Nostradamus couldn't pick this year's Super 14 finalists after the NSW Waratahs wound up in top spot following a wild weekend of upsets in round eight.

Not for the first time in rugby's desperately-tight southern hemisphere provincial championship, the battle for playoff berths is set to go down to the wire with up to 10 sides believing they remain in the title hunt.

With the previously-undefeated Bulls, the Stormers and Crusaders all faltering, the Waratahs landed at the head of the table after a 40-17 pasting of the hapless Cheetahs on Saturday night.

"They can definitely win this competition. There's no doubt about that," Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske said after watching the Waratahs defy some atrocious conditions to run in five tries at the SFS.

"The big thing about them is, they win their close games (as well). And if you want to win this competition, you need to do that.

"They mix quite well as a team and they've got a very good defensive system."

After leading the tournament since round one, the defending-champion Bulls slipped behind NSW to second spot on points differential with their first defeat in 12 months, a 32-19 loss to the Blues in Auckland.

But the South Africans, like every side from second to eighth, do have a game in hand on the Waratahs.

The Crusaders scored a contentious last-minute try to retain third spot with a 26-26 draw against the Hurricanes in Wellington.

The Crusaders are now three points adrift of NSW and the Bulls but can inflict untold damage on the Waratahs with victory over the ladder leaders in a pivotal round-nine clash in Christchurch on Saturday.

The Western Force not only dragged themselves off the bottom of the ladder but also did their Australian counterparts the Waratahs, Reds and Brumbies a huge favour with a miracle 16-15 Good Friday triumph over the Stormers.

David Hill's after-the-bell drop goal in Perth lifted the Force to a well-deserved first win of the season and left the Stormers precariously placed in fourth position.

With four of their last six round games away from home and their only two Cape Town fixtures coming against the benchmark Bulls and Crusaders, the Stormers look the most likely of the top four sides to miss the playoffs.

Queensland climbed one rung to fifth, three points outside the finals zone, despite a 30-28 bonus-point loss to the Sharks in Durban on Sunday.

Coach Ewen McKenzie remained upbeat after watching the Reds again nab a bonus point with another entertaining four-try haul.

"When we started this competition, no-one was picking us to be anywhere in the comp," McKenzie said.

"In that way, we're well ahead of people's expectations, not our own.

"We've got just half a dozen games left, so there's still plenty of opportunities to get points.

"We're competitive every game. We were competitive in this game and you've got to remember we were playing away from home.

"We've got six points out of two games (in South Africa) ... we're up to the challenge."

The sixth-placed Chiefs arrested a three-match losing streak to revive their finals hopes with a 27-21 win over the Highlanders in Mt Maunganui - but possibly lost skipper Mils Muliaina for the rest of the tournament with a broken thumb.

With the upsets above them, the seventh-placed Brumbies didn't lose too much ground, while the eighth-placed Blues - with renewed confidence and a good run home - loom as the competition's dangermen.

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