An improved second half performance has seen the Hurricanes sneak past a determined Sunwolves 29-23 in Tokyo on Friday night.
A tough first half in front of a capacity crowd for the round 10 Investec Super Rugby match saw the Hurricanes behind 23-10 and needing a much improved second 40 minutes.
They got that with a more disciplined showing while they also managed to bring more accuracy to key parts of their game that was lacking as they played their first match off a bye.
Some key performances from their experienced players, combined with some real value off the bench, saw the Hurricanes bank four valuable competition points.
It was always going to be a difficult match against an opponent which contained a large number of New Zealand players with a real point to prove.
That proved the case as the Sunwolves got on a roll and put their visitors under real pressure.
While other sides have cracked in Tokyo the Hurricanes kept their composure to grab their sixth win of the season.
"We are happy to win but we would have been more happy to play better footy earlier on," Hurricanes captain TJ Perenara said.
"We have to give credit to the Sunwolves, they played better footy early on, we made errors, they countered on it and put us under pressure. It was a quality team we played against tonight and they have proved that all year."
Perenara was a stand-out player for the Hurricanes while they also got some real value out of wing Wes Goosen and a number of subs.
The Hurricanes now return to New Zealand to take on the Chiefs at Westpac Stadium on Friday night.
Hurricanes 29 (TJ Perenara, Ben Lam, Chase Tiatia, Wes Goosen tries; Fletcher Smith 3 cons, pen)
Sunwolves 23 (Semisi Masirewa 2 tries; Hayden Parker 2 cons, 3 pens)
HT: 10-23
Join the Hurricanes at Our House, Westpac Stadium for Deby Night on Saturday April 27 against the Chiefs. Use code DERBY to secure a $30 Platinum Uncovered Adult ticket (usually $43.50). Click HERE to purcahse tickets!
300 Adult fans (over 18 years) receive a complimentary Tui / Hurricanes bucket hat from the yellow booth at 6.30pm on game night.