The Wellington-based Hurricanes badly hurt New South Wales' playoff chances by beating the Waratahs 28-17 in Super Rugby on Saturday.
The Waratahs remained level on points with ACT in the Australian conference, but second to the Brumbies on wins heading into the last round, where the Waratahs have to travel to the resurgent Auckland-based Blues, and the Brumbies host the last-place Western Force.
The Hurricanes remained in the playoff hunt when they rallied in Sydney from 17-11 down after halftime with a man in the sin-bin. They scored 17 points in 14 minutes, and tackled the Waratahs into errors and submission.
The win completed a sweep of four matches by New Zealand teams over Australian sides in the penultimate round.
Earlier, the Christchurch-based Crusaders ran in 13 tries against the Melbourne Rebels on their way to an 85-26 win.
The win kept the Crusaders within a point of the Hamilton-based Chiefs as the contest continues for first place in the New Zealand conference. Next weekend, the Chiefs, with 51 points, play the defending champion Highlanders, and the Crusaders, with 50, meet the Hurricanes.
The Crusaders' ruthless effort followed the Auckland-based Blues beating the ACT Brumbies 40-15, and the Chiefs beating the Queensland Reds 50-5.
From the second minute when All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock marked his 100th Super Rugby match with a try, the Crusaders were rampant, scoring seven tries and more than a point a minute before halftime.
Whitelock fielded the opening kickoff, barged downfield through insipid defense, then reappeared to score the night's first try and unleash an avalanche of scoring. So rapidly did the Crusaders accumulate tries that they led 21-0 after only 10 minutes, 28-0 after 14 minutes, and 38-0 after 28 minutes.
Nor did the pace of scoring relent after halftime. Hooker Codie Taylor scored twice in the first five minutes for the Crusaders.
The Rebels managed to score four tries as both teams fell off tackles in a match in which a combined 111 points were scored.
