Yu Tamura kicked a penalty goal in the 74th minute on Saturday as the Sunwolves edged South Africa's Bulls 21-20 for their first win of the Super Rugby season.
Travis Ismaiel ran in a try in the 64th that was converted by Tiaan Schoeman to give the visitors a 20-11 lead.
But the hosts responded six minutes later on a try by Takaaki Nakazuru that was converted by Tamura to cut the lead to 20-18.
The Sunwolves, who improved to 1-5, took an 11-10 lead at halftime.
Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco's try in the seventh minute gave the Sunwolves an early 5-0 lead and a penalty by Hayden Cripps four minutes later made it 8-0.
Burger Odendaalin ran in a try the 13th that was converted by Schoeman to cut the lead to 8-7. Cripps added another penalty in the first half.
The Bulls (1-5) beat the Sunwolves 34-21 in Pretoria on March 18.