The Hurricanes turned up for a farewell party but it was the Waratahs who enjoyed themselves in Wellington with their best victory of the Super 14 rugby season.

NSW won 38-14 to climb two spots on the ladder to 11th.

However, they will finish in their lowest ever position and with their smallest tally of Super wins in a season.

With both teams out of the playoffs, they put on a nothing-to-lose type of game that was full of running and counter-attack attempts and a matching number of handling errors.

The helter-skelter game turned shambolic at times as South African referee JC Fortuin applied the advantage rule constantly and for long periods. But numerous break downs featured as both teams showed a reckless disregard for the basics and preferred a festival-type season ender.

The Hurricanes, farewelling their greatest player Tana Umaga, Paul Tito, Lome Fa'atau, Luke Andrews and Mahonri Schwalger from the Super 14, were hoping to put on a fitting game.

However, the second worst team in the competition before the final round-robin, the Waratahs, upended them, scoring four tries for just their third win of the season.

Lock Dean Mumm, wingers Lachlan Turner and Lote Tuqiri and centre Ben Jacobs scored the Waratahs tries and five-eighth Peter Hewat kicked 18 points.

Five-eighth Jimmy Gopperth and flanker Jerry Collins scored a try each for the Hurricanes and halfback Piri Weepu converted both.

Former All Blacks skipper Umaga played in the first-ever Super 12 match, between the Hurricanes and Auckland Blues 12 years ago, and has ended a 122-match career.

"I was there at the start. We started with a loss and I'm going out on a loss so I guess not much has changed," Umaga said.

The Waratahs took advantage of the emotion surrounding his retirement to outthink and outplay the Hurricanes.

"We knew it was a big emotional day and sometimes that can work against you," Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie said.

"We wanted to play a disciplined game. We thought they might want to play more of a festival sort of game and that's what happened."

McKenzie insisted the performance of the Waratahs, who were among the favourites to win this year's Super 14, was not as bad as it appeared.

"There were six games we lost by less than seven points," he said. "Even though it looks bad from a wins and losses point of view there were some good things and I'm especially happy with the form of some of young guys."

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