The Reds are continuing to chase the Brumbies hard for Super Rugby’s Australian conference title, but the Waratahs look destined to miss the finals after another heartbreaking loss to their bogey side.
The Brumbies (54) remain atop the Australian conference following a 30-23 home win over the Hurricanes (39).
Queensland (50) clawed one point back on the Brumbies with a 33-20 bonus-point home victory over Melbourne (32).
Eighth-placed Waratahs (40) are almost certainly out of finals contention after a gut-wrenching 23-22 loss to the Crusaders(46) in Christchurch.
Five-eighth Berrick Barnes missed a penalty after the siren as the Tahs slipped to an 11th straight loss against the Crusaders.
NSW, who have just two matches to play, are six points behind the fifth and sixth placed Cheetahs (46) and Crusaders respectively, with the latter having a game in hand.
The Australian conference appears to be the only one of the three where the winner still has to be determined.
Defending champions the Chiefs (56) lead the New Zealand section by ten points after getting their last four-point bye.
The South African conference-leading Bulls (54) have opened up a gap over the Cheetahs (46) following a 30-25 win over that team and also have a game in hand.
While 11 teams still have a mathematical chance of making the finals, probably only seven are in contention.
The Blues (43), who a month ago looked almost certain to make the finals, have dropped three straight games and slipped to seventh, three points off sixth, after a 38-28 loss to the last-placed Highlanders (22) in Dunedin.
All teams have either two or three games left, but the draw now becomes fragmented, with only the final round containing a full complement of fixtures.
Next week features just two Australian derbies between the Brumbies and Rebels in Canberra on Friday and the Force and Waratahs in Perth on Sunday.
Queensland will get a four-point bye, but will keep busy by playing the touring Lions.
The New Zealand and South African teams have four weeks off for the mid-season inbound tours while the Wallabies play their three-Test series against the British and Irish Lions.
In the final round played across July 12-13, every team is in action bar the Cheetahs, who have a bye.
The Waratahs are most hard-hit by callups to the Wallabies preliminary squad, losing ten players for next week, while the Brumbies will be without five stars.
In the other match played over the weekend the Stormers (38) scored a 19-11 home win over the Kings (24), while the Force (27) and Sharks (38) joined the Chiefs in having a week off.