The Hurricanes and Chiefs put on a fantastic display of physical, expansive rugby at Westpac Stadium Saturday night, a back and forth contest which was anyone's for the taking through to the match's final second.
Hurricanes fullback Jason Woodward had a chance to steal the game for his side but was unable to reel in a Beauden Barrett pass with the try-line begging, the Chiefs ultimately prevailing 28-27.
However teammate TJ Perenara certainly wasn't pointing any fingers.
"It's footy. I made four or five skill errors in the game, he dropped one ball. It's not the reason we lost."
"We weren't accurate enough in defense, particularly in the last five minutes," said Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd. "I thought we showed some good fight at the end to stay in the game. We were mixed again."
Chiefs captain Same Cane was part of an oddly muted post-game celebration, aware his side may have been fortunate to hold on for the win.
"We know we probably used our 'get out of jail free' card tonight, but we did show a lot of character to hang in there."
Click above to hear extended post-match interviews
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