Five of the best: The top five performers from round seven of Super Rugby Aotearoa

The latest round of Super Rugby Aotearoa brought with it arguably the biggest upset of the competition when the Hurricanes emerged triumphant over the Crusaders in Christchurch.

Ignoring their 12-3 defeat to the British and Irish Lions in 2017, the Wellingtonians' enthralling 34-32 victory over the reigning Super Rugby champions signalled the first loss the hosts had suffered in their backyard in four years.

Not only was it a drought-breaking win, but it has blown the competition wide open with three rounds remaining, as any one of the Crusaders, Blues and Hurricanes - who are all separated by just three points - stand as realistic chances of claiming the title.

In Auckland, meanwhile, the Blues bounced back from their two-match losing streak to return to the winners' circle with a hard-fought 21-17 win against the Chiefs at Eden Park.

It was a match where the home side's forward pack blossomed in the physical nature of the battle, with the front row among the stars of the show.

With that in mind, here are five of the best performers from the round seven of Super Rugby Aotearoa.

Richie Mo'unga (Crusaders)

When the Crusaders beat the Blues in a top-of-the-table clash a few weeks ago, many pundits cried out to All Blacks boss Ian Foster that Richie Mo'unga should be maintained as New Zealand's first-choice No. 10 after outshining Beauden Barrett.

If there were any doubters about Mo'unga's ability and capacity to tear a game apart while in the thick of the action, those concerns must surely be dispelled as he put on a ball-playing clinic in a losing effort against the Hurricanes.

The 26-year-old's fleet-footedness was of the quality you'd expect of a world-class wing, while his vision, distribution and ability to pierce the defensive line with his agility and acceleration showed how good of a playmaker he is.

Sevu Reece (Crusaders)

Whatever shape the All Blacks' outside back trio takes when they eventually get around to playing international rugby later this year, it would be a safe bet to put money on Sevu Reece being heavily involved.

The Fijian-born maestro was in his typical red-hot form, proving to be a menace to contain with his electric footwork and evasive skills.

Factor in his speed, power and athleticism, and it's no surprise to see the 23-year-old finishing the Hurricanes clash with a try, 116 running metres (sound-most of the round), six defenders beaten (third-most of the round) and five clean breaks (most of the round).

With figures like those, Reece is making Foster's job of trying to configure a back three - with a plethora of candidates in the running - a difficult one, but it's really difficult to see the seven-test All Black not being in the mix.

Ofa Tu'ungafasi (Blues)

Super Rugby Aotearoa has been the stage of which seasoned Blues prop Ofa Tu'ungafasi has stated a hefty case to be elevated from a specialist bench player for the All Blacks to a starting player.

That's how good the 35-test star has been over the past few weeks, and his string of strong performances didn't fade away against the Chiefs.

You could say he even enhanced his reputation with another spellbinding display where his physicality on both sides of the ball were evident for all to see.