The action began at Auckland's Eden Park with the Blues beating the Crusaders 34-15 to continue their unbeaten start to the Super Rugby season.
The Waratahs then beat the Rebels 31-26 at Sydney's Allianz Stadium before the Reds downed the Hurricanes 18-12 at Suncorp Stadium.
DIGBY Ioane and Rob Simmons both ended very different try-scoring droughts for Queensland to finally crack their Super Rugby bogey side, the Hurricanes.
It certainly wasn't pretty by the Reds, in fact a real comedy of errors, but they somehow held on for a valuable 18-12 victory - their first win over the Wellington side since 2007.
Both teams are renowned as two of the competition's most vibrant, attacking outfits but neither were able to handle the greasy conditions in a stop-start encounter.
Neither will they want to watch a tape of the match which was dominated by the whistle of referee Steve Walsh who frustrated both teams at key moments.
Wallabies winger Ioane scored his first try at Suncorp Stadium since the 2011 Super Rugby final triumph, while lock Simmons scored the first of his 51-match career by burrowing over for an 18-9 lead with half an hour to play.
But the Reds were unable to return to the Hurricanes half for the rest of the match as they were tormented by a litany of mistakes.
It was only the visitors' inability to retain possession themselves, cruelling a number of late try-scoring chances, that saved them in front of 30,995 fans.
"It was one of the strangest games I've ever played," said disbelieving Hurricanes skipper Conrad Smith.
"We don't know what was going on and we didn't understand."
ISRAEL Folau earned the praise of NSW Waratahs coach Michael Cheika for his versatility following his second-half switch from fullback to wing in the 31-26 win over the Rebels.
Cheika admits the star recruit was down after his underwhelming debut in last Saturday's loss to Queensland and was pleased to see him bounce back.
The Waratahs trailed the Rebels 16-6 at halftime and Cheika made an early substitution with Ben Volavola replacing winger Tom Kingston, causing a backline reshuffle.
Folau took Kingston's place on the right wing and Volavola went to fullback.
It could prove to be a masterstroke from Cheika and the key to getting the best out of Folau and the Waratahs' attack.
Volavola, a natural fullback from the Southern Districts club, looked fantastic chiming into the backline while Folau looked the part on the wing.
"I think in the tighter quarters he was a lot more efficient," Cheika said.
"He had to switch positions in the second half and he got a few good touches there down that wing.
"I was actually quite pleased because he was a bit down on himself after last week and he certainly got his preparation really good and was able to adapt to playing fullback and the wing."
Folau had a good hand in the Waratahs' first try to five-eighth Bernard Foley in the 58th minute.
The former NRL star drew a couple of defenders before passing to Kane Douglas, who popped the ball to Foley, who scored a converted try which levelled the game before the Waratahs went on with the job with two more tries.
THE Blues served further notice they are a renewed Super Rugby force with a compelling 34-15 defeat of the Crusaders.
A dismal 2012 season is fast fading in the memory as the Blues unfurled a second flamboyant win at the start of their new campaign, outscoring the seven-time champion Crusaders five tries to none on Friday night.
It follows their 34-20 upset of the Hurricanes last weekend and provides further evidence that coach Sir John Kirwan has produced a young side capable of running more established outfits off their feet.
The Crusaders, who had a bye last weekend, had spoken of a desire to play more expansive rugby in 2013.
However, they were well and truly eclipsed in that department, relying on the boot of five-eighth Daniel Carter for all their points through five penalties.
A combative Blues forward pack laid the foundation for classy five-eighth Chris Noakes and his arsenal of exciting outside backs - led by centre Rene Ranger - to terrorise the visitors in front of a large Eden Park crowd.
As he did last week, right winger Frank Halai crossed for two tries, both late in the first half to push his team 20-12 clear at the break.
Steven Luatua opened their account in the 10th minutes after a marathon buildup of rucks and loop pass from halfback Piri Weepu while fellow flanker Daniel Braid snared the bonus-point try from close range with 21min remaining.
George Moala bagged their fifth with six minutes on the clock after brilliant fullback Charles Piutau snaffled a chip kick and sent the left winger clear for a 60m sprint to the line.