The Hurricanes were three minutes away from a 0-2 start to the 2020 Super Rugby season, before stunning the Jaguares in Buenos Aires on Sunday (NZ time).
Trailing 23-12, replacement prop Alex Fidow crashed over from short range to give the Hurricanes a sniff, before Jamie Booth's 78th-minute try sealed the result 26-23 for the travelling New Zealand franchise, at the Jose Amalfitani Stadium.
Booth, a late substitution for inspirational Hurricanes captain TJ Perenara, benefited from superb build-up play between Vaea Fifita and Ngani Laumape, running 10 metres untouched to score the winning try.
Laumape, who was quiet for the first hour, stepped his way through three defenders from a Fifita offload, drawing the fullback to put Booth away.
Jordie Barrett was exceptional at the back and perfect with the boot, kicking four penalties, including a monster 63-metre effort to open the points scoring.
Earlier, the Jaguares took a 10-9 lead into the break,, thanks to a 23rd-minute try to impressive flanker Marcos Kremer, who burst through some feeble Hurricanes defence to dot down under the posts.
That lead was extended midway through the second half, when veteran hooker Augustine Creevy scored from a rolling maul and seemed to put the result to bed.
But led by Perenara, the Hurricanes finished the game superbly to the dismay of a shell-shocked Jaguares outfit.
They return to Wellington next week to play the travelling Sharks, who dismantled the Highlanders on Friday night.
HURRICANES 26 (Jamie Booth, Alex Fidow tries Jackson Garden-Bachop, Fletcher Smith cons Jordie Barrett 4 pens) JAGUARES 23 (Agustin Creevy, Marcos Kremer tries Domingo Miotti 2 cons 3 pens) at Jose Amalfitani Stadium.
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