Brumbies, Reds widen gap on Waratahs Wins achieved in vastly contrasting fashions have allowed the Brumbies and Reds to surge clear of the NSW Waratahs in the Australian conference of the Super Rugby competition. The ladder-leading Brumbies (40 points) had four tries and a bonus point in the bag by halftime before going on to record a 41-7 romp against the Force (16) in Canberra. Red-hot Brumbies winger Henry Speight crossed twice to give him a competition-leading seven tries, while top Force tryscorer Alfie Mafi missed the match after he was stood down for breaching team standards. While the Brumbies were cruising, the Reds (37) were bruising in a gritty 12-11 home win over the Blues (32) at Suncorp Stadium, making it four from four for them against NZ teams this season. After dominating play the previous week in their draw with the Brumbies, the Reds were on the receiving end against the Blues, but four Quade Cooper penalties earned them a win. Reds coaching director Ewen McKenzie said injuries to winger Rod Davies (back) and prop Ben Daley (thigh) were not bad, but it was too early to tell whether they would face the Force in Perth next Saturday. NSW (25) fell further behind the Brumbies and Reds and dropped to 11th on the overall ladder after a 30-19 loss to South African conference leaders, the Bulls (32), in Pretoria. The Waratahs scored three tries to two and played almost all of the attractive rugby in the game, but conceded 15 straight points after leading 19-15 late in the game. Fullback Israel Folau scored a brilliant solo try and set up another, but the Waratahs suffered their eighth straight loss to the Bulls. NSW still have home games to come against the Brumbies and Reds. The Reds' win gave Australia an 8-2 lead in the head-to-head battle with New Zealand teams this season. It almost climbed to 9-2 on Sunday, but the Rebels (20) blew a golden opportunity to get their first offshore win as they surrendered a five-point lead inside the final quarter to lose 30-26 to the Crusaders (30) in Christchurch. The Rebels scored three tries to two, but the game tilted in the Crusaders favour when Melbourne fullback Jason Woodward put a penalty kick for touch from his own 10-metre line out over the home side's dead-ball line. The Crusaders won a penalty from the ensuing scrum and centre Tom Taylor banged it over to wrest back the lead and added another one late on to finish with a 20-point haul for the match. Only four points separate the top four South African teams and seven points cover the top four Kiwi sides. The Chiefs (35) overtook the Blues at the top of the New Zealand conference with a 37-29 bonus-point win over the Sharks (28) at Waikato Stadium. A charge down of a conversion kick helped secure the Stormers (28) a precious 18-16 away win over the Hurricanes (28) in Palmerston North. The Cheetahs (31), who have two four-point byes to come, stayed within range of the Bulls in the battle for top spot in the South African conference with a 26-12 win over the Kings (15) in Bloemfontein.