Quade Cooper guided the Reds to a win over the Melbourne Rebels as he tried to play his way back into the Australia squad © Getty Images

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Match Pack: Bulls take stranglehold of SA conference

Quade Cooper was at his enigmatic best as he sought to play his way back into the Australia squad by helping the Reds to a 33-20 win over Melbourne Rebels on Saturday.

Lining up against Wallabies coach Robbie Deans' first-choice No.10, James O'Connor, Cooper pulled the strings as the Reds kept alive their finals hopes with a gutsy victory. At first he would have had Deans scratching his head, showing plenty of attacking intent but twice gifting Melbourne tries when kicks were charged down in the first half just metres off his own line. He also hooked a crucial penalty and equally important conversion kicks in the second half.

But just as Deans would have felt justified in omitting Cooper from his initial 25-strong squad to face the Lions, the Reds playmaker produced what only he can: Cooper finally shook off his kicking yips to give the home side a 21-20 lead with a 65th-minute penalty; and he somehow burrowed under rival defenders and extended his arm to score an unlikely try four minutes later. A try on full-time from Ben Lucas off a sublime Will Genia pass to set the seal on the win that keeps the pressure on the conference-leading Brumbies.

Elsewhere on Saturday, the Highlanders turned the form book upside down with a classic performance of attacking rugby to best the Blues 38-28 and win the Gordon Hunter Memorial Trophy at Forsyth Barr Stadium. They dominated the Blues for the opening 60 minutes, finally producing a performance befitting of their squad, and they held off the resurgent visitors in the final quarter to claim only their second victory of the season and deal a hammer blow to the Auckland side's hopes of making the play-offs.

The Bulls cemented their place at the top of the South African conference with a narrow 30-25 victory over title rivals the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. First half tries from prop Werner Kruger and flanker Deon Stegmann put the visitors in control with the Cheetahs staying in touch thanks to a score from winger Willie Le Roux. Replacement Jano Vermaak extended the Bulls' lead after the break with fly-half Morne Steyn adding the extras to cap a 15-point haul. The Cheetahs hit back with two late tries from fly-half Riaan Smit and replacement Trevor Nyakane but the Bulls held on for the win.

In Cape Town, the Stormers kept their play-off hopes alive with a 19-11 victory against the Southern Kings. The boot dominated the majority of the contest with the Stormers' Joe Pietersen getting the better of the Kings' George Whitehead. A try from flanker Deon Fourie just past the hour mark cemented the hosts' advantage and while the Kings rallied with a try from Wimpie van der Walt it was not enough to turn the game in their favour.

On Friday, Nic White and Peter Kimlin scored tries while Christian Lealiifano scored 20 points from the tee as the Brumbies defeated the Hurricanes 30-23 in Canberra. The home team were made to fight all the way by a dogged and determined Hurricanes outfit that refused to buckle and heaped severe pressure on the hosts' line in the closing stages of the contest.

Later the same day the Crusaders kept their alive play-off hopes alive, overcoming a 12-point deficit in the second half to defeat the Waratahs 23-22 at AMI Stadium. Berrick Barnes had an opportunity to win the game for the visitors after the siren, but the Waratahs' replacement pushed his penalty kick wide and the Crusaders got out of jail.

The Waratahs twice led by 12 points, but the Crusaders chiselled their way back into the game - Dan Carter to the forefront with his kicking and running the ball to the line to get vital advantage line position that allowed his side to put the visitors under pressure. Carter completed the comeback five minutes from full-time, landing a 49-metre penalty goal to give his side the lead for the first time having kicked another goal to reduce the margin just minutes earlier.