The Chiefs have pulled off a Super Rugby boilover, pumping the Crusaders 40-27 in Suva, Fiji.
The two New Zealand franchises thrilled a jam-packed, rugby-loving crowd at the ANZ National Stadium, combining for 10 tries in tropically hot conditions.
The scoreline was even more remarkable, given the Crusaders scored the first 20 points inside the first quarter, as they threatened to demolish the Chiefs.
Sevu Reece, Mitchell Drummond and the impressive Scott Barrett, who out-paced three defenders to score the opening five-pointer, had the Crusaders well in control.
But three tries in 11 minutes turned the game, as the Crusaders started to wilt in the Fijian heat.
Solomon Alaimalo scored one of the tries of the season from inside his own half to put the Chiefs on the board. They were well and truly in the game, after converted tries to Samisoni Taukei'aho and Jesse Parete just before the break, with the Crusaders taking a shaky 20-19 lead into the sheds.
Within five minutes of the resumption, the two-time defending Super Rugby champions appeared to wrestle control back, when Braydon Ennor crossed the line, the conversion restoring an eight-point lead.
But the Chiefs refused to crumble. Brad Weber skipped through some weak defence to draw his side back to within a single point, before the Chiefs hit the front through Shaun Stevenson.
The Chiefs winger pushed the gas button, flying past several defenders to score under the posts. The underdogs had hit the front - and they wouldn't be headed.
Tumua Manu scored an opportunistic try with a minute on the clock to seal a 13-point win for the Chiefs.
Denying the Crusaders a bonus point means the red-and-blacks need two points from their final two games to guarantee home advantage through the Super Rugby playoffs.
The Chiefs still need a miracle to qualify, requiring a bonus-point win from their final game and other results to go in their favour.
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