The Hurricanes have ground out a 25-15 away win over the Melbourne Rebels, despite being outscored by the home side by two tries to one.
The All Black Beauden Barrett kicked 20 points for the Hurricanes, slotting six penalties and converting a second-half try by captain and centre Conrad Smith.
They move up to second in the local conference, and back into the playoff places, above the Crusaders, who play the Reds on Sunday in Brisbane.
Earlier, the Chiefs had a 32-20 bonus point win over the Blues in the champions' first-ever home game in New Plymouth.
