The Hurricanes Development side have ended their season unbeaten after an exciting 36-27 win over the previously unbeaten Japan A at Levin on Thursday night.

Hurricanes squad member Ihaia West was in great form, scoring a hat-trick while being accurate with his boot to end the night with 27 points.

West scored two tries in the first half as the development side went to the break behind 12-17.

However, they picked their game up and showed plenty of character to come out on top with limited preparation.

"Ï was happy for the Hurricanes region," Hurricanes Development coach Darren Larsen. "Having non-contracted players around our contracted players was very good for them and their families."

For Japan A, it was their first loss of their tour, having beaten Highlanders A 13-12 and Blues A 34-27.

Japan A played a very structured game but the development side managed to stretch them as they controlled possession well at times.

Returning No 8 Blade Thomson, in his comeback 40 minutes, was the commanding figure in the first half and showed he would be ready to make the step back to Investec Super Rugby.

Others to shine were halfback Richard Judd and second-five Peter Umaga-Jensen, while Manawatū lock Liam Mitchell played  a solid 80 minutes.

West was the man of the match, though, scoring his third try in the second half and remaining prominent throughout.

Hurricanes Development XV 36 (Ihaia West 3, Marcel Renata, Richard Judd, tries; West 4 con, pen) Japan A 27(Daishi Murata, Fetuami Lautaimi, Akihito Yamada, tries; Rikiya Matsuda 2 con, pen; Ryuji Noguchi con; Ryoto Nakamura pen) HT 12-17.