The red and blacks just cost the Highlanders any chance of making the final of the Super Rugby Aotearoa competition.
The Crusaders needed to win their last two games of the regular season for the Highlanders to make the top two on the table and make the final.
Unfortunately, the Crusaders stumbled at the first hurdle, going down to the Chiefs 26-25 in Hamilton on Saturday night.
It was the Chiefs’ fourth win in a row and puts the side up to second on the ladder.
The Highlanders are fourth with one game left to play and the Blues and Chiefs are both above them on the ladder.
These two sides will play each other in the last round of the competition in two weeks’ time, so one of the sides will finish above the Highlanders.
The Highlanders, who have the bye this week, could make it with a draw between the Chiefs and Blues, but with golden point that is very unlikely to happen.
The Chiefs are on a roll and could finish top if they beat
the Hurricanes this week and then beat the Blues. The Blues play the Crusaders this weekend.
The match in Hamilton on Saturday night was won by the Chiefs keeping in touch with the Crusaders and then putting them away with a Damian McKenzie penalty in the final minutes.
The Crusaders sit seven points clear on the table but the side’s perceived first-round invincibility appears to have fallen away.
