Northampton Saints lost an 11-try thriller to Gloucester, who saw Mark Atkinson flourish with a hat-trick at Franklin's Gardens.
After over four years of consecutive away defeats in Pro14, the Dragons claimed a draw at Southern Kings.
Iliesa Ratuva Tavuyara touched down and Tommaso Allan converted with the last play of the game as Benetton Treviso held Leinster in Dublin.
Toulon may have been at a numerical disadvantage for most of the second half but they still managed to defeat Top 14 leaders Toulouse.
Exeter Chiefs earned a home semi-final with four games to spare, while Saracens scored a late try to hurt Newcastle's survival hopes.
The Jaguares were headed for defeat at Loftus Versfeld until Domingo Miotti came off the bench and enjoyed the most remarkable debut.
The Waratahs went down to the Blues despite Israel Folau making Super Rugby history, while there were wins for the Crusaders and the Rebels.
With little free-flowing rugby on show, Sale Sharks were grateful to AJ MacGinty's boot as they defeated Harlequins.
The top two teams in Conference A in the Pro14 were in fine form on Friday as they enjoyed comprehensive victories.
The Lions' three-match winning run in Super Rugby was ended in incredible fashion as the Sharks ran riot in Johannesburg.
The Hurricanes withstood huge late pressure to beat the Highlanders, while the Stormers were beaten by the Reds.
Bristol Bears and Northampton Saints were no match for La Rochelle and Clermont in the European Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
Toulouse played almost an hour with 14 men but were still able to beat Racing 92 in a magnificent European Champions Cup quarter-final.
Damian McKenzie's 20 points and Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi's late try saw the Chiefs edge the Jaguares.
There was a tense finish at Sixways Stadium as Harlequins won by just two points over Worcester Warriors in the European Challenge Cup.
Jacob Stockdale's failure to ground a second-half try proved costly as Ulster fell to a narrow Champions Cup loss at Leinster.