The Highlanders were left to rue two controversial calls as they slipped to a 26-20 defeat to the Hurricanes.
Touch decisions cost the hosts
The Highlanders were left to rue two controversial calls as they slipped to a 26-20 defeat to the Hurricanes.
The Highlanders had Phil Burleigh's try chalked off by the TMO after he appeared to have scored in the corner - and then minutes later the Hurricanes got away with one when Jeremy Thrush's foot in touch was missed in the build-up to Faifili Levave's try.
Chris Noakes and Adam Thomson had both scored tries for the Highlanders, while Noakes and Mike Delany added a penalty each as the hosts led 14-3 and then 20-19.
However Lavave's controversial try, Julian Savea's superb late breakaway and 16 points from the boot of Beauden Barrett rubbed salt into the wounds.
Barrett had settled the early nerves for the Hurricanes with a well-struck penalty from out wide on the right.
However the Highlanders crossed for the first try when Noakes, a late inclusion in the starting XV ahead of Delany, beat two defenders to score.
Noakes added the extras and was then on target with a simple conversion after Thomson crashed over on 20 minutes, with the Highlanders having hammered away at the Hurricanes for a sustained spell.
Disallow
The Hurricanes, though, refused to panic and they responded with two penalties from Barrett to cut the deficit to 14-9 by the interval.
However, only a superb tackle from Andre Taylor stopped Burleigh initially extending the lead. Burleigh had appeared to get the ball down before being tackled into touch, only for the TMO to disallow the score. Noakes, though, softened the blow as he added a penalty.
But the Hurricanes hit back immediately as Levave exploited an overlap on the left - although the Highlanders were left upset as Jeremy Thrush appeared to have been tackled into touch in the build-up. Barrett converted.
And the Hurricanes worked their way back into the lead when Barrett slotted over his fourth penalty.
Delany kicked the hosts back into a one-point lead but a superb break from Savea put the game out of sight with the powerhouse winger breaking through the first line of defence and they sprinting away to score. Barrett's conversion with six minutes left was a kick in the teeth for the hosts.
