The Hurricanes stretched their winning streak to four matches over the Brumbies when they beat the Canberra based team by 23 points to 13 in Canberra.
The Hurricanes also became the first team to beat the Brumbies four times in Canberra with the result.
The loss is the Brumbies first home loss of the 2010 Super14 and going into this match referee Jonathan Kaplan had not shown a yellow card this season - he went on to hand out three in the match.
The Brumbies led 5-3 at the break but could not pull away from the Hurricanes even though the visitors spent 20 minutes of the match with 14 men on the field.
Six minutes into the second half the Hurricanes took the lead with a penalty by Aaron Cruden but the writing was really on the wall for the Brumbies in the 71st minute when Victor Vito (pictured) scored a breakaway try.
The Hurricanes kept their slim playoff hopes flickering with this scrappy victory over the misfiring two-time champions despite having two players sent to the sin bin inside the opening half-hour.
The Hurricanes drew with the Crusaders earlier in the season and lost close home games against the Bulls and Sharks in the last month, were rewarded for their spirited resistance to upset the fancied Brumbies.
Hurricanes lost flanker Nick Crosswell and scrum-half Tyson Keats for 10 minutes each for repeated infringements but they only trailed the Brumbies 5-3 at halftime.
The New Zealanders dug deep in the second half to score tries through All Blacks centre Conrad Smith and flanker Victor Vito to clinch a courageous victory.
The Hurricanes won despite spending just 17 seconds inside the Brumbies' quarter for the whole match, while the home side frittered away their chances, giving up the ball 11 times through handling errors.
It was the Hurricanes fourth straight win over the Brumbies and they have now won four times from nine attempts in Canberra.
"We were lucky to be still in the game by halftime and we decided to have some fun and play with nothing to lose in the second half," Hurricanes skipper Andrew Hore said.
"It all came down to pride in the team and we've still a chance of making the semi-finals after this win."
Smith's try in the 51st minute followed some brilliant passing between Ma'a Nonu and Cory Jane, while Vito stunned the Brumbies when he swooped on a loose ball and dashed under the bar to seal the result with eight minutes left.
Flyhalf Aaron Cruden kicked two conversions and three penalty goals.
It was a frustrating night for the star-studded Brumbies with Wallaby flyhalf Matt Giteau particularly disappointing with three of his kicks going out on the full.
Scrum-half Patrick Phibbs put the Brumbies ahead with a 34th-minute try off a pushover scrum, while Giteau scored out wide after 12 phases.
But Giteau had a poor night with his goalkicking, landing just one penalty from four attempts, including missing both try conversions.
The Brumbies missed a chance to capitalise on the inactive fourth-placed Waratahs this weekend and remained in sixth place, while the Hurricanes improved to seventh from ninth.
The Brumbies take on the Waratahs in Sydney next weekend, while the Hurricanes must beat the Highlanders in Dunedin to stay alive for the playoffs.
Final Score Brumbies 13 Hurricanes 23
Scorers
Brumbies
Tries - P. Phibbs, M Giteau
Pen - M Giteau
Con -
Drop -
Cards - Huia Edmonds (63) Yellow
Hurricanes
Tries - C Smith, V Vito
Pen - A Cruden 3
Con - A Cruden 2
Drop -
Cards - Nick Crosswell (9) yellow, Tyson Keats (29) yellow.
Match Officials
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Craig Joubert (South Africa), Andrew Lees (Australia)
Television match official: Matthew Goddard (Australia)
Teams
Brumbies : 15 Julian Huxley, 14 Pat McCabe, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Tyrone Smith, 11 Alfie Mafi, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Patrick Phibbs, 8 Stephen Hoiles (c), 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Ben Hand, 3 Salesi Ma’afu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Ben Alexander
Reserves: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 Guy Shepherdson, 18 Justin Harrison, 19 Colby Faingaa, 20 James Stannard, 21 Brackin Kaurauria-Henry, 22 Andrew Smith.
Hurricanes : 15 Cory Jane, 14 Tamati Ellison, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Tyson Keats; 8 Rodney So’oialo, 7 Nick Crosswell, 6 Victor Vito, 5 Michael Paterson, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Andrew Hore (c), 1 John Schwalger.
Reserves: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Jacob Ellison, 18 Bryn Evans, 19 James Broadhurst, 20 Chris Eaton, 21 Willie Ripia, 22 Jason Kawau.
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