The Brumbies climbed to third on the super rugby table despite going down to the Bulls 36-34 in Pretoria.
Two bonus points in the defeat have enabled the Brumbies to forge a one-point lead, with 26 all up, over the Waratahs to head the Australian conference and gain overall third place on the combined table.
The Brumbies outscored the Bulls five tries to two at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, but the on-song boot of Morne Steyn got them home with 26 points from nine successful kicks from 11 attempts.
The Bulls have 33 points as do the Stormers with both sides two points back on the table topping Chiefs.
