The Chiefs and Crusaders both registered bonus-point wins to remain in lockstep at the top of the Super Rugby Pacific standings at the end of round 11 as third-placed Brumbies lost at home to the Hurricanes.
The Crusaders showed attacking flair and defensive steel in their 43-10 win over the Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday to draw level on 37 points with the Chiefs, who downed Western Force 56-22 at Mount Maunganui on Friday.
The Brumbies were outmuscled 35-29 by the Hurricanes in the last match of the round to drop off the pace on 29 points, two ahead of the fourth-placed Reds after they downed the reigning champion Blues 35-21.
The 14-times champion Crusaders were at their ruthless best early in the south island derby with fullback Will Jordan crossing twice and hooker Codie Taylor scoring the first of his two tries in the opening half hour.
The Highlanders were unable to get across the try line until winger Jonah Lowe went over in the 63rd minute, but the Crusaders added three more scores in the final quarter to secure an eighth win in 10 matches this season.
The Reds, coming off back-to-back losses, also made a hot start against the Blues with flyhalf Tom Lynagh crossing for two tries in the first eight minutes at a rain-soaked Lang Park in Brisbane on Friday.
The Blues came back hard, but the home side defended with steel, while a red card for winger Mark Tele'a after half an hour did them no favours.
Scrumhalf Tate McDermott scored a great individual try and winger Lachie Anderson crossed after a superbly-worked lineout move early in the second half to give the Reds a big enough cushion to ensure a first win over the Blues in six years.
'CLASS OUTFIT'
"Pleased with tonight, the Blues are a class outfit, the champions," said Reds coach Les Kiss.
"We knew we were going to have to come up with something pretty big to be able to do the job."
Earlier on Friday, flanker Kalyum Boshier grabbed two of his team's eight tries at Bay Oval as the Chiefs secured their bonus point win on Friday despite a string of injuries and two brilliant individual scores from Force winger Harry Potter.
"It's just a bloody good bunch of men that are enjoying turning up to work, and it's a pleasure to be associated with them," said Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan.
"A little bit for the medical team to get through tonight. But there's some other bodies sitting in the periphery that will be licking their lips to hopefully get an opportunity too."
The Hurricanes were without a string of injured players but brought themselves right back into the hunt for the six-team playoffs with a well-deserved win over the Brumbies in Canberra.
Hulking winger Kini Naholo scored two tries but it was the unremitting pressure the visitors exerted at the breakdown that saw the Hurricanes home to a victory that moved them into fifth place in the standings.
In Saturday's opening game, Ardie Savea's Moana Pasifika held off a fightback from their fellow Pacific islanders to beat Fijian Drua 34-15 in Auckland and move up to eighth on 20 points.