Thank God for the Queensland Reds.

Australian Rugby Union officials must be saying prayers of immense gratitude after the Super Rugby pacesetters on Sunday continued to fly a battered national flag for the 15-man code on an otherwise forgettable weekend.

Queensland saved face by defeating the seven-time champion Crusaders 17-16 in a high-quality clash in front of a record crowd and sold-out Suncorp Stadium after the NSW Waratahs, Brumbies and Western Force all lost in round 15.

The Reds nail-biting victory, sealed with a last-minute penalty goal by Quade Cooper, kept them on top of the ladder on 58 points and also locked up first place in the Australian conference standings.

The Brisbane crowd of 48,301 smashed the old Australian record attendance figure of 42,237 set in 2004, also at Suncorp Stadium, and highlighted how far Queensland have come in just two seasons under Ewen McKenzie.

In contrast, the Waratahs play-off hopes were dealt a massive blow in Durban as they shot themselves in the foot by losing 26-21 to the Sharks and suffered worrying knee injuries to prop Sekope Kepu and centre Ryan Cross.

NSW (46) stay sixth on the standings but they face another tough clash against the resurgent Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday morning (AEST) before flying home for the last two rounds.

Four teams, placed fifth to eighth, are separated by just four points and the Waratahs need to upset the defending champions at their Loftus Versfeld fortress to ensure their finals destiny stays in their own hands.

Coach Chris Hickey was left to rue an error-riddled fadeout after his team held a 21-13 lead in the final 30 minutes with Sharks flanker Jean Deysel in the sin-bin.

But with the one-man advantage, the Waratahs conceded a turnover try through a no-look inside pass by Kurtley Beale which proved a massive turning point that allowed the Sharks (47) to jump to fifth on the table.

The Brumbies and Western Force both put up spirited efforts but also fell to foreign rivals to leave the Australian conference the poor cousins in the three-nation competition.

The Force (28), Brumbies (24) and Melbourne Rebels (23) languish in the bottom four and none of the three have tasted victory in the last five rounds.

In contrast, New Zealand's worst-performing team, the Hurricanes, sit six points clear of the Force after scoring two tries in the last 10 minutes to beat the Perth team 34-28 in Wellington.

Force officials rubbished a Perth News Ltd report that injured star back James O'Connor had failed to respond to an SOS to join the team in Dunedin ahead of Friday's clash with the Highlanders.

Coach Richard Graham has yet to decide if O'Connor - as well as fellow inside backs Willie Ripia, Brett Sheehan and Gene Fairbanks - were fit enough to return, according to spokesman Mark White.

The Brumbies failed to win for the sixth straight occasion, allowing the Stormers (52) to stay on top of the South African conference and third on the overall standings with a grinding 16-3 victory.

The Bulls (45) killed off the late-season surge of the Cheetahs by scoring a bonus-point 32-21 win in Pretoria to move to seventh while the Lions pulled off the upset of the round by pipping the Highlanders 26-22 at the death in Dunedin.

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