After trailing 12-7 at the break, Wellington stormed home to win 36-26 against Hawke's Bay in Napier, avenging their loss in last year's Championship final.
Jackson Garden-Bachop scored a try five minutes after the break, starting a dominant 25 minutes for the Lions. A late consolation try to Hawke's Bay winger Ryan Tongia saw the score flatter the home side.
In the early game Taranaki were 30-22 winners over Bay of Plenty in an error-ridden game in Tauranga. The visitors had all the ball in the first 20 minutes and took a 14-0 lead into the break.
From that point the game became messy and Taranaki could thank the boot of Marty McKenzie, who kicked all six of his goals, for getting them over the line.
Canterbury proved far too good for Auckland, claiming a 43-3 win in Christchurch. The home side led 29-3 at the break and were dominant from start to finish, looking every bit capable of defending their Premiership title.
They were simply too slick and had too much ball, scoring six tries against last year's runners-up. Johnny McNicholl touched down twice, while Richie Mo'unga, Ben Funnell, Reed Prinsep and Nathan Vella all crossed for tries.