The Hurricanes rode a wave of home town support to end the regular season with a thrilling 31-22 come-from-behind win over the Crusaders at Westpac Stadium on Saturday.
With 24,000 Hurricanes fans behind them, the TJ Perenara led Hurricanes scored four tries to end the Crusaders unbeaten Investec Super Rugby season in style.
The win means the Hurricanes will head to Canberra on Tuesday for a quarterfinal match against the Australian Conference champion Brumbies on Friday night (9.35pm NZT).
The Hurricanes beat the Brumbies 56-21 during their round nine match in Napier earlier this season.
A loss to the Crusaders would have meant the Hurricanes flew out of Wellington at 4am on Sunday morning bound for a quarter final with the Stormers in Cape Town, but on a night that saw supporters turn out in force that was never going to happen.
CAPTION: Canes fans came out in force for the final match of the regular season. PHOTO: Getty Sport
Coach Chris Boyd's side lost first five Beauden Barrett on the morning of the match due to a virus, then centre Vince Aso (groin) in the warm ups, forcing a backline reshuffle.
Otere Black stepped in to first five, Jordie Barrett moved to centre, Nehe Milner-Skudder shifted to fullback, Wes Goosen came onto the right wing, and Ben Lam suited up on the bench.
CAPTION: Otere Black stepped in at first five after Beauden Barrett withdrew due to a virus. PHOTO: Getty Sport
The disruption may have contributed to a slow start that saw Crusaders wing Seta Tamanivalu score two tries in the opening 15 minutes.
Jordie Barrett was destined to play a big part in the match and his try in the 32nd minute was the first of several big plays from the young centre.
The try came after Black had brilliantly taken the ball to the line and timed his pass to perfection, Barrett slicing through and skipping over the line for a try that narrowed the margin to 12-7 at the break.
The Hurricanes were a different beast after halftime.
Julian Savea out leapt Israel Dagg, then recovered his own rebound to put the Hurricanes ahead after 45 minutes, Barrett knocking over the sideline conversion to make it 14-12.
CAPTION: Jordie Barrett's goal kicking against the Crusaders was influential. PHOTO: Getty Sport
Crusaders first five Richie Mo'unga put his side ahead with a penalty and when Dagg side stepped Barrett the visitors had a 22-14 cushion with about 25 minutes to play.
And that's about the time the Hurricanes stood up and took the game from their opponents. Loose forwards Ardie Savea and Brad Shields, along with locks Mark Abbott and Sam Lousi were immense up front and second five Ngani Laumape a tireless battering ram in the middle of the park.
CAPTION: Ngani Laumape was a force with ball in hand all night. PHOTO: Getty Sport
Eventually the Crusaders challenge faltered. The Hurricanes scrum provided a platform for halfback TJ Perenara to scoot blind and feed Wes Goosen for the go-ahead try with 20 to play and Barrett once again nailed the wide conversion.
Vaea Fifita put one nail in the Crusaders coffin when he dived over in the corner and Barrett did the rest, nailing the conversion, then calmly slotting a penalty with three minutes to play to ice the win and a personal tally of 16 points.
It was the Hurricanes 12th win from 15 matches during the 2017 regular season and reversed a 20-12 loss to the Crusaders in Christchurch on May 13.
Scorers:
Hurricanes 31 (Jordie Barrett, Julian Savea, Wes Goosen, Vaea Fifita tries; Barrett 4 con, pen) Crusaders 22 (Seta Tamanivalu 2, Israel Dagg tries; Richie Mo'unga 2 con, pen). HT: 7-12.
