The Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd believes his players are peaking at the right time after their hard-fought 32-31 quarter-final victory over the Chiefs in Wellington.
The Canes headed into the match down on confidence having lost four of their last five games, including one against the Chiefs.
But they rediscovered the form they showed in a 10-game win streak earlier in the season in a clinical performance, despite the close scoreline.
The win was built on defensive bite and aggression at the breakdown, two things which Boyd claims were missing over the last two months.
"It has been the best week we've had for a long time," Boyd told reporters.
"We qualified for the playoffs six weeks ago, and when we lost to the Crusaders before the June break, at that stage, we were probably not going to finish top.
"But I had a good feeling about today by the time we got to the end of the week.
"When we're coming forward and bustling, and we're really high and aggressive, we're a different team. That's probably the first time we've had it for quite a long time."
The win means they will contest a semi-final for the fourth successive year, against either the Crusaders or the Sharks.
If the Crusaders win they will travel down to Christchurch, but if the Sharks win, the Hurricanes would host them at Westpac Stadium.
"We don't actually know whether we're going to be playing on Friday or Saturday next week and it'll depend on the games on the other side of the draw," Boyd said.
For the Chiefs, their season is over. They trailed by 15 points midway through the second half and scored two late tries to set up a grandstand finish, but it wasn't meant to be.
The scores were locked at 17-17 in the 51st minute before a lapse in the Chiefs' defence gave the hosts an opportunity which they soundly converted.
Chiefs captain Sam Cane lauded the Hurricanes for their superior intensity.
"Their defence was very strong, to the point where we sort of ran out of options on attack," he said.
"But we're disappointed because we could have brought more."
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