Ranfurly Shield holders Hawke's Bay have held off a second-half fightback from Wellington to take a 31-28 victory at Sky Stadium in the NPC - their first win in the capital since the 1970s.
After an early penalty from first-five Lincoln McClutchie, Hawke's Bay captain Ash Dixon added to his side's advantage by scoring the opening try of the match in the 10th minute.
Just over 10 minutes later, winger Jonah Lowe went in for the Magpies' second, while McClutchie's boot gave the visitors a 17-0 lead midway through the opening half.
Wellington managed to open their account through the boot of first-five Aidan Morgan, but another try to Hawke's Bay - this time through Lolagi Visinia - saw the hosts down 24-3 at the break.
Morgan's boot brought the scores back to 24-9 after the break, landing two more penalties, before Vince Aso scored Wellington's first try to close the contest up at 24-14 and give the Lions hope.
But any thought of a comeback was quashed in the final 10 minutes, as Hawke's Bay scored their fourth try of the afternoon, with replacement back Solomone Funaki crossing over from a rolling maul.
Ahead 31-14 with less than two minutes to play, Hawke's Bay were left sweating, as reserve forward Tyrone Thompson scored for Wellington, largely down to excellent work from Aso and Peter Umaga-Jensen.
Ruben Love's successful conversion brought Wellington to within 10 points at 31-21, before Thompson had a second try after the siren, in what would ultimately prove to be too little, too late for the hosts.
Love again added the extras, but time was up for Wellington, who were left wondering what could have been, as Hawke's Bay completed a 31-28 victory - their first victory in the capital since 1971.
The win moves Hawke's Bay to second in the NPC Premiership, with three wins and one defeat from four games, two points behind leaders Waikato.
Wellington remain fifth, with just one win from their start to the season, but the Lions can be overtaken by Bay of Plenty, who face Taranaki later on Sunday.
