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Crusaders 43 - 17 Highlanders
Full-time! That's it, stay tuned for the match report.
79 min: Ben Funnel goes to the bin - but it's in vain. The Crusaders have been awesome - Landers , woeful.
76 min: TRY - Crusaders, pretty simple for the Mako - Will Jordan gasses through the gap and goes over untouched. Kick is good. Crusaders 43 - 17 Highlanders.
74 min: TRY - Highlanders, what vision from Folau Fakatava who puts through a grubber kick for Josh Ioane who scores the try. Kick is good. Crusaders 36 - 17 Highlanders.
73 min: The Highlanders have set up shop in the Crusaders 22 but can't seem to get any points.
69 min: TRY - Crusaders, Sevu Reece makes a break down the left wing and is away, but Ben Smith comes from nowhere to make a superb tackle but Reece gets the ball to Drummond who scores. Kick is good. Crusaders 36 - 10.
68 min: More mistakes from the Highlanders and the Crusaders find their way down field.
65 min: Knock on from both sides but the Highlanders win the scrum.
63 min: The Highlanders somehow don't score there.. typical of their night.
60 min: Penalty to the Highlanders on the Saders line - offside the call.
57 min: TRY - Crusaders, composure from the Crusaders and they are relentless. Richie Mo'unga with a cross field kick to Ennor who pops it to Reece for the try. Kick is wide. Crusaders 29 - 10.
56 min: Sevu Reece with his second strip of the night, Crusaders clear the ball.
53 min: Knock on from the Crusaders and the Highlanders get a breather.
52 min: TRY - Crusaders, dominant scrum from the Saders and the ref has no choice, penalty try given. Crusaders 24 - 10 Highlanders.
50 min: The Highlanders are all over the place, and the Saders are running riot.
47 min: The Crusaders win a penalty 10m out nad they will kick for three, kick is good. Crusaders 17 - 10 Highlanders.
45 min: Try saver from Ben Smith - Mo'unga makes another break and Smith does so well to gather the ball.
42 min: TRY - Crusaders. From the kick off the Crusaders are straight onto the attack and the fullback David Havili scores. Kick is good. Crusaders 14 - 10 Highlanders.
Half-time.
43 min: Great end to the half - hectic stuff and that's half time.
40 min: The lineout wasn't straight - Crusaders ball.
39 min: Teihorangi Walden makes a fantastic break but didn't have support with him. Ball goes out, Saders lineout.
37 min: Ball goes out, off the Highlanders but they had the knock on advantage.
34 min: Highlanders win a penalty 10m out from their line and there is a lot of cheehoos as the ref calls the penalty.
33 min: Saders win another penalty and kick for touch.
32 min: Knock on from Ioane and the Crusaders have a scrum in the Highlanders side of halfway.
30 min: Intercept from Faddes but he has no pace, well not enough to beat Mo'unga - he loses the ball and the Crusaders clear.
26 min: TRY - Crusaders, lovely work from David Havili who beats one and then throws a pass which sets up Brayden Ennor to score. Kick is good. Crusaders 7 - 10 Highlanders.
22 min: Richie Mo'unga lands a great kick deep in the Highlanders half, Ioane manages to clear - but ref calls a penalty against the Crusaders, offside the call. Ref calls time off - he needs a new whistle, but we get back underway.
21 min: Great attack from the Highlanders and Ben Smith but some great cover tackles force a turnover for the Crusaders.
20 min: Crusaders win another penalty - it's pretty sloppy from both sides so far.
18 min: The Crusaders win the ball back and Goodhue kicks a fantastic clearence kick.
15 min: High tackle against Ryan Crotty and the Highlanders win another penalty.
14 min: The Crusaders try a lineout drive but the ball is knocked on - Highlanders scrum.
13 min: Penalty this time goes against the Highlanders and the Crusaders kick for the corner.
10 min: Another penalty - this time, Goodhue is offside - Shot is the call from Ben Smith. The kick is good. Crusaders 0 - 10 Highlanders.
9 min: Penalty against Joe Moody and the Highlanders will clear the ball out of their own 22.
8 min: Scrappy at the breakdown from the Crusaders, a couple of bad passes their too - Highlanders scrum after a knock on.
7 min: Mo'unga makes a mini break but he can't link up with anyone - Crusaders recycle.
6 min: Strong run from Dixon off the back of the scrum but Ioane clears the ball and the Saders will now have the ball.
3 min: TRY - Highlanders, it's fairytale stuff here for the Southerners - Ben Smith hits a gap after a good run from Ioane and the fullback playing his 150th scores the first try. Kick is good. Crusaders 0 - 7 Highlanders.
2 min: The Highlanders win an early penalty and they will kick for touch.
1 min: Kick off here in Christchurch - game on.
Ben Smith leeds the Landers out - playing his 150th game.
The Highlanders are paying $5.50 to win tonight - maybe a stretch but here is something to think about. They havn't played a game this season in which the result has been over seven points.
They have won two games by three and four points - and have lost by five, three,seven and three points. Just something to think about pre-game.
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Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Super Rugby clash between the Crusaders and Highlanders from Christchurch.
Pre-match banter: Owen Franks, George Bridge out for Crusaders against Highlanders
The Crusaders will be without prop Owen Franks for their southern derby blockbuster against the Highlanders on Friday.
The All Blacks veteran has been sidelined with a shoulder issue. He'll undergo further scans this week to determine the severity of the injury.
Wing George Bridge is another who's been added to the casualty list, out with an undisclosed injury. He'll be replaced by Sevu Reece.
Coach Scott Robertson said they'd be in rush to bring Franks back into the fold, particularly with their bye week on the horizon.
"We've realised that we can take the time with our players," said Robertson. "Because we have the depth in the squad, and that's something we're really fortunate to have.
"It's really important that we have as many bodies available by the end of the competition by trusting those players now."
Meanwhile, hooker Codie Taylor will spend another week recovering from the calf strain that saw him miss last week's win over the Brumbies.
Andrew Makalio will start at in Taylor's number two jersey, and Ben Funnell has been named on the bench.
In other forward pack changes, Sam Whitelock and Whetukamokamo Douglas return to the starting side. Whitelock will resume the captaincy.
Halfbacks Bryn Hall and Mitchell Drummond will swap roles yet again, Hall claiming the starting spot this week.
Jack Goodhue and Braydon Ennor both return to the starting side at centre and on the right wing respectively.
The struggling Highlanders will also be minus another All Black, with Luke Whitelock's injury absence further depleting the team's already dwindling stocks.
TAB Odds: Crusaders: $1.14 Highlanders $5.50
Crusaders: 1-Joe Moody, 2-Andrew Makalio, 3-Micahel Alaalatoa, 4-Scott Barrett, 5-Sam Whitelock (c), 6-Whetukamokamo Douglas, 7-Matt Todd, 8-Kieran Read, 9-Bryn Hall, 10-Richie Mo'unga, 11-Sevu Reece, 12-Ryan Crotty, 13-Jack Goodhue, 14-Brayden Ennor, 15-David Havili
Reserves: 16-Ben Funnell, 17-Harry Allan, 18-Oliver Jager, 19-Quinten Strange, 20-Jordan Taufua, 21-Mitchell Drummond, 22-Mitchell Hunt, 23-Will Jordan
Highlanders: 1-Daniel Lienert-Brown, 2-Liam Coltman, 3-Tyrel Lomax, 4-Pari Pari Parkinson, 5-Tom Franklin, 6-Shannon Frizell, 7-James Lentjes, 8-Elliot Dixon, 9-Kayne Hammington, 10-Josh Ioane, 11-Tevita Li, 12-Teihorangi Walden, 13-Rob Thompson, 14-Matt Faddes, 15-Ben Smith (c)
Reserves: 16-Ash Dixon, 17-Ayden Johnstone, 18-Siate Tokolahi, 19-Josh Dickson, 20-Jackson Hemopo, 21-Folau Fakatava, 22-Bryn Gatland, 23-Patelesio Tomkinson
Newshub.
