With a home quarter-final now beyond their grasp, the Hurricanes will take some much-needed momentum into the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs, after toppling the defending champion Crusaders 27-26 at Wellington in their regular season finale.
Trailling 19-8 at halftime, the match turned, when Crusaders hooker Codie Taylor was yellow-carded for delay of game soon after the break.
In his absence, Hurricanes halfback Cam Roigard scored to bring his team back into the contest, before fullback Josh Moorby carried them into the lead with 10 minutes remaining.
No.8 Brayden Iose powered over in the corner from an attacking scrum to put the icing on the comeback, before the visitors snatched a try back through Chay Fihaki to restore some respectability to the scoreline.
The outcome has absolutely no impact on the competition table, with the Crusaders locked into second and the Hurricanes fifth before kickoff, but the victory will restore some self-belief to the Wellingtonians, who have faced a torrid end to their season schedule.
Over the past three weeks, they have faced the tabletopping Chiefs, 2022 finalists Blues and the defending champions, losing the first two and facing another dispiriting result at halftime against the Crusaders.
The comeback was lead by veteran hooker Dane Coles, playing probably his final game at his beloved 'Cake Tin'.
"We had a lot to play for tonight," admitted captain Ardie Savea. "When you play against the defending champs, it's hard.
"I'm proud of the boys' efforts tonight and it's a big builder of confidence for us, before next week.
"For me, playing tonight was for Colesy in his last home game, a legend of the club. We wanted to send him off at home with one to remember and we're glad we were able to do that."
Both teams arrived at the stadium with their share of injury concerns, which became even more acute for the Crusaders, when veteran halfback Mitch Drummond limped from warm-ups with a calf niggle, promoting debutant Louie Chapman into the No.9 jersey.
They also sat veteran lock Sam Whitelock with a tight Achilles at halftime.
The Hurricanes had lost flanker Du'Plessis Kirifi, forcing a shuffle among the loose forwards, with Savea moving to openside and Iose elevated from the bench.
The visitors quickly took control of the contest, with winger Leicester Fainga'anuku powering over in the corner in the third minute. Taylor crossed the tryline a few minutes later, but his effort was negated by obstruction from prop John Afoa.
The hooker would have his five-pointer, after Iose was yellow-carded for a high tackle and the Crusaders mauled to the line from the attacking lineout.
Twelve points down, the Hurricanes curiously chose to kick for goal, rather than a more positive option, and when Crusaders centre Braydon Ennor scored their third try, the home side were suddenly 19-3 behind and seemingly out of contention.
On the strike of halftime, centre Billy Proctor scored an important try for the Hurricanes that carried them into the break with some momentum - a precursor of things to come over the closing 40 minutes.
While the result boosts their post-season ambitions, defeat may have exposed a Crusaders outfit struggling with injuries, especially in the front row.
They will host either Fijian Drua or the Force at Christchurch next week, depending on the Force v Chiefs result later on Saturday, while the Hurricanes will travel to Canberra, where they lost to the Brumbies at the same stage 12 months ago.
Hurricanes 27 (Proctor, Roigard, Moorby & Iose tries; Barrett penalty, Cameron 2 conversions) Crusaders 26 (Fainga'anuku, Taylor, Ennor & Fihaki tries; Mo'unga 2 conversions)
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