North Harbour captain James Parsons scored two tries - and a conversion - to guide his team to a crucial Mitre 10 Cup victory over Hawke's Bay in his 100th appearance for the province.
Trailling for most of the contest, Harbour took advantage of an unfortunate injury stoppage to regroup and score the final 22 points in a 51-34 win in Napier.
In an encounter that swung one way and then the other, the Magpies struck first with a penalty to fullback Jamie-Jerry Taulagi and a converted try to hooker Kianu Kereru-Symes inside the opening 10 minutes.
Harbour briefly locked the scores at 10-10 with a Bryn Gatland penalty and Parsons' first try, also converted by Gatland, but moments later, wing Jonah Lowe put the home team ahead again with a converted try.
Wing Matt Duffie struck on half-time to keep the visitors close, but at half-time, Hawke's Bay enjoyed a 17-15 edge, which they expanded with a Taulagi penalty soon after the restart.
Parsons' second try and Gatland's conversion put Harbour ahead for the first time at 22-20, only for Taulagi to cross and convert to grab the advantage back.
Shaun Stevenson's converted try had the notherners up again, but Taulagi sliced through the Harbour defence and sent halfback Brad Weber away for a 34-29 lead.
Harbour centre James Dargaville knocked himself out attempting a tackle in that try movement and during the moments he was treated on the field, Parsons rallied his troops.
"That stoppage was probably exactly what we needed, although you never want to see that happen," reflected Parsons afterwards.
Winger Tevita Li was the next to score and although Gatland missed his conversion, the scores were level again and the tide had turned for good.
Gatland's penalty in the 69th minute put Harbour ahead, and tries to Gatland and second-five Harrison Groundwater - the latter converted by centurion Parsons from out wide - sealed the comeback victory.
"I didn't really want to take it," insisted Parsons of the conversion attempt. "I didn't want to make a fool of myself, but it's something I'll remember and it will mean a lot to my family."
The skipper admitted the week's celebrations had been a distraction, but was humbled to bring up the ton for his beloved province.
"They're a good bunch of lads and I can't thank them enough for the week," he said. "I'm extremely grateful to represent this province 100 teims - I'm really proud of the region.
"We got the points in the end and that's what we came here for."
The result keeps Harbour in contention for premiership semi-finals, while Hawke's Bay lose ground on championship leaders Waikato.
North Harbour travel to Taranaki next Saturday, while the Magpies have a short turnaround, before hosting Northland on Wednesday and visiting Canterbury next Sunday.
North Harbour 51 (James Parsons 2, Bryn Gatland, Tevita Li, Harrison Groundwater, Matt Duffie & Shaun Stevenson tries; Gatland four conversions & two penalties, Parsons conversion) Hawke's Bay 34 (Kianu Kereru-Symes, Brad Weber, Jonah Lowe & Jamie-Jerry Taulagi tries; Taulagi four conversions & two penalties)
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