Reds narrow the gap on Brumbies The resurgent Reds showed the Australian conference won't be a one-horse race as early-season pacesetters the Brumbies hit their first hurdle of the Super Rugby season in South Africa. With inspirational skipper James Horwill finally back from long-term injury and Wallabies halves Quade Cooper and Will Genia also firing again, Queensland narrowed the conference gap to six points with a thrilling 23-18 victory over the Bulls at Suncorp Stadium. The Reds venture to Dunedin on Friday fourth overall and looking to cut the margin back to possibly one point on the Brumbies, who suffered a 35-22 loss to the Stormers in Cape Town. Just three weeks before the Reds and Brumbies meet in a pivotal derby in Brisbane, Queensland's director of coaching Ewen McKenzie was chuffed to finally have a near full-strength outfit at his disposal. Apart from Horwill's impressive 40-minute comeback effort after 10 months out battling hamstring and ankle injuries, Genia was at his lively best in only his second game back from knee surgery, while Cooper also sparkled. "I saw some bits and pieces that made me feel pretty good, that we are starting to climb," McKenzie said. We are certainly nowhere near the top of the mountain but we are heading in the right direction. We will keep at it. The Brumbies remain head of the table, two points clear of the Chiefs, after completing their two-game tour of South Africa with a win over the Sharks and loss to the the clinical Stormers. The Brumbies only trailed by three points with seven minutes remaining but an intercept try to Stormers winger Gerhard van den Heever ended their unbeaten start to 2013. "That game could have gone either way and I felt the momentum coming our way, but it wasn't meant to be," said Brumbies coach Jake White. The Brumbies host the sixth-placed Bulls in Canberra on Saturday night. Defending champions the Chiefs maintained second position - and top spot in the New Zealand conference - with a 19-7 victory over the winless Highlanders in Hamilton. But the titleholders paid a heavy price, with halfback Tawera Kerr-Barlow, an All Blacks debutant last year, breaking his jaw and set to be sidelined for six weeks. The Sharks bolstered their position atop the South African conference ladder, and third overall, with a 64-7 thrashing of the hapless Melbourne Rebels in Durban. "Our guys just didn't show up and it's quite embarrassing, to be honest," Melbourne coach Damien Hill said after the Rebels' 10-try capitulation. The Rebels will continue their South African tour on Saturday against the Cheetahs, who return home after a franchise-record three straight wins in Australasia, their latest a 19-10 success over the Western Force in Perth. An MRI scan has cleared Rebels back-rower Scott Higginbotham of any serious shoulder damage, but he must be in some doubt to tackle the Cheetahs. The Crusaders are fifth after thumping the Southern Kings 55-20 in Christchurch, while the Blues, who play the NSW Waratahs on Sunday afternoon in Sydney, round out the top six.