Chiefs 26 18 Hurricanes
Game over and a great result for the Chiefs. professional, clinical and smart are three words that come to mind. Dave Rennie for mine is the best coach in the country not named Steve Hansen. Hurricanes were a little too loose given the conditions. Check back here shortly for the match highlights.
81mins: PENALTY CHIEFS: McKenzie slots the 3-points and the game is over. Geat professional performance from the Chiefs and the Hurricanes lose for the first time since June last year.
80mins: No they can't. The Chiefs have a penalty after Stephen Donald earns a breakdown turnover. McKenzie will look to deny the Canes a bonus point.
79mins: TRY HURRICANES: Julian Savea crosses over untouched. Shades of last weekend maybe? 'The Bus' scores after Barrett throws a beautiful pass. 15v14 with no time on the clock. Can they do it??
78mins: Yellow card for Michael Leitch for a pretty awful high-tackle on Riccitelli. Dodged a bullet their the backrower. That was similar to the Luatua tackle from last weekend.
77mins: Chiefs playing the field-position game now. This is a clinical effort from the two-time champs. Rennie is an All Black coach in waiting..surely.
74mins: PENALTY CHIEFS: Mckenzie slots it from 35m out after another high-tackle by the Canes..Wastes about 2mins in the process and the ref gives him the hurry up. That may be enough for the home-side.
71mins: Chiefs have a 22-drop-out here - The Canes in need of some brilliance to get the win here. TKB off and Finlay Christie on at halfback..big call from Rennie but who am I to question Dave.
70mins: End-to-end stuff here, Hurricanes playing like it's 2pm on a hot Wellington afternoon. A mistake by Ben May and the Chiefs break out, then Jordie Barrett with a ridiculous chip-kick that Cruden recovers and the Chiefs head back down field. Awesome stuff
69mins: Jordie Barrett glides through Chiefs defenders but he fluffs his pass with two men open and a huge chance is blown, But the Canes are starting to put the hammer down. Momentium swing maybe.
66mins: The good news for the Hurricanes is that was really their first try-scoring oppurtunity so they will take comfort in that. Chiefs back on attack. But just like that and the Canes captalise on a mistake and now the Chiefs are under pressure again.
65mins: TRY HURRICANES: TJ Pernara showing immense strength. I picked it like a dirty nose. Lineout drive from the visitors and TJP crosses over after initially being stopped, he spins and a second effort gets him there. Barrett misses the extras.
63mins: Good period of attack from the Hurricanes has earned them an attacking penalty. Barrett kicks for touch and you would think they will look for a line-out drive here.
61mins: Great Chiefs defence and the Hurricanes have been neutralised by a combination of the weather and brutal 'D' from the home-side. Retallick has been dominant so far.
57mins: Another poor mistake from the Canes. Laumape with a knock-on trying tp clean up a loose pass. Scrum on halfway from the Chiefs.
54mins: Milner-Skudder down hurt. Doesn't look great. Seems to be an ankle. In a lot of pain. His ankle got twisted in a tackle and he is being helped from the field. Lets hope he is okay. Attacking line-out for the Canes. 5m out. Otere Black on for Milner-Skudder.
51mins: PENALTY CHIEFS: Hurricanes very frustrated. Making mistakes at-will and giving away silly penalties. McKenzie slots an easy three-points and this is becoming a hard-task for the visitors to keep their winning streak alive. Jordie Barrett on for the Canes.
48mins: Solid defensive effort from the Hurricanes leads to a Chiefs mistake 5m out. McKenzie is coming into the game a bit from the back, about six touches in that 3min passage of play.
45mins: Scrappy start to the half. Both sides guilty although it's not exactly prime cinditions for 100% ball-handling interplay. Chiefs scrum 25m out from the Canes line.
43mins: Nice forward play from the Chiefs and they are hot on attack. Have to say Cruden is outplaying Barrett at this stage. Mistake from James Lowe and the Hurricanes survive. Defended well by the 2016 champs.
41mins: Early field position for the Hurricanes is wasted after the Chiefs hold up Laumape. Wasted oppurtunity but nice 'D' by the home-side,
Second-Half: Welcome back everyone. Dave Rennie said he was stoked with the ball-control of his side and wants to play field position in the second 40m. I could have told Matt Copper that.
Half-time : Chiefs lead 17-6 thanks to a last-gasp try set-up by a lovely little kick behind the line by Kerr-Barlow. Lots of niggle and the Canes had two players in the bin at one stage. The visitors will need to hold the ball much better in the second 40. Back soon.
40mins: TRY CHIEFS: Sorry Canes fans. I jinxed it. Toni Pulu over for the Chiefs.TKB with a lovely grubber kick. Pulu has too much pace and dots down right on the sound of the hooter. McKenzie lands a beautiful conversion. Chiefs up by 11 at the break.
39mins: Chiefs with a majority of possesion and territory - But only a four-point lead. Chris Boyd would be the happier if his side can get to oranges four-points adrift.
37mins: Some real niggle creeping into this now. Referee Pickerill warns both captains to start 'playing rugby'. Very intense so far. Ben May on for an injured To'omaga-Allen
35mins: Hurricanes earn a scrum pemalty with only 7 v 8. TJ Perenara lets the opposition know what he thinks about it. Love me some good halfback chat!
33mins: Conditions are getting worse. The rain is belting down now. Attacking scrum to the home side after the Canes infringe on their own ruck ball. Ardie Savea back on.
31mins: PENALTY CHIEFS: Dane Coles warned that they are riding a fine-line with head high tackles. Another one leads too 3 points for the Chiefs.
30mins: Chiefs fluff an attacking line-out and the Hurricames clear their lines. savea due back on at the next stoppage in play.
28mins: Michael Fatialofa will join his mate Ardie in the bin. Yellow Card for a no-arms tackle. Could have been a Red on review. Lucky boy.
25mins: PENALTY HURRICANES: Barrett slots it with ease. Canes stay in touch.
24mins: Barrett will get a chance to close the gap to 1 point. Another ruck infringemnet from the Chiefs 40m out. Right in front.
22mins: TRY CHIEFS: Broadie Retallick crashes over. Lovely pass from Michael Leitch close to the line. Bit of 'hows your father' in the aftermath. Mckenzie slots the extra 2...plenty of feeling and a bit of niggle so far in this one. Big stakes in these local showdowns.
21mins: Hurricanes doing a great job slowing the game down. Front-row complaining about the wet-conditions.
18mins: Attacking scrum 5m out for the Chiefs. Penalty try may be coming shortly. Yellow Card for Ardie Savea for collapsing a maul.
16mins: Chiefs turn down an easy 3 points. High tackle from Vince Aso. Attacking line-out for the home-side 5m out.
12mins: PENALTY HURRICANES : Ruck infringement from the Chiefs. Barrett hits right down the middle. Brilliance from Milner-Skudder sees the visitors break clear. he took a high-ball in his own 22 and broke out into the Chiefs half.
10mins: Hurricanes scrum demolishes the Chiefs', Canes clear. Pretty standard type wet-weather game so far. lots of kicking.
8mins: Mistake from Beauden Barrett and the Chiefs will get an attacking scrum about 30m out from the Canes goal-line. The AB's pivot with a clearing kick that caught the wind and went dead in goal.
5mins: Tim Nanai-Williams is off with a shoulder injury - 'Mr White Bait' Stephen Donald on in the midfield for the home-side. Big attacking weapon gone already for the Chiefs.
3mins: Hurricanes with all the ball early until To'omaga-Allen throws a mis-placed pass and the Chiefs are on the rampage up the park. Cruden looks to have scored under the posts but the ref call it back for obstruction from Dominic Bird.
Kick-Off - Cruden gets us underway - will be interesting to see if these two-attacking sides rein it in a little in these conditions.
7.33pm: Players making their way out onto a very wet park - this is on the level of Athletic Park in 96 - AB's slapping the Wallabies 43-6
Evening all - Thanks for joining me, have to say by the looks of what i'm seeing at FMG Stadium you made the right call staying home and enjoying the game with Newshub, with the violent rain that is falling in the Tron tonight. She be a wet one folks.
Hello and welcome to live updates of the Chiefs hosting the Hurricanes at FMG Stadium in Hamilton.
We bring you live streaming written commentary, video highlights (be sure to refresh your browser) and all the action. VIDEO will be available as soon as the final whistle goes.
Commentary will start from around 7:30pm (NZT). In the meantime check out the video above for the latest Crooked Feed where Ross Karl gets drenched by the Monsoon like conditions in Hamiltin this evening.
Lineups
Chiefs
1. Kane Hames, 2. Hika Elliot, 3. Nepo Laulala, 4. Dominic Bird, 5. Brodie Retallick, 6. Mitchell Brown,7. Sam Cane (co-Capt.) , 8. Michael Leitch, 9. Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 10. Aaron Cruden (co-Capt.) , 11. James Lowe, 12. Anton Lienert-Brown, 13. Tim Nanai-Williams, 14. Toni Pulu, 15. Damian McKenzie
Reserves - 16. Sebastian Siataga, 17. Siegfried Fisi'ihoi, 18. Atu Moli, 19. aleni Seu, 20. Lachlan Boshier, 21. Jonathan Taumateine, 22. Stephen Donald,23. Shaun Stevenson
Hurricanes
1. Loni Uhila, 2. Dane Coles (c), 3. Jeffery To'omaga-Allen, 4. Mark Abbott, 5. Michael Fatialofa, 6. Brad Shields,7. Ardie Savea, 8. Reed Prinsep,9. TJ Perenara (vc), 10. Beauden Barrett, 11 Julian Savea, 12. Ngani Laumape, 13. Matt Proctor,14. Vince Aso, 15.Nehe Milner-Skudder
Reserves - 16. Ricky Riccitelli, 17. Chris Eves, 18. Ben May, 19. James Blackwell, 20. Callum Gibbins, 21. Chris Smylie, 22Otere Black,23. Jordie Barrett
Match facts and stats
Referee: Brendon Pickerill
Assistants: Glen Jackson, James Doleman
TMO: Glen Newman
Hurricanes have won three of the last four meetings between the sides, including a 25-9 victory in last year’s semi-final.
The Hurricanes have won just two of their last 10 away to the Chiefs (D1, L7), although they won on their most recent trip to face Dave Rennie’s side in June 2015.
The Chiefs have won their opening two games and are aiming to start their season with three consecutive victories for the third time in the last four years, a feat they had managed just once previously (2010).
The Hurricanes have scored 24 tries in their last two games, more than they had scored in their six games prior (23).
Past meetings
Head to head: Played 28, Chiefs 12, Hurricanes 15, draws 1
In Hamilton: Played 13, Chiefs 7, Hurricanes 5, draws 1
Last time played: Hurricanes 25 def Chiefs 9, July 30 2016
Head-to-head: Chiefs - $1.85 Hurricanes - $1.9*5
Pre-match banter - Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd bracing for Chiefs onslaught
More match-hardened or burned out?
Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd isn't sure how the Chiefs will front up for the table-topping Super Rugby match in Hamilton on Friday.
But he knows the home team can feel good about one thing.
"The Chiefs will be happier with their 10 points, having played the Highlanders and the Blues, than our 10 points."
The competition leaders have both gained maximum points over the first fortnight but done it vastly different ways.
While the Chiefs have been all muscle and grit in seeing off the Highlanders (24-15) and Blues (41-26), the Hurricanes are yet to play one of the blood- curdling Kiwi derbies.
The defending champions have strolled past the Sunwolves (83-17) and Rebels (71-6) in virtual training runs under sunny skies.
Boyd knows a drenched Hamilton and a Chiefs team still smarting from their semi- final exit in Wellington last July provides a potent mix.
"But you take your positives from your past performances and you move on," he said.
"I actually don't know which is the best preparation."
Lock Mark Abbott is one of two new faces in the Hurricanes tight five, along with prop Loni Uhila.
Neither have started this year and know a test of mettle awaits against a tight five featuring four tough All Blacks.
"Obviously the last two games haven't been massively physical and forward- dominated," Abbott said.
"There's been plenty of edge in the forward pack at training. We get enough out of that."
