FINAL SCORE: Blues 23 Chiefs 8 [Please refresh browser for latest score]
80+2mins - TRY BLUES - Gerard Cowley-Tuioti: Bonus point try gives the Blues a real chance at playoff rugby with some tough games to come. Great drive from the lineout and the replacement lock crashes over. Best 40mins of the season in the second spell for the Blues. They played very well at times but the Chiefs were in it till the end. Blues 23-8.
80+1mins - The Blues have it in the bag....Lineout for the Blues 5m out.
79mins - Penalty for the Blues on halfway.
78mins - Blues rolling down field but the ball comes free and it's in touch for a Chiefs lineout on halfway. Blues win the lineout and will look to close out the game.
76mins - Great scrum Blues. They power through the Chiefs and they have earned themselves a penalty.
75mins - Scrum for the Blues. Sam Cane knocks the ball on trying to score. Looked like a double-movement but the referee is happy to just award the scrum for the Blues. That should be a penalty but we play on.
71mins - Pita Gus Sowakula goes close but has lost the ball forward over the line. But the Chiefs have a penalty. They will scrum here 5m out.
70mins - Hands in the ruck - Cheifs have a penalty and now a lineout 5m.
66mins - Chiefs with possession through 8 phases but Nankivell coughs the ball up and the Blues escape. Scrum 30m.
64mins - Plummer opens up the Chiefs with a great run, he pops a pass to Faiane who is away but Stevenson makes a superb tackle and the ball pops forward. Chiefs clear.
63mins - Blues have a scrum on halfway.
60mins - TRY BLUES - Ofa Tu'ungafasi: Great lineout drive from the Blues....referee playing advantage as Ruru snipes down the blindside..he finds Clarke who is almost to the line...Tu'ungafasi crashes over and we have a try. Oh man - he lost that forward but the referee is happy and it's a try. Huge moment. Blues 18-8.
57mins - Blues have a penalty....but probably too far out for a shot at goal. Plummer finds touch on the Chiefs 22.
55mins - Handling errors costing the Blues. Hodgman this time 30m out. Ninth of the game for the homeside.
54mins - Great set play from the Cheifs...switch of play has Nanai-Seturo away...he kicks ahead and he may have scored but nope...Brad Weber..who was involved in the chase was a mile offside..in front of the kicker.
51mins - Blues building up some steam. Rieko, Nanai, Ruru and Tuipolotu all in the hick of it but it comes to nothing at 13 phases...Luke Jacobson with a great tackle on Tuipolotu forces the ball free. Scrum 10m for the Chiefs. Stevenson clears and it's a great kick. Lineout 5m for the Blues. Huge kick.
48mins - PENALTY GOAL BLUES: Harry Plummer slams it down the middle and the Blues extend their lead to five. Blues 13-8.
47mins - Frantic action. Chiefs with good possession but Stevenson turns the ball over on the 22....Blues go down field but lose the ball then Weber is away but his kick ahead is out on the full. Now the Blues have a penalty right out in front.
44mins - McKenzie hits the post and Ruru clears but only to the 22.
43mins - Chiefs have a penalty 35m out. McKenzie will have a shot at taking the lead.
42mins - Rieko Ioane is away down the lefy hand side, he steps the fullback but ALB makes a magnificent tackle to save the day. Chiefs clear.
Second Half: Marty McKenzie gets the second half going.
40+3mins - That's the half. The Blues playing for points, attacking from inside their half. They make good ground but Nanai loses the ball in contact and that the first 40 done. Deserved lead for the Blues but the Cheifs right in this if they can get some ball.
40+1mins - Three scrum resets here - Chiefs playing for a penalty?
39mins - Blues will have a defensive scrum to end the half.
37mins - TRY BLUES - Melani Nanai: Ioane does well of the back of the scrum.....Ruru shifts right and through the hands it gets to Nanai who crashes over in a Marty McKenzie tackle. Blues 10-8.
35mins - Now the Blues have a chance to reply. Weak carry from Sowakula and the Blues have a scrum 20m out.
34mins - PENALTY GOAL CHIEFS - Marty McKenzie makes no mistake. Chiefs 8-5.
33mins - Cheifs can go back in front here. Nathan Harris wins a penalty from the kick off. Over the ball on Moulds and McKenzie will have a shot.
31mins - TRY BLUES - Harry Plummer: Finally the Chiefs crack. Nice work from Plummer who beats ALB on the outside as the defence focuses on Ioane...Plummer dives over in a tackle from Stevenson. 5-5.
28mins - What a period of play. Blues hot on attack for a good two minutes but again they can't break this defensive line...Faiane loses the ball forward and the Chiefs toe ahead...Stevenson is away on the break out but Caleb Clark makes a superb tackle at the death and earns a turnover, Nonu clears.
25mins - Blues settling down a bit now. Plummer has had a great couple of minutes. Nice kick there has the Blues defending a 10m Cheifs lineout.
23mins - 13 phases of attack from the Blues close to the Chiefs line comes to nothing. Nonu floats a wide pass but it misses the mark and rolls out. The Blues are their own worst enemy. They are playing well for the most part but they panic and the Chiefs are making the most of that panic. Sam Cane is on for the Chiefs - Karpick off the park with a head knock.
20mins - Good period of possession for the Blues comes to an end when Faiane knocks the ball on in contact - toed ahead by Nanai-Seturo and he would have scored had the ball not rolled out into touch on halfway.
17mins - TRY CHIEFS - Mitch Karpick - Ta'avao gasses Tuipulotu and is through a hole, he finds Nanai-Seturo who toes ahead..Rieko is there but he forces a pass as he is heading over the line and Karpick scopps it up and crashes over. Blues are just awful....just awful. Chiefs 5-0.
14mins - Stevenson clears and the Blues have a lineout just outside the 22 but it's not straight from Matt Moulds. Arghhh. Leon MacDonald must be pulling his limited hair stocks out.
13mins - Blues opt for the lineout this time but they can't secure the ball at the lineout and there goes another potential three-points. Scrum 5m for the Chiefs.
11mins - Blues clear down field but McKenzie boots it straight back. Blues shifting nicely as Rieko makes a mini break. Bues shift right and left and are making ground at will through Clarke, Papali'i and Rieko. 5m out now through 9 phases and now referee Jackson says penalty.
8mins - Chiefs with a stable scrum allows a set move but McKenzie's huge wipers pass floats forward and the Blues escape.
6mins - Jesse Parete crashes over close to the line but Scott Scrafton has got underneath it. Scrum 5m for the Chiefs....nope referee has gone back for a penalty in front of the posts. Weber says 'scrum please Sir'.
5mins - Massive turn in momentum. Nonu loses the ball forward in contact and McKenzie toes it ahead - Weber and nanai are chasing it down, Weber toes ahead again but Rieko Ioane speeds back to save the day but he's carried it back. Scrum 5m Chiefs.
4mins - Penalty Blues. Cheifs living offside through 7 phases and regeree Jackson eventually punishes them. Tuipolotu opts for a scrum 5m, in front of the posts.
3mins - Turnover for the Chiefs. Great run from Nono but Tyler Ardron earns the ball back for his side with Nonu isolated. McKenzie clears.
1min - Great work from Nonu. Held up Nanai-Seturo in the tackle and the Blues have a scrum 5m out.
Kick-Off - Here we go - massive stakes tonight with the loser set for the also-ran bin for 2019. 100th Super Rugby game for Anhus Ta'avao. Glen Jackson is the referee and we are underway - Plummer kicks deep amd the Chiefs look to build from inside their own 22.
7:09pm - Late change for the Chiefs. Sean Wainui is out and Shaun Stevenson is in. Wainui's wife is due to give birth so congrats to him on that.
Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Super Rugby match between the Blues and Chiefs from Eden Park.
The Blues have made some minor tweaks to their team for their 'Battle of the Bombays' Super Rugby clash with the Chiefs at Eden Park on Saturday.
Most of the run-on side that lost to the Hurricanes last week has been retained, with Scott Scrafton claiming a start at lock.
Injury has forced halfback Sam Nock (finger) and wing Taniela Tele'a (foot) out of action, replaced by Jonathan Ruru and Caleb Clarke respectively.
Meanwhile, the Blues receive a welcome boost, with the return of workhorse flanker Tom Robinson, who will make his comeback from concussion off the bench, behind Dalton Papali'i.
In order to address problems with the team's finishing, All Blacks prop Karl Tu'inukuafe will be used as an impact player off the pine, with Alex Hodgman stepping in to start at loosehead.
- Cooper backs Weber's All Blacks return
- Hurricanes' Barrett rests against Jaguares
- Cane set to return from injury
"He can come off the bench and do a good job for us there," said head coach Leon MacDonald. "it just allows us to continue with applying that set piece pressure."
The Blues are now mired at the bottom of the NZ conference, but could leap back ahead of the fourth-placed Chiefs with a win this weekend.
The Hamilton-based franchise got the better of their northern neighbours 33-29 in their first encounter of the season at FMG Stadium.
MacDonald said there was extra bite to this week's training, as they looked to square the ledger and get back into the win column, after four straight defeats.
"We feel we are really close to achieving the complete performance," said MacDonald. "This team continues to impress me with their heart and determination."
Blues: 1-Alex Hodgman, 2-James Parsons, 3-Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 4-Patrick Tuipulotu, 5-Scott Scrafton, 6-Dalton Papalii, 7-Blake Gibson, 8-Akira Ioane, 9-Jonathan Ruru, 10-Harry Plummer, 11-Rieko Ioane, 12-Ma'a Nonu, 13-TJ Faiane, 14-Caleb Clarke, 15-Melani Nanai
Reserves: 16-Matt Moulds, 17-Lua Li, 18- Karl Tu'inukuafe, 19-Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, 20-Tom Robinson, 21-Augustine Pulu, 22-Otere Black, 23-Matt Duffie
Chiefs: 1-Atu Moli, 2-Nathan Harris, 3- Angus Ta'avao, 4-Jesse Parete, 5-Mitchell Brown, 6- Pita Gus Sowakula, 7-Mitchell Karpik, 8-Tyler Ardron, 9-Brad Weber, 10-Marty McKenzie, 11-Etene Nanai-Seturo, 12-Anton Lienert-Brown, 13-Tumua Manu, 14-Sean Wainui, 15-Solomon Alaimalo
Reserves: 16-Liam Polwart, 17-Ryan Coxon, 18- Nepo Laulala, 19- Mitchell Jacobson, 20-Sam Cane, 21-Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22-Shaun Stevenson, 23-Alex Nankivell
Newshub.
