The Brumbies secured their first Super Rugby victory in Wellington since 2003 when they beat the Hurricanes 25-37 with a bonus point.

The Brumbies scored the opening try of the match but the Hurricanes soon found their game and led 15-13 at half time.

The men from Canberra however surged in the second half and ran away with the match in the final quarter.

The Hurricanes also scored four tries in the match which earned them a bonus point.

Flyhalf Zack Holmes scored the last try to capture a valuable four-try bonus point for the Australian conference leaders and to lift his individual tally from the match to 22 points.

The win improved the Brumbies' record to seven wins from 11 games, carrying them 13 points clear of the defending champions the Reds, their closest rivals in Australia, at the start of the tournament's 13th round.

The Brumbies rushed to a 13-5 lead in the 20th minute, but trailed 15-13 at halftime and fell behind 25-16 after 11 minutes of the second half as the Hurricanes scored their fourth try to claim a bonus point.

The Brumbies the rallied with three unanswered tries in 14 minutes to lock Sam Carter, flanker Michael Hooper, who was the player of the match, and to Holmes, whose conversion of his own try completed a 21-point turnaround.

The match showed the best and worst of the Hurricanes, who have now won 6 and lost 6 matches this season and have faded a little from playoffs contention after starting the round in eighth place but only two points outside the top six.

They showed their outstanding counterattacking ability in scoring four tries - two to teenage scrumhalf T.J. Perenara and others to backrower Victor Vito and prop Jeffrey To'omaga-Allen.

But they also conceded a vast amount of possession through turnovers, particularly through the last 30 minutes as the Brumbies dominated territory.

The Brumbies also committed too many errors in a first half strewn with 21 turnovers but settled into a much more controlled game in the second half, thanks to a pack well led by hooker Stephen Moore.

Both teams came into the match with six-win records, which was good enough to give the Brumbies an eight-point lead in Australia but placed the Hurricanes only fourth in New Zealand.

The Brumbies looked the better team when they eliminated errors and stopped kicking to the Hurricanes' dangerous back three. They began to give themselves better field position and outplayed the Hurricanes at breakdowns.

The Brumbies seized an early lead with a try to Wellington-born backrower Fotu Auelua, whose family was among a small crowd who braved rain and hail to watch the match.

The Hurricanes hit back with Perenara's first try in the 15th minute then took the lead to halftime when Vito scored an oustanding set-piece try, running at pace onto a pass from center Tim Bateman.

Perenara's superb second try, when he stepped past Holmes, and a try from a forward surge to To'omaga-Allen gave the Hurricanes a 25-16 lead in the 51st minute.

That lead unraveled as Sam Carter combined with his locking partner Scott Fardy in an open field break to score the Brumbies' second try.

Hooper overcame a heavy head knock in the first half to score six minutes later after the Brumbies gained possession from a Hurricanes scrum.

Holmes sidestepped infield and beat three players including Samoa international flyhalf Tusi Pisi to score the final try 11 minutes from fulltime.

The Brumbies will return to Canberra with a comfortable lead in the Australian conference to face the Reds next weekend.

Final Score Hurricanes 25 (15) Brumbies 37 (13).

Scorers

Hurricanes
Tries - TJ. Perenara 2, V. Vito, J. Toomaga-Allen
Pen - A. Taylor
Con - A. Taylor
Drop -
Cards -

Brumbies
Tries - F. Auelua, S. Carter, M. Hooper, Z. Holmes
Pen - Z. Holmes 3
Con - Z. Holmes 4
Drop -
Cards -

Match Officials
Referee: Mark Lawrence
Assistant Ref 1: Glen Jackson
Assistant Ref 2: Richard Kelly
TMO: Vinny Munro

Teams

Hurricanes

1. Reggie Goodes, 2. Dane Coles, 3. Ben May, 4. Jeremy Thrush, 5. Jason Eaton, 6. Brad Shields, 7. Karl Lowe, 8. Victor Vito, 9. TJ Perenara, 10. Tusi Pisi, 11. Julian Savea, 12. Tim Bateman, 13. Conrad Smith (c), 14. Cory Jane, 15. Andre Taylor.

Replacements: 16. Motu Matu’u, 17. Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 18. James Broadhurst, 19. Jack Lam, 20. Chris Eaton, 21. Beauden Barrett, 22. Jayden Hayward.

Brumbies

1. Ben Alexander, 2. Stephen Moore, 3. Dan Palmer, 4. Scott Fardy, 5. Sam Carter, 6. Ben Mowen (c), 7. Michael Hooper, 8. Fotu Auelua, 9. Ian Prior, 10. Zack Holmes, 11. Joe Tomane, 12. Pat McCabe, 13. Andrew Smith, 14. Henry Speight, 15. Jesse Mogg.

Replacements: 16. Anthony Hegarty, 17. Ruaidhri Murphy, 18. Peter Kimlin, 19. Ita Vaea, 20. Nic White, 21. Robbie Coleman, 22. Tevita Kuridrani.