The upsets keep coming in the Air New Zealand Cup, as round three got under way over the weekend.

For a competition that's been called stale over the past few seasons, this year is producing some exciting rugby.

If you haven't been following it so far, it's about time you started.

Waikato and Manawatu started off round three in spectacular fashion - at least for Manawatu, anyway. Waikato should have won this game by some margin, and looked to be doing so for most of the match. But Manawatu finished the game strongly, played some great attacking footy, and by full time had managed to level the scores at 38-all.

It's the third week in row without a win for Waikato - not good.

Manawatu will be confident going into their Ranfurly Shield clash this weekend.

Friday night saw Wellington absolutely smash Counties 64-7 at the Cake Tin. The win keeps them at the top of the ladder with a maximum 15 points. Watch out for Victor Vito - he's a cross between Jonah Lomu and Jerry Collins, and should be a scary thought for non-Wellingtonians.

The other Friday game saw Otago scrape in a 23-18 win against Northland, who came out fired up after being axed from the competition earlier in the week - Fetu Vainakolo, in particular, had a strong game for the Taniwhas. The Otago boys wouldn't have been happy with their performance, but we're sure they'll take the win.

Saturday's games were overshadowed due to the fantastic events at Beijing, but there were some great games to watch.

Bay of Plenty beat North Harbour 38-31, giving the Bay their third straight win, and North Harbour their third straight loss.

Southland managed to hold off Hawkes Bay by four points, winning 20-16. It's Southland's second win, but they will need to step up their game if they want to beat some of the better sides.

Canterbury destroyed Auckland 34-3 in Christchurch, and after their early loss to Manawatu, they're starting to play some good rugby. Auckland, on the other hand, look ordinary at best.

The last game of the weekend saw Tasman go up against Taranaki, and after being cut from the competition for next year, they had something to prove.

And prove they did, beating Taranaki 33-23.

If they can continue their winning ways, they might just make the NZRU regret their decision.

So there you have it for round three - watch out for the Shield clash, as Manawatu are a real chance of lifting the Shield from Auckland.