Winger Salesi Rayasi had scored a hat-trick of tries as the Hurricanes downed a resilient Highlanders 41-14 in the New Zealand capital to ensure the battle for top spot would go down to the penultimate match of the regular season.

The Hurricanes will now host the Melbourne Rebels in what could be the Australian team's final Super Rugby match next weekend, while the Blues will welcome Fijian Drua to Eden Park for their quarter-final.

Wins for the top two mean the ACT Brumbies will finish third regardless of the result of their match against the Western Force in Perth later on Saturday and they will host the Otago Highlanders in Canberra next week.

The Chiefs will play the Queensland Reds in Hamilton in the first quarter-final next Friday.