Wellington 35
Canterbury 30
Wellington have broken their four-match losing streak, with an extra-time special needed to sink Canterbury 35-30 in Wellington on Friday night.
It will be a major relief to the Lions, who got off to the dream start before seeing a 17-point lead disappear almost as quickly as they as they established it.
Wellington midfielder Peter Umaga-Jensen opened the scoring on the back of a Canterbury error just two minutes into the contest, setting the tone for the opening 15 minutes.
Following Umaga-Jensen's try and a Ruben Love penalty, captain Du'Plessis Kirifi crashed over from close range to further lay the platform for what looked like it might be a convincing win.