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Blues 8 - 25 Crusaders
Full time.
81min - Blues win a penalty and Telea goes himself.
79min - Lovely take from Havili, under the high ball and the fullback gets up, but the Blues do well to earn a penalty - they go quickly.
77min - Another knock on from the Blues, Crusaders will wrap this up now.
74min - The Saders score a lovely try, but it's ruled back - Will Jordan is offside.
70min - Sloppy play in the breakdown the Crusaders knock the ball on.
65min - Plummer should give the offload but he holds onto it, a knock on comes and Reece starts a rumble - bitta push and shove.
60min - Penalty out in front from the Blues, they need to kick for the corner - they take the scrum.
58min - TRY - Crusaders., they go back to the TMO, a question of a knock on but the ref waves it off, kick is good. Blues 8 - 25 Crusaders.
52min - A nice grubber in behind from Perofeta, Telea gathers but runs out. Crusaders lineout.
49min - Tough call goes against the Blues there, the Saders players look to be off their feet, but Papalii is penalised.
48min - Penalty to the Blues and they kick to the corner.
44min - The Crusaders work their way down the field, TRY - clinical from the Saders, Mo'unga gathers the ball, splits a gap and scores. Kick is good.
42min - Perfect start to the second half for the Blues, a penalty won and Plummer kicks the goal.
41min - Back underway.
That's half time.
42min - The arm goes out and now the Crusaders will be able to kick for goal. 61 metres, it's wide - wow, that wasn't close.
40min - Bad throw from Parsons, Crusaders win a scrum.
39min - Massive scrum from the Blues and they win a penalty and will kick for touch.
37min - Double knock-on, Blues scrum feed.
36min - Sevu Reece absolutely butchers a try there - he breaks through and has a two on one, a draw and pass and Goodhue will score, but Reece holds onto it, the Blues gather and clear.
34min - Ripped away from Sevu Reece, he kicks and Perofeta is able to clear, the Blues win a penalty.
31min - A penalty at the scrum goes against the Blues, the Saders will take the shot - it's good.
28min - A slick move from the Crusaders but Dunshea can't hold onto it. Blues scrum.
27min - A mistake from the Blues, Perofeta kicks the ball out on the full.
25min - TRY! - Great work from Jack Goodhue, he takes the ball to contact and gets the ball to Bridge who walks over the line - lovely - kick is wide.
24min - Offside against the Blues, the Crusaders have a chance to put it deep in the corner.
24min - Reece was caught out of position there - but the pass is wide from the Blues, it goes out - Saders throw in.
22min - Huge hit from the Blues, Christie gets smashed but the Blues committ a penalty - the Crusaders try to clear but it's not out.
20min - Sotutu does well at the breakdown - he forces a knock on - Blues scrum.
17min - Penalty won from the Saders, and they kick for goal - it's good.
17min - A high kick and Perofeta's kick goes out on the full - big miss there.
14min - Huge work again from the Blues, they win a penalty and will clear.
12min - Another knock on from the Crusaders in their lineout drive, great defence from the Blues.
11min - Lineout steal from the Crusaders, then they get the penalty too.
9min - Great work at the breakdown from Sotutu - he earns the penalty, great work from the Blues.
8min - Great kick from Ruru, gets the Crusaders into their own half.
Jager is being carted off in the moblie Ambulence - doesn't look good.
6min - TRY! Perofeta takes the line on and gets through the gap, the Blues gather just 5m out and Patrick Tuipulotu gathers the ball and scores! Great start for the hosts. Kick is wide.
Oli Jager is on the ground after a headclash with Codie Taylor - it doesn't look good for Jager he's bleeding and struggling to sit up.
5min - Steal from the Blues, Hyland is the man to get the ball, the Blues are now under advantage.
3min - Slick move from the Blues, their backline getting going here - good defence and Perofeta clears.
1min - Kick off here at Eden Park.
7:03pm - Not far away now, both sides are coming out to the field now.
Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live updates of the Super Rugby match between the Blues and the Crusaders from Eden Park.
TAB Odds: Blues $3.20 Crusaders $1.35
Pre-match chat: Confusion reigns over Beauden Barrett's Blues debut
The Blues have had to make an embarrassing U-turn, after revealing star recruit Beauden Barrett was set for a round-seven Super Rugby debut - a month earlier than anticipated.
Instead, the Auckland-based franchise will still be without the All Blacks playmaker until at least mid-April, as he sees out his sabbatical.
Back from holiday and fronting up to work, Barrett has made his first appearance at Blues training since the new season began, but his return to play is clearly still a work in progress.
"He's down to play probably round seven, something like that," says forwards coach Tom Coventry. "That's what we've got planned."
Those plans were dashed as quickly as they were divulged, with the franchise issuing a hurried rebuttal that insisted Coventry's "casual comment" was "not accurate".
And for now, the focus remains on ensuring all the squad's first-fives are up to speed - regardless of when Barrett's available.
"Things can change, Beauden might get injured round one and we have to use the guys who are doing the role, so it's all about the team that's on the grass at the moment," says Coventry.
But as the Blues continue to wait on their All Blacks star, the Crusaders welcome theirs back for Friday's derby, with Richie Mo'unga cleared of the knee and groin injuries that kept him out of last weekend's loss.
That'll be little comfort to the Blues, who haven't beaten the Crusaders since 2014, but Robertson warns that counts for nothing.
"If you look at the last few years, they've led us, we've had to come from behind to get them, they've pushed us late in games," reflects Robertson. "These are tough games, they're all earned."
The Blues will be desperate to earn this one and ensure their season doesn't derail, before they get the services of their star signing.
Blues: 1-Karl Tu'inukuafe, 2-James Parsons, 3-Ofa Tuungafasi, 4-Patrick Tuipulotu, 5-Josh Goodhue, 6-Dalton Papalii, 7-Blake Gibson, 8-Hoskins Sotutu, 9-Jonathan Ruru, 10-Stephen Perofeta, 11-Mark Telea, 12-TJ Faiane, 13-Joe Marchant, 14-Jordan Hyland, 15-Matt Duffie.
Reserves: 16-Kurt Eklund, 17-Ezekiel Lindenmuth, 18-Sione Mafileo, 19-Tom Robinson, 20-Tony Lamborn, 21-Sam Nock, 22-Harry Plummer, 23-Emoni Narawa
Crusaders: 1-Joe Moody, 2-Codie Taylor, 3-Oli Jager, 4-Scott Barrett, 5-Mitch Dunshea, 6-Cullen Grace, 7-Tom Christie, 8-Tom Sanders, 9-Bryn Hall, 10-Richie Mo'unga, 11-George Bridge, 12-Jack Goodhue, 13-Braydon Ennor, 14-Sevu Reece, 15-David Havili.
Reserves: 16-Andrew Makalio, 17-George Bower, 18-Michael Alaalatoa, 19-Luke Romano, 20-Sione Havili, 21-Mitch Drummond, 22-Brett Cameron, 23-Will Jordan
