A whirlwind 40 minutes was followed by a slightly slower second period, but it came together to produce a humdinger of a match at Carisbrook on Saturday night.
The purist may complain that it lacked structure and there were too many errors, but hey who cares - it was entertaining, there was plenty of tries, plenty of near misses, and plenty of good skills.
The only problem was for the home fans with the Highlanders finished on the wrong end of the 33-31 scoreline.
They matched the Hurricanes in the try-scoring stakes, with five each, but the Hurricanes knocked over an extra conversion in a blustery wind which made goal kicking very tricky.
The Highlanders had their chances to win the game in the second half but a couple of spilt balls and some outstanding defending from the visiting team meant they could never get in front of the team from the capital.
The first half was just a blitzkrieg of attacking football.
It was more-than-point-a-minute stuff - 50 points in the first half, four tries each as both sides threw the ball around and forgot about using the boot.
There was four tries inside the first 13 minutes.
It was rocketing stuff in the first half.
But it did not last into the second half, as players tired, and more errors entered the game.
The Highlanders were also dealt the blow of losing first five-eighth Michael Hobbs early in the second half - hampered by a hand injury - and his absence began to be felt as the side lost shape the longer the game went on.
The sealing of the game for the Hurricanes came 10 minutes from the end when the side pressed for the line.
After blindside flanker Victor Vito was held up on the line, a scrum followed and the ball went to the barnstorming Ma'a Nonu.
He did what he is paid to do - run over the defenders in front of him, and score - giving his side a nine-point lead with little time left.
To the Highlanders' credit they did not give up and were rewarded when replacement prop Bronson Murray dived under the posts on the sound of the hooter.
The Highlanders looked a different side than the one which limped through a loss to the Force in Queenstown two weeks' ago.
The side ran with more purpose, was prepared to use the ball more, and found lots more space.
In fact the Highlanders probably had the more clear-cut chances in the second half, with right winger Ben Smith spilling a pass - which was not a great one - with the line open and then being run down by Hosea Gear after a nice Kendrick Lynn bust.
Smith though had a fine match, and it was good to see him get a bit of ball.
He scored a try in the first half after a good pass by captain Jimmy Cowan.
Highlanders openside flanker Alando Soakai scored the best try for his side after he followed up a fine run down the left hand side by winger Fetu'u Vainikolo in the 12th minuteSoakai had an outstanding match, and No 8 Steven Setephano was not far behind him.
Also impressive were hooker Jason Rutledge, prop Chris King and centre Lynn.
Best for the Hurricanes was first five-eighth Aaron Cruden and fullback Cory Jane.
