The Brumbies regained their groove to keep control of the Australian conference with a drought-breaking 19-10 Super Rugby win over the Kings in Port Elizabeth.
In snapping their four-game losing streak, the Brumbies also recorded the first victory for an Australian team on South African soil all season to extend their lead atop the conference to four competition points with four rounds remaining.
The NSW Waratahs' 50-23 bonus-point triumph over the Melbourne Rebels left the 2014 champions just a win behind the Brumbies, while the Queensland Reds also remain a mathematical chance of making the playoffs when they resume from this weekend's bye.
In reality, though, the Brumbies look odds-on to claim Australia's guaranteed quarter-final berth for the second successive year.
While the Waratahs head to New Zealand for must-win clashes with Kiwi heavyweights the Highlanders and Chiefs and the Reds have fallen more than a win adrift of the Brumbies, Stephen Larkham's pacesetters have a significantly softer run home.
The Brumbies play the lowly Jaguares in Buenos Aires and Rebels in Canberra before the competition's three-week break for the Wallabies' winter Tests.
Wins in both and the failure of the Waratahs to break Australia's season-long duck in New Zealand and the Brumbies can start plotting their finals campaign.
Any flickering hopes the Western Force had of scraping into the playoffs were extinguished in a 55-6 loss to the Highlanders in Perth.
The Crusaders continue to head the cut-throat New Zealand conference after preserving their unbeaten record with a 31-24 comeback win over the Chiefs in Suva.
The Hurricanes' nine-try, 61-7 rout of the Cheetahs in Wellington leaves the defending champions on track for a wildcard entry into the playoffs.
The Lions continued on their relentless march to the finals with an eighth-straight win, a thumping 51-14 victory over the Bulls in Johannesburg all but clinching last year's runners-up the Africa 2 minor premiership.
Australian conference standings and race to Super Rugby finals:
BRUMBIES: 23 points (4-7) - Jaguares (away), Rebels (home), Reds (a), Chiefs (a)
2.WARATAHS: 19 (4-7) - Highlanders (a), Chiefs (a), Jaguares (h), Force (a)
3.REDS: 16 (3-8) - Force (h), Blues (a), Brumbies (h), Highlanders (a)
4.FORCE: 13 (3-8) - Reds (a), Hurricanes (h), Rebels (h), Waratahs (h)
5.REBELS: 8pts (1-1-9) - Crusaders (h), Brumbies (a), Force (a), Jaguares (h).
