NSW Waratahs' Super 14 semi-finals hopes were extinguished Saturday night by a rampant Hurricanes outfit which outclassed an undermanned Queensland 37-28 at Suncorp Stadium.

The injury-riddled Reds were never expected to prevent the classy Wellington side from storming into the top four but showed some pluck to overcome a terrible start and fight back in the second half.

Down 24-7 and seemingly out after half an hour, the home side rallied to 31-21 but, in the end, were unable to deliver a major favour to their state rivals.

The Waratahs were watching the game nervously in Johannesburg after scoring a tense 38-33 victory over the Lions to go to provisional third on the ladder with 41 points.

Phil Waugh's men needed two of either the Crusaders, Hurricanes or Sharks to slip up on Saturday night/Sunday morning to grab a play-off berth.

The Crusaders didn't, Japan-bound fullback Leon MacDonald booting a late field goal in Auckland for a 15-13 win over the Blues to take them equal with NSW on 41 points but ahead on the ladder thanks to a superior for-and-against differential.

The Hurricanes, led by two-try All Blacks centre Ma'a Nonu, were always in control in Brisbane and dominated the first half to secure a four-try bonus point when Cory Jane sliced over in the 33rd minute.

Despite outgunning the depleted Queenslanders, they let the Reds back into the game with a 37th-minute five-pointer to stand-out halfback Ben Lucas.

They traded tries after the break, Hurricanes lock Jeremy Thrush strolling through before Queensland playmaker Berrick Barnes found Mark McLinden with a superb cut-out pass after concerted pressure.

Canes five-eighth Willie Ripia, who had been out of sorts with his goalkicking, then stepped up to land two penalty goals midway through the half to extend the visitors' lead to 37-21 and virtually kill off the Reds, who did pick up a consolation fourth try and bonus point with a late intercept to winger Brando Va'aulu.

The result means Australia will be unrepresented in the Super rugby semi-finals for only the third time in the 14-season history of the competition.

Skipper James Horwill stood tall in his 50th match for the Reds while Lucas and burly No.8 Leroy Houston produced their best games of the season.

The five-tries-to-four loss left Queensland with a mere three wins in 2009 which began with much promise but finished with a 13th-place position on the ladder, the sixth straight year they've ended in the bottom three.

While the Reds were terribly tackle-shy early, missing a string of first-up attempts as Piri Weepu crossed for the second Hurricanes try in the 12th minute, coach Phil Mooney defended his young side and preferred to focus on their fightback.

"I think it was more a case of us really trying to force the play and that's playing (the Hurricanes) at their own game and they're a little bit better at it than us," Mooney said.

"They're a fantastic side and I think a few of our young blokes might have been a little bit surprised by the intensity of their game but, as the game wore on, we worked our way back in to it."

Horwill delivered some welcome news after the match, indicating he was close to agreeing to a new deal with Queensland and said it was important the likes of Barnes, and injured Wallabies duo Hugh McMeniman and Digby Ioane, also stayed to ensure a better return in 2010 and beyond.

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