A 40-33 victory for Umaga's Blues over the NSW Waratahs in Sydney and the Chiefs' 46-17 thrashing of the Queensland Reds in New Plymouth extended New Zealand's collective winning streak over Australian teams in the competition to 23 matches - and 17 this season.
Only a massive upset in any of the eight remaining trans-Tasman home-and-away fixtures can deny the New Zealand dominators a 25-0 clean sweep of their Australian counterparts in 2017.
Umaga suspects the ongoing uncertainty around which Australian team will be cut from the competition in 2018 is taking its toll.
