Jordie Barrett slotted a 78th-minute penalty to shake up the Super Rugby playoffs scenario as the Wellington Hurricanes recorded a 31-22 victory to end the Canterbury Crusaders quest for a perfect season yesterday.
The loss ended the Crusaders hopes of becoming the first side to record a perfect regular season since their 2002 side. They ended with a 14-1 record.
It also ensured the Hurricanes would only need to travel to Canberra next week for the quarterfinals, with the Waikato Chiefs heading to Cape Town to face the Stormers.
The Chiefs had beaten the Brumbies 28-10 earlier in Hamilton and put pressure on the Hurricanes to win the game and move back into the fifth seeding for the playoffs.
The Lions could also now snare top spot and home advantage for the playoffs later yesterday if they beat the Sharks in Durban.
Major late shake-up
The match between the two local rivals at Wellington Regional Stadium was expected to be intense with numerous All Blacks facing off in a game with massive implications.
The Hurricanes, however, had been forced into a major shake-up of their backline immediately before the game with flyhalf Beauden Barrett a late withdrawal due to illness, while Vince Aso was injured during the warm-up.
Otere Black came off the bench to play flyhalf, Jordie Barrett moved from fullback to centre, Nehe Milner-Skudder switched to fullback from the wing, with Wes Goosen coming onto the right wing from the bench.
The Crusaders took advantage of that late shake-up with Seta Tamanivalu grabbing two tries inside the first 13 minutes as the Hurricanes looked disorganised in defence.
The home side slowly worked their way back into the game as the Crusaders fell foul of referee Glen Jackson, which allowed the Hurricanes to get field position...