Sunwolves coach Tony Brown said his team proved they belonged in Super Rugby despite wasting a big lead and going down 29-23 to the Hurricanes on Friday night at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground.

After taking a 23-10 lead into halftime, Brown's side, who will be cut from the competition after 2020, imploded against the 2016 champions.

Japan's Sunwolves committed a series of errors, three of which resulted in tries that enabled the visitors from Wellington to seal the win.

"We were good enough to win it," rued Brown. "In the second half we didn't deal with the pressure well, put ourselves under pressure and didn't execute when we had the opportunity to win the game at the end."

"But the positive is we're good enough to beat the Hurricanes and any team in the competition. We just need to get better at finishing crucial moments."

The hosts used their line speed to force a plethora of first-half errors from the visitors. They took a commanding lead thanks to a pair of tries from the outstanding Semisi Masirewa -- bringing his tally to seven in the past three games -- along with three penalties and two conversions from Hayden Parker.

A 40th-minute penalty from Fletcher Smith on the back of a try by TJ Perenara, converted by Smith, ensured there were just two converted tries between the two teams as the teams headed to the sheds at halftime. But it was a rattled Hurricanes dressing room.

"They capitalized on a lot of our errors," said head coach John Plumtree.

The feeling from the Sunwolves camp was that the first 20 minutes of the second half would be crucial, and if they could hold their own, then the game -- and a third win over a third former champion -- was theirs for the taking.

However, some long-standing issues came back to haunt the home side and the Hurricanes took full advantage.

Having been competitive in the set piece and making the most of their one-on-one tackles in the first half, the Sunwolves suddenly allowed Hurricanes runners to get over the gain line. The scrum started to wilt and the line-out failed to function properly.

Ben Lam, Chase Tiatia and Wes Goosen all touched down on the back of Sunwolves' mistakes to ensure the Sunwolves needed a converted try to win it.

To their credit they got close, getting to within meters of the Hurricanes' line. But unforced errors at the set piece once again raised their ugly head, allowing the visitors to escape with the win.

"We're happy to win, but give credit to the Sunwolves for putting us under pressure," said Perenara, adding that his team did not "change their strategy (in the second half), we just executed our strategy better."

His Sunwolves counterpart Dan Pryor, who limped off at halftime, said his team was still missing the consistency, be it from half to half or week to week, needed to win in one of rugby's toughest competitions.

"It's was all about losing the little moments," he said. "We need to switch on for 10 seconds and nail our one job (at those times.) We are giving too many easy outs and to sides like the Canes that allows them to get a momentum swing."

Rahboni Warren Vosayaco proved his move from No. 8 to center could be an inspirational decision on the part of Brown and Japan coach Jamie Joseph ahead of the World Cup later this year, as he created Masirewa's first try and helped coordinate a good defensive effort in the first half.

Parker once again looked assured at flyhalf with Ryohei Yamanaka putting his hand up for selection for the Rugby World Cup squad with another good performance at fullback.

But their good work went to waste thanks to those final 40 minutes.

When asked how the Sunwolves could remedy those problems, Brown said, "Another five years in Super Rugby would be good."

"Pressure is a funny thing. The Hurricanes won Super Rugby a few years ago and always make the playoffs. They understand what winning key moments are all about. The only way for us to do it is to be put in that position week-in, week-out, year-in, year-out," he said.

"Good teams in the competition are desperate to win. Great teams are desperate not to lose."