There was no change at the top of the Super 14 standings after the ninth round this weekend, but below the Crusaders and the Sharks, the complexion of the table changed dramatically for the New Zealand sides.
The Hurricanes were the biggest movers after swatting the defending champions, the Bulls, 50-22 in Pretoria to climb into third spot from seventh.
An 11-16 home loss to the Brumbies, however, will have put some tremors in the Blues camp after they shuffled two slots down from third.
The Chiefs, who had the bye, find themselves eighth after their fine win over the Brumbies last week took them to a seasonhigh fourth position.
The Highlanders lost 17-19 to the Sharks but gained their seventh bonus point from eight matches to move up a spot to 11th, above three South African sides - the Cheetahs, Bulls and Lions who all lost this weekend.
There was no loss in the Crusaders' momentum despite coach Robbie Deans making eight starting changes to his side to play the Lions in Christchurch.
His faith in youngsters such as Sean Maitland and the gamble to use newcomer Hamish Gard in the key No 10 position paid off as the young lions helped craft a 31-6 victory and retain an unblemished record of eight wins from eight outings.
Their play in the second half was replete with traditional Crusaders hallmarks of solid defence and well-executed backline moves.
Gard sparked the tries to right winger Maitland and veteran left winger Caleb Ralph and hooker Ti'i Paulo and halfback Andrew Ellis got the others.
The Hurricanes took out their frustration over the controversial 13-13 draw with the Sharks last week to deliver their most emphatic performance of the season.
They played precision rugby and seized the advantage early on, running in four tries in the first quarter with backs Jimmy Gopperth, Ma'a Nonu, Conrad Smith and Cory Jane outstanding.
Nonu, in his first appearance in the midfield this season, scored twice, with Smith, Chris Masoe, Hikawera Elliott, Shannon Paku and Jane getting the others.
Gopperth kicked five conversions and a penalty.
Blues coach David Nucifora must surely be wondering what he has to do to lift the veil of lethargy that seems to have enveloped his side who suffered their second successive defeat.
The Brumbies, who desperately needed a win to keep alive their playoff hopes, took their chances to shade the Blues in a match that never scaled the heights.
A feisty forward effort was highlighted by a much improved performance at the breakdown and a dominant lineout display.
In other matches, the Stormers scored four first-half tries to race to a 34-22 victory over the Cheetahs in a South African derby at Cape Town to move one place up in the standings to seventh.
In Perth, the Waratahs slipped into fourth from sixth with a 17-12 defeat of the Western Force.
Bad luck struck the Force midway through the first half when first five-eighth Matt Giteau was knocked unconscious after trying to tackle Waratahs fullback Sam Norton-Knight.
He lay motionless on the ground for some time before being taken off the field on a stretcher, wearing a neck brace.
He recovered enough to walk away from the medical centre but it was unclear how long he will be out of action.