Read: Loss our best performance

The Crusaders felt they produced their best performance of the season, despite going down 23-29 to a rampant Hurricanes team.

The Hurricanes survived on meager possession and with a misfiring line-out to down the Crusaders in a high octane Super Rugby clash in Wellington on Saturday.

It was a four-try, bonus-point win for the championship pacesetters - who strengthened their position at the head of the table.

The Crusaders, who suffered their sixth loss in 11 games, are stuck in ninth place - with their play-off prospects diminishing with every week.

Despite the loss and their lowly position Crusaders captain Kieran Read had few complaints.

"We'll look at this game and say it's our best actual performance on the field [this year]," Read said.

"It's disappointing on the scoreboard, but we've got to look at it as a whole."

At half-time it was 17-all with two tries apiece.

However, in the second half the Crusaders had to rely on penalties for further points, while the Hurricanes scored two more tries in a six-minute burst to seal the outcome.

"We were pretty average in the first half, but the way we played in that second half - particularly the periods where we held on to the ball, we made the most of it," captain Conrad Smith said.

The Hurricanes are looking at a play-off spot for the first time since 2009.

In contrast the seven-times champion Crusaders could miss out on the play-offs for be the first time since 2001.