A try to replacement front-rower Ollie Norris has seen the Chiefs snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, winning 33-30 against Melbourne Rebels at AAMI Park on Sunday.
Down 30-26 in the dying seconds, and forced to finish with 14 men after Luke Jacobson was shown a yellow card, the Chiefs needed a try and nothing else if they were to claim a victory to send them back into Super Rugby Pacific's top four.
And they found an unlikely hero in 22-year-old Norris, who crashed over seconds before the fulltime whistle for his maiden Super Rugby try, and in doing so stole victory for the Chiefs.
The win moves the Chiefs into fourth place on the Super Rugby Pacific ladder, ahead of the Hurricanes in the race for a home quarter-final when the playoffs begin, with just two weeks of the regular season to play.
In a slow start to the first half, it took nearly 20 minutes to open the scoring, as the boot of Reece Hodge gave the Rebels a 3-0 lead.
But falling behind spurred the Chiefs into life at AAMI Park, as the visitors hit back six minutes later.
As Quinn Tupaea and Brad Weber both unsuccessfully attempted to break the Rebels' line, No.8 Jacobson crashed over from close range for the afternoon's first try.
The Chiefs scored a second after the half-hour, when Josh Ioane and Kaleb Trask combined to send Chase Tiatia in to score on the left wing. Tiatia would have been as surprised as anyone to find himself on the scoresheet, after being a late inclusion following Etene Nanai-Seturo's gameday withdrawal.
The Rebels' cause was hit when prop Pone Fa'amausili was shown a yellow card towards the end of the first half, after retaliating in the direction of Chiefs lock Josh Lord, after a huge tackle on second rower Naitoa Ah Kuoi.
But even down a man, the Rebels still managed to keep themselves in the contest.
With the Chiefs hot on attack inside the Rebels' half, Ioane threw an intercept that Rebels first-five Carter Gordon needed no second invitation to make the most of, racing away to score under the posts on the stroke of halftime.
A successful conversion from Hodge saw the Rebels bring the scores back to 12-10 as the two sides left for halftime.
And after Ioane's mistake gave the Rebels a try-scoring opportunity to end the first half, the first-five gave his opponents another chance to start the second.
As a loose pass from Ioane went to ground, Rebels centre Andrew Kellaway snapped up the ball, and raced away to score under the posts and put his side ahead 17-12.
The try meant the Rebels finished their period with 14-men for two tries scored, and not even a point conceded.
The Chiefs went close through winger Emoni Narawa after a break from fullback Kaleb Trask - instigated by Ioane - as Samisoni Taukei'aho popped up to finish off the try and restore his side's advantage.
Narawa then had a try of his own after the hour mark, as he slipped right through the Rebels' defence to score the Chiefs' fourth, and give the visitors a 26-17 lead.
The Rebels hit back straight away though, as an attacking bomb from Carter Gordon was allowed to bounce by the replacement pair of Xavier Roe and Rivez Reihana - seeing Hodge strike, running away to score under the posts.
At 26-24, the Chiefs appeared to throw victory away, as a penalty allowed Hodge the chance to give the Rebels a one-point lead.
And to make matters worse for the Chiefs, they'd be asked to finish with 14, after Jacobson was shown yellow for a head clash with Rebels second-five Stacey Ili.
Another penalty from Hodge gave the Rebels a four-point lead at 30-26, meaning the Chiefs could only win with a try in the last minutes.
But that's exactly what happened, as a sustained attack from the 14-man Chiefs resulted in Norris popping up at the right place at the right time, scoring the winner for his first points in Super Rugby.
Victory takes the Chiefs three points clear of the Hurricanes in fourth place, as they return to New Zealand for their final home match of the round-robin stage, facing Western Force in Hamilton next Saturday afternoon.
Chiefs 33 (Jacobson, Tiatia, Taukei'aho, Narawa, Norris tries; Ioane 4 conversions)
Rebels 30 (Gordon, Kellaway, Hodge tries; Hodge 3 conversions, Hodge 3 penalties)
