Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph said his side's spirit gave it victory last night, with the scars of last year driving the team to victory.
The Highlanders put in one of the best defensive efforts in their history to pip the Hurricanes.
Joseph was full of praise for his team's effort and its ability to stay motivated for the whole game.
''In the last 10 minutes it came down to attitude. But you can't just have attitude when you're playing against nine All Blacks,'' he said.
''I'm just really proud of the leaders. There was a try on for them [Hurricanes] right in the corner there that they looked as though they were going to score and who got across but the two [Highlanders co-]captains.
''When you see things like that happen then the other guys are going to follow.''
Joseph said his side seemed to play the whole second half in its own territory.
He praised first five-eighth Hayden Parker, who did not miss a kick all night and slotted a dropped goal with 15 minutes left which in the end won the game.
''I'm very proud of Hayden. It was a very big match for him. He has not played a hell of a lot of rugby at this level and last week was a very good introduction for him.
''But he came through it. He showed the calm, the cool and the composure many times tonight. He did not look like a guy who had played only five or six games at this level.''
Joseph said the Highlanders' winning a scrum penalty 5m from their own line midway through the second half was a massive play in the game.
He was not thinking about the playoffs yet but said the scars of last year had produced this year's driven team.
''I'm proud of the team. Everyone learned a lot of lessons from last year. There was a lot of motivated young men. And the guys who have come in this year were really motivated to do well ... they may be no-ones to many people but they have all played a lot of rugby.''
Next Saturday night's match against the Crusaders was shaping up to be a big game and the players would be looking forward to it.
''These are the games the players want to be part of. At home, at Forsyth Barr, against the Crusaders. These are the games the players want to be involved in. Thankfully, we have got an eight-day turnaround.''
Co-captain Nasi Manu said he knew the Hurricanes would try to ''muscle up'' in the forwards.
''I'm really proud of the boys' effort. It felt like we were defending most of that game ... at the start of the week we just said we had to front up and show some attitude,'' Manu said.
''It felt like we were always intact. When Hayden Parker got the dropkick over, we managed to hold on against them. He is a good director and really knows how to plug the corners.''
Parker said it was a tight match and the defensive effort from his side won the game.
''The coaches just told me to stick to my role. If I can do that and everyone does theirs, then we will go all right.''
The dropped goal with 15 minutes left came from the ball spilling out of a ruck and from 20m out he slotted it between the posts.
''It squirted out and I thought why shouldn't I take it?''
