The Hurricanes have become the latest Kiwi team to fall to the Drua in Fiji thanks to a chaotic finish in Suva.
The Fijian Drua launched into celebration with their fans on the final whistle of their 27-24 win over the Hurricanes with another last-minute penalty claiming a Kiwi scalp on home soil.
That penalty spawned from the sending off of Isaia Walker-Leawere in the 77th minute; the Hurricanes lock penalised for cynical play as he stopped a rampant Drua attack near his team's line.
It would have only been yellow had Walker-Leawere not been yellow-carded in the first half for repeated infringements at the lineout, underlining a difficult afternoon with the whistle for the Hurricanes as they also looked to combat the Suva heat and crowd.
They did well in the first half, wrestling the Drua in a back-and-forth affair that somehow didn't see its first points until the 18th minute when Taniela Rakuro made the most of scattered Hurricanes line to push over.
The Hurricanes had a chance to reply soon after with a penalty kick to the corner but a not-straight throw let the Drua off and showed the early signs of frustration the Hurricanes would have with their lineouts.
Sure enough, the Hurricanes did manage a response eventually though with Julian Savea strolling in to score off a nice run from Josh Moorby.
However that momentum was quickly stunted with Walker-Leawere's first yellow card minutes later leaving the Hurricanes seven minutes to defend against a Drua outfit fizzing at the latest advantage they'd gained for this contest.
But defend the Hurricanes did including a sensation stop from Cam Roigard to deny the Drua what could've been the try of the season; the Hurricanes halfback clawing down Frank Lomani metres from his line and forcing a knock on to leave the score 7-5 in favour of the Drua at the half.
Devan Flanders made the Drua pay for a relaxed start to the second half with an impressive 50-22 to begin things and his team made it count with Savea going in for a second moments later off yet another decent Moorby feed.
The Drua took just minutes to respond though with Lomani finally getting his five-pointer to give his side the lead back although it was short lived with another Canes counter-punch via Xavier Numia.
The Hurricanes then extended the lead to 24-12 in the 58th minute with a try from Du'Plessis Kirifi, powering over to score with the weight he has packed on to impress All Blacks selectors this season.
The Drua fired back again though, scoring two minutes later through an impressive team try off a box kick to leave the match on a knife's edge at 21-24 heading into the final 20 minutes.
Kemu Valetini then added to the drama with a penalty in the 76th minute to tie things up before playing hero again in the 79th minute with his go-ahead goal, much like he did to stun the Crusaders mere weeks ago.
The Hurricanes will be left wondering how they let the game slip away from them but they had a quiet day from many besides Savea's brace and a decent return from injury for Justin Sangster.
But faced with the power and speed that was the Drua, the Hurricanes seemed to be missing some of their own and it could hurt them on the table with the Brumbies, Blues and Crusaders able to push them out of the top four with big wins this weekend.
The Drua on the other hand fly into the top eight with the win thanks in part to the Highlanders' heavy loss to the Chiefs last night and while it's only seventh, it's another step in the right direction for this team and rugby in the Pacific.
Fijian Drua 27 [Taniela Rakuro 2, Meli Derenalagi tries; Frank Lomani 2 cons, Kemu Valetini 2 pens]
Hurricanes 24 [Julian Savea 2, Xavier Numia, Du'Plessis Kirifi tries; Jordie Barrett 2 cons]
HT: 7-5
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