The Brumbies are in freefall, the Waratahs are on the rise and the Rebels are hanging around, heading into a critical phase of the Super Rugby season.
After an erratic start to the season, the Waratahs are within striking distance of the Australian conference lead following a dramatic 32-30 win over the Stormers in Cape Town.
Captain Michael Hooper’s crucial late try helped them post successive victories for the first time this season and put them in a good position to run down the two teams above them, after being in catch up mode for most of the campaign.
NSW (21 points) have a game in hand over the Brumbies (21) and The Rebels (23), both of who lost in New Zealand.
The Brumbies suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time this season, but have lost four of their last six after being beaten 23-10 by the Chiefs in Invercargill.
There was at least some good off-field news for the Brumbies, with the club reaching a settlement with chief executive Michael Jones after months of turmoil.
Melbourne lost 36-30 away to the Blues, who are running last in the New Zealand conference, but have suffered fewer losses than the top three Australian teams.
Fullback turned centre Israel Folau scored his sixth try of the season for NSW, who had a numerical advantage for the last 28 minutes after the Stormers’ winger Leolin Zas was sent off for making contact in the air with Tahs’ five-eighth Bernard Foley.
NSW now have successive home games against two other South African sides, the Cheetahs and Bulls.
The Cheetahs have lost seven out of nine matches and went down 30-17 to the improving Reds in Brisbane on Saturday.
The Bulls have to play the Brumbies in Canberra next week and have lost just one of eight games and beat the Force 42-20 in Perth on Friday.
The Rebels have a bye next week and then host the Brumbies, who have a bye the following week.
NZ side the Chiefs lead their national conference and the overall ladder with a 24-22 win over the Sharks in New Plymouth, where they were outscored three tries to two.
Wingers Julian Savea and Cory Jane both scored two tries as the Hurricanes smashed the Lions 50-17 in Johannesburg.
Argentina’s Jaguares ended a six-match losing skid in style with a 73-27 thrashing of the Kings in Buenos Aires.
They scored 11 tries, with back-rower Leonardo Senatore bagging a hat-trick and five-eighth Nicholas Sanchez adding 23 points.
Having a bye were the Crusaders and Sunwolves, who host the Force next week in a wooden spoon battle between two of the four teams on one win.
Force, who finished bottom last year, have lost seven straight.
Two tries to halfback Nick Frisby helped The Reds post their second win of the season despite having two players being sin-binned, but strike centre Samu Kerevi suffered broken hand.
cs
Guest
Have been busy and must have missed this one being done to death, leaving me labouring under the delusion that I was the only one who has long been raising this piece of genius by the ARU. It's Victoria, or should be .... mutter ... stupid ... mutter ... 101 ... mutter ... crazy ... mutter ...dumbclucks ... mutter ...
Boz the Younger
Guest
I agree that CLL and Toomua should ideally be swapped around, but I get the impression that CLL is at 10 because he is being developed in the role when Toomua leaves. Personally I reckon they should have kept him at 12 with a view to recruiting Quade Cooper to the Brumbies next year, give Cooper some real time under the greatest Australian fly half ever and he might reach that potential that he has never quite achieved.
Lara
Guest
The Brumbies had a lot of the pill against the Highlanders and they should have used it in a constructive manner. CLL and Toomua are two very good players , but playing in the wrong positions. However, that is up to the coach and at the moment it is not working. Larkham is still a rooky coach , but he needs to expand his game plan, it is all to predictable and therefore easier to defend. The Brumbies are the best equipped Oz team in the comp and should top the conf ,but that will be as good as it gets , if the game plan does not improve.
Paul
Guest
Who's played who tells part of the story, but I think it is still noticeable that in general the Tahs have improved (from a very low base) while the execution and skill at the Brumbies has fallen away. The amount of passes to no one and kicks not going out by the Brumbies was hard to watch last game.
Markus
Guest
Agreed, any assessment of the form of one Australian team over another at the moment will be flawed. The Brumbies have played all the top of the table teams now, while the Tahs and Rebels are both yet to play the Chiefs and Crusaders (plus a much improved Hurricanes). And to put the Brumbies latest loss in perspective, both the Tahs and Rebels already lost to the Highlanders, at home no less.
PeterK
Roar Guru
Brumbies should still finish top of oz conference, they have a much easier draw than tahs. Brumbies have lost to nz sides, tahs still have play a lot of nz sides.
PiratesRugby
Guest
Any win in South Africa deserves congratulations, let alone against the Stormers when they're in good form. Well done Waratahs. Asa Rebels fan, I am pleased to see them at the head of the Aussie table but until they can be really competitive against the NZ sides then they're just interlopers in the top half of the table. The Brumbies should be much more competitive and I can only surmise that the club's off-field dramas are interfering with the team's onfield performance.
In Brief
Guest
The Brumbies are the new force -can't score tries
moaman
Roar Guru
I know--I winced when I wrote it EJ--but last week I have seen a step up in frequency....it's like a slow drip......a sign of a wider malaise affecting the language.....ramble ...ramble.....ramble...mutter,mutter.....(walks off muttering to himself)
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Everything gets done to death on the Roar. Hence my infrequent visits now. Can't believe you've taken the time to raise this again.....
moaman
Roar Guru
Is it a conscious decision to refer to the Australian teams as "Melbourne" and "NSW" now? I suppose I will have to adjust to that...but it's going to bug the heck out of me if they start doing that with the franchises from RSA and NZ. We have had this discussion--it's been done to death by regulars here on the Roar...and I don't wish to rehash it but......
MH01
Guest
rebels, Tahs or Brumbies can win the Oz conference, will it matter though? None of these teams look like contenders in 2016. The Tahs might still come good, but I have doubts about thier pack . The Brumbies.....should have been thier season, but they look demoralised , the club side showed looks to have affected the run on side. The only way the Oz teams will feature in the finals is via the conference system, fingers crossed they all turn it around after the June internationals.