Damian Willemse's last gasp penalty gave Western Province a narrow 46-45 win against bitter rivals Blue Bulls.
Western Province's sixth win of the season not only helped them clinch a Currie Cup double against the Bulls, but put them in the inside lane for a home semi-final.
With the Free State Cheetahs losing 59-24 against the Griquas on Saturday, the five points Province collected nudged them into second on 32 points with two rounds remaining.
The Cheetahs are two points in third behind while the Bulls' slim play-off hopes are close to vanishing despite the two losing bonus points.
Warrick Gelant provided a reminder of his class and why he should be in Cape Town instead of Pretoria with his slicing run in the third minute.
The fullback collected the first phase ball from a scrum on the halfway line and sliced his way to the tryline.
Shocked by the Bulls' statement of intent, they responded with two tries on two minutes.
Chris van Zyl scored the first in the seventh minute as the Bulls had no response to the visitor's adherence to phase basics.
Robert du Preez added the second two minutes later as Damian Willemse and Seabelo Senatla caught the Bulls' blindside defence napping.
It took the Bulls 18 minutes to respond through Nic de Jager and it was Gelant who was at the heart of everything good that led to the try.
However, Du Preez's 16th minute penalty made sure the Bulls had to work harder in the hot sun.
The Bulls though remain a dangerous team when running from deep and Edgar Marutlulle's 38th minute try was a good example of their latent threat when given space. It allowed the Bulls to take a 19-17 half-time lead.
Western Province regained the lead through Nizaam Carr's 43rd minute try but the Bulls hit back through Ivan van Zyl four minutes later.
John Dobson's side took a decisive 12-point lead through 53rd and 56th minute tries from Senatla and Huw Jones that dealt the Bulls a solar plexus punch.
They responed in the 58th minute through Duncan Matthews after Carr fumbled the restart.
Senatla though was far from done, completing his brace eight minutes later as the Bulls defence struggled to cope with his pace.
Ulrich Beyers appeared from nowhere to cut the advantage to give five points in the 69th minute, creating a tense last 10 minutes.
JT Jackson crossed the whitewash with three minutes remaining even though it that De Jager had lost the ball forward from a lineout.
Karma was instant for the hosts as Matthews was penalised for a deliberate knockdown with Western Province in search of the winning try.
Damian Willemse stepped up and knocked over the simple three-pointer.
Scorers:
Blue Bulls:Tries: Warrick Gelant, Nic de Jager, Edgar Marutlulle, Ivan van Zyl, Duncan Matthews, Ulrich Beyers Conversions: Marnitz Boshoff (3), Tony Jantjies (2)
Western Province:Tries: Chris van Zyl, Robert du Preez, Nizaam Carr, Seabelo Senatla (2), Huw Jones Conversions: Du Preez (5)Penalties: Du Preez, Damian Willemse
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 