Hawke's Bay earned their bonus point before halftime last night against a bumbling Counties-Manukau to skip to the top of the provincial rugby competition alongside Auckland.
Both teams are on 20 points, with Auckland still holding an edge on points differential, with theirfifth-round match against Taranaki to be played tonight.
Whatever the rest of the results in the round, Hawke's Bay will remain in the top four.
They will host Auckland in Napier next Thursday and will face a sterner test than they have had over the last few rounds.
Centre Jason Shoemark, halfback Danny Lee, hooker Hika Elliot and lock Matt Egan scored a try each before halftime to earn their team a bonus point at Mt Smart Stadium.
First five-eighths Matt Berquist kicked three penalties and three conversions in the 35-0 halftime lead. He added another penalty in the second half for an 18-point haul.
"It's pretty exciting for the boys but in the next few weeks we've got a pretty hard road," captain Lee said of their matches against Auckland, Canterbury, Northland and Waikato.
"Tactically we're doing things really, really well. We've got a good team unity this year and that really helps."
Counties captain Kristian Ormbsy said his team let themselves down with too many turnovers and knock-ons.
"When they hit back they had support all round."
Counties were their own worst enemies, with careless passing and recklessness denying them tries and enabling Hawke's Bay to score off them.
