job to do next weekend."
Moana Pasifika 45 Waratahs 28
Tana Umaga (Moana Pasifika coach)
"We felt they were living off our errors and our ill-discipline. We knew we could come back if we looked after our jobs. We've shown it before. We do like to come back in the second half. Once we got that, our confidence came, and when the Energisers [substitutes] brought the energy when they came on, it made a massive impact, and you saw the energy lift. That's what we expect from them. They brought us home, which was crucial.
"We're creating a competitive culture within that is not competitive for the spot but supporting whoever gets that spot. That's a great thing and gives us confidence.
He said winning consecutive games for the first time was an important milestone.
"Ardie talked about it after our last win in Christchurch. We'd never been back-to-back and that was something we could knock off our shoulders. That's something we've achieved and we want to keep moving forward. We know how to do that, and we've got to keep backing ourselves and sticking to that as a group and individuals."
Ardie Savea (Moana Pasifika captain)
"We nailed our set-piece in the second half. When we have the ball in hand and play in the right areas of the field, you see what we can do. The impact boys that came on added a bit of oomph to our game and nailed their job.
"We have got to take the referee out of the game. And we do that by nailing the small things in our game. We got put under pressure in the first half when losing crucial moments by giving penalties away.
"But in the second half, we started to see that we can put teams away when we are accurate and disciplined.
"Prop Feliti Sae-ta'ufo'ou [who scored three tries] is one of those players who shows if you can get around the field this team creates things with opportunities and with the way we play, if you're there, you'll get the ball. It's a credit to Feliti with the work he's done."
Blues 19 Hurricanes 18
Vern Cotter (Blues' coach)
"It was all about the players taking responsibility of coming together and creating a team, a solid block of players determined to get a result at home. It was nice to see parts of our game come together.
"We are starting to see our scrum coming together, our strategic kicking game coming together, and how we controlled the game at the end. With only one point in it, the players stayed composed.
"A couple of times we floated, but Patty [Patrick Tuipulotu] and the leaders got them together and quickly refocused in moments when they got a surge on us. We fought through a yellow card, and there are some real positives and a one-pointer finally coming our way.
"In the first half, we left the gate half open for them, but we shut it down with a smarter, better controlled kicking game around tempo. And you've got to give the forward pack credit. They rolled their sleeves up today, got their body positions down and started going forward.
"There were a couple of signs that we can get ourselves in situations and dig ourselves out of them. Our defence was good today. We focused on taking a couple of metres off each ruck, and if we gave them space and time, we knew they'd be explosive and difficult.
"You see the heart of a time in and around their defensive effort.
"We'll take this one and then we'll look at the next opposition and try and climb our way back to the top."
Patrick Tuipulotu (Blues' captain)
In those last 10 minutes, it was crucial how Beauden Barrett put us in the right spots and kept us in their half, and our forwards were able to get some dominance to keep them down there and win the game.
"Having all different parts of our game coming together in that last 10-13 minutes was pleasing.
"Withstanding what the Hurricanes threw at us, we can gain confidence from there.
"Moana Pasifika are on a roll and a high. There's competition here in Auckland trying to be the best team and they'll be gunning for that. That's a challenge in itself, but a good, tough challenge."
Clark Laidlaw (Hurricanes' coach)
"We didn't defend well in the first half; we let them get on top, and they came through the middle. It was a tight game, but ultimately, they squeaked it.
"They got on top in that first half and didn't let in too many points. It set the tone for the game and Beaudy's [Beauden Barrett] kicking. Some of his tactical kicking in parts of the game was almost like watching an old Neil Jenkins, wasn't it, sitting in the pocket with a spiral to the corner.
"But there are a lot of controllables we're going to be frustrated about when we dust ourselves off and get back to work. We didn't play as well as we'd liked, that's for sure.
"It wasn't a trap engaging in an arm wrestle when you know that's what they want, but stopping it, as we saw last season, is easier said than done. The field was super slippery, and it was hard to get the ball moving. It didn't feel like we reloaded well enough to take the opportunities on the edge that we could see.
"We didn't move the ball enough to where the space was, we didn't get on the front foot defensively enough. They're controllables and that's what we can get better at."
Du'Plessis Kirifi (Hurricanes' captain)
"When they got down to 14 men quite early, we tried to capitalise on that, and we weren't accurate enough.
"All of our losses, bar the Moana Pasifika game, were arm wrestle games, and we allowed the other team to take control, especially in the last 10-15 minutes. Tonight was another example of that; it was Test match footy in a sense.
"We've backed ourselves into a little bit of a corner. Everyone is a hard fought one as we can see throughout the competition. The loss keeps us middle of the table and we're fighting for one of those [top six] spots. So, there's going to have to be a response. There's no other choice."
Force 29 Highlanders 20
Jamie Joseph (Highlanders' coach)
"We started the match well, played our kind of footy then the Force did well to get back into the match. In the latter stages of the second half, we conceded a penalty on a penalty and then ended up in the five-metres and conceded a try. They kept in the game and scored another try.
"We fed their game. We created some good things, but we've got to be better at minimising mistakes and stop giving penalties away. Generally, it's because our players are trying hard to defend and getting caught on the wrong side of a ruck or the wrong side of a decision. It's a consistent theme and an area we've got to fix up.
"It's hard when you lose a couple of players. We lost the captain to concussion, and then we lost the other captain to a yellow card that was upgraded to a red card. Then, we got a yellow card, and probably three of our best players were off the field.
"We went to pieces there, lost our leadership and our shape and got punished for that. The lesson is we've got to be better around our discipline."
Timoci Tavatavanawai (Highlanders' captain)
"It was hard having to defend with 13 men. It was about trying to calm the boys down and nail the job. I was happy with how we coped defending with 13 men and didn't allow any major mistakes. But we can't play like that.
"We going to learn really fast. We have to keep positive so they keep their morale up."