The Waikato Chiefs beat the Lions 72-65 in the highest scoring game in Super 14 history on Friday.

With the teams sharing 18 tries and 137 points, Chiefs centre Richard Kahui and Lions winger Wandile Mjekevu posted hat tricks, and each side had a 15-minute period in which they scored five tries as defences wilted under attacks from all quarters.

There were too many defensive lapses from both sides for it to be a classic match at Coca-Cola Park.

The Chiefs led 27-25 at halftime but looked to have sealed the victory with more than a quarter of the match remaining.

The Lions then scored four unanswered tries in the final seven minutes and incredibly earned a second bonus point when Earl Rose converted Jacques Lombaard's score in the 86th minute.

"One-on-one defence let us down a bit," Lions captain Cobus Grobelaar said.

"We want to play an expansive game, and it is high risk, but we're getting better."

The Chiefs, last year's surprise finalists, were rapt to be heading home via Perth with two wins out of two in the republic.

"It's great for us to come away with a win, but we're not going to get too carried away. We're still looking to improve," said first-time Chiefs captain Sione Lauaki.

Kahui pointed out that the new interpretation of the ruck laws made it very difficult for defences as the attacking team was able to build momentum and hold on to possession for extended periods. "It's easy to attack defences going backwards," he said.

The Chiefs notched 15 points by the 15th minute, but with Lauaki and hooker Aled de Malmanche in the sin bin the Lions hit back, only to surrender their advantage by halftime.

The Chiefs then went on their five-try spree and sewed up the result before the furious counterattack by the Lions made things a lot closer.

Chiefs flyhalf Stephen Donald tallied 32 points. Lions fullback Rose kicked 20.

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