Refresh regularly for latest updates
CRUSADERS 18 CHIEFS 13
Second half
40th minute: Crusaders just controlling the ball for the siren and find touch as it sounds.
39th minute: Goodhue hacks the ball downfield, but when the Chiefs try to mount another attack, McKenzie spills it forward - that could be the game there.
37th minute: Thomson wins the lineout and Chiefs mount an attack - this is the winning or losing of the game here.
Cruden finds a half-gap, Chiefs string together 17 phases, but Taukei’aho spills the pass.
36th minute: Chiefs win a free kick from a defensive scrum and Cruden finds a great touch across field, deep in Crusaders territory. Havili is ruled to have taken the ball back inside his 22 to clear and Chiefs have an attacking lineout.
33rd minute: McKenzie take a high ball expertly, but it's turned over in midfield and Crusaders mount another attack. Jorden gets the ball and tackler at the same time, and spills it.
32nd minute: Havili lines up a penalty attempt from 49m, just to soak up a bit of time, and hooks it left.
31st minute: Crusaders win a lineout on halfway and win a penalty in the maul.
30th minute: Karpik leaves for head assessment, as Cane returns to the action.
29th minute: Chiefs enjoying a good period here, as McKenzie sends Nanai-Seturo down the left. They earn a penalty, when Grace is offside at a breakdown.
Karpik is down across field, as McKenzie slots the penalty from in front of the posts. Crusaders' lead is down to 18-13.
26th minute: From the kick-off, McKenzie kicks long, but Jordan brings it back over halfway.
24th minute: TRY to Wainui
Thomson wins a lineout 10m out and Wainui hits the line hard. Ah Kuoi drives within metres of the line and from the maul, Weber finds Wainui diving over the line.
Just reward for Wainui, who has been a factor in the last few minutes. McKenzie converts.
23rd minute: Cruden kicks to the corner.
Chiefs have brought on Karpik, and O'Neill and Geldenhuy at props. Tuungafasi comes into the Crusaders front row.
22nd minute: McKenzie takes a high kick, but when he's held up in a maul, the ref awards the scrum to the Chiefs.
Adam Thomson comes on for the Chiefs, who spread the ball left. They're playing under advantage.
20th minute: Mitchell Brown is penalised at the breakdown and Mo'unga lines up kick at goal. It's good, Crusaders 18-3.
Romano replaces Dunshea in the Crusaders second row, Manu on for Tupaea in the Chiefs midfield.
19th minute: Crusaders win another lineout against the throw and go on attack.
17th minute: Chiefs on attack, but Boshier is pinged for entering the side of the breakdown.
16th minute: Chiefs win a penalty on the Crusaders 10 and Cruden kicks to the corner.
15th minute: McKenzie puts an angled kick to the corner and Mo'unga is initially corralled, but eventually clears to the Chiefs half.
13th minute: Taukei’aho replaces Slater at hooker for this Chiefs, but his first action is a crooked lineout throw.
12th minute: Crusaders make ground from the lineout, with Taylor sprinting away, but a pass goes astray and the Chiefs clear to the Crusaders 10.
10th minute: Reece is being replaced by Havili, Mitch Drummond replacing Hall, Blackadder also entering the game.
Ninth minute: Chiefs trying to launch something, with McKenzie heading right across field, but Sowakula's pass to Tupaea is spilt forward.
Sixth minute: TRY to Jordan
Chiefs try to counterattack again, but the ball spills into touch. While the Chiefs are distracted, Crusaders take the quick lineout and Jordan sprints away to score.
Mo'unga shanks his conversion attempt left.
Fourth minute: McKenzie counterattacks from a Bridge kick, but the Chiefs get in a tangle and inadvertedly run interference. Mo'unga kicks inside Chiefs territory.
Second minute: Chiefs are chancing their arm, but Wainui is taken into a maul and can't release, Crusaders turnover.
First minute: Cruden kicks off, Whitelook fields and Hall's clearances fails to find touch. Weber puts up a box kick, but Jordan soars expertly.
With conditions not really favouring attacking rugby, you get the feeling this game will be decided by someone making mistakes. The only try so far came from a dropped kick...
Halftime
Crusaders 10 (Jordan try; Mo'unga conversion & penalty) Chiefs 3 (McKenzie penalty)
40th minute: Weber clears to the 10m mark, Crusaders win another lineout and Mo'unga puts a dangerous chip behind the defensive line. Webere barely tidies up and kicks to touch as halftime arrives.
39th minute: Whitelock wins the lineout five metres out, but when the Crusaders try to maul, Cane gets through to smother the ball and win the feed to a defensive scrum.
37th minute: Crusaders win a lineout on halfway and draw a penalty at the maul. Mo'unga kicks for touch deep inside the 22.
33rd minute: TRY to Jordan
Mo'unga puts up a high ball that comes down on halfway and McKenzie spills the catch into the arms of Reece, who makes ground dowm the right touchline and finds Jordan in support for the try.
Mo'unga converts, Crusaders 10-3.
32nd minute: Cruden kicks for touch from a penalty, but Jordan skilfully keeps the ball in play. Chiefs still end up with the lineout throw, but turn it over.
29th minute: From a lineout inside the Chiefs half, Mo'unga puts in a delicate chip that dips just inside the touch line 10m out from the line.
27th minute: No-one can keep hold of the ball, but Harmon is eventually whistled for diving through on an offside position. McKenzie lines up a penalty attempt, about five metres in from the left touch, 30m out.
The kick drifts to the right of the posts.
26th minute: Cruden puts in a long clearance from inside his own 22 and forces Bridge to find touch just outside the Crusaders 22 - good net gain for the Chiefs.
23rd minute: Chiefs draw a breakdown penalty in midfield and this time, McKenzie will take the easy three points for level the scores, 3-3.
21st minute: Cruden makes a break up midfield, but his pass again finds Mo'unga and Crusaders clear. Referee rules the ball was carried back inside the 22, so attacking position for the Chiefs.
20th minute: Crusaders win a lineout, Reece looks dangerous down the right, but the ball is as slippery as soap and the Chiefs clear.
18th minute: Chiefs win the lineout back near halfway and the forwards try to drive forward, but lose the ball.
17th minute: That throw isn't straight, but not called. Chiefs have the ball, McKenzie cuts against the grain, but loses the ball and Hall clears.
16th minute: Chiefs win the lineout, but Crusaders forwards contain the maul and deflect the ball into touch. Here comes another lineout.
15th minute: McKenzie runs crossfield, Chiefs lose the ball, but offside called and Cruden kicks to the corner for an attacking lineout.
13th minute: Jordan spills Weber's high kick, Cruden probes left, but his pass finds Mo'unga and the Crusaders kick to touch.
12th minute: Chiefs finally have some field position from the kick-off, Cruden probes right, but the ball goes loose in midfield.
Ninth minute: Crusaders push Chiefs off a defensive scrum and earn a penalty, with Moody manhandling Laulala. Mo'unga lines up a kick at goal and slots it for the early lead, 3-0.
Seventh minute: Hall puts up a high kick, spilled by Nanai-Seturo inside the 22, but when the Crusaders spin the ball left, Jordan knocks on.
Sixth minute: McKenzie clears again to halfway.
Fifth minute: Crusaders continue their barrage on the Chiefs 22, but this time Weber clears.
Fourth minute: Mo'unga finds a good touch from halfway inside the 22.
Third minute: Hall kicks to the box, but Wainui fields and McKenzie clears.
Second minute: Crusaders on attack and under penalty advantage. After 12 phases, the advantage is gone.
First minute: Mo'unga kicks off and Cruden clears to the Chiefs 10.
Crusaders coach Scottie Robertson welcomes the crowd back to r-r-r-r-r-rugby in Christchurch.
*****
Late mail from the Chiefs: Solomon Alaimalo is ill, replaced by Etene Nanai-Seturo on the wing.
Weather in Christchurch is bleak... looks cold and wet :-/
*****
Kia ora, good afternoon and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Super Rugby Aotearoa clash between the Crusaders and Chiefs in Christchurch.
Three weeks into the revamped local-derby format, the three-time defending Super Rugby champions finally get to host their first home game since lockdown, after drawing the bye in opening week and visiting the Hurricanes seven days ago.
They looked ominously good against the Wellingtonians, overcoming a massive penalty count to run away with the spoils over the closing 20 minutes.
Most teams have struggled to come to grips with the referees' new focus on the breakdown, which has seen way too much whistle over the two completed rounds. Last night's Blues v Highlanders clash suggested those teams have adjusted to the new interpretations and hopefully that trend will continue today.
While the Crusaders hit the ground running in the capital, the Chiefs have yet to record a win in the all-NZ competition, but welcome back captain Sam Cane from injury today. His presence should add starch to the forward pack, with matchwinners Aaron Cruden and Damian McKenzie lurking out wider.
All Blacks skipper Sam Cane returns for Chiefs against Crusaders
New All Blacks captain Sam Cane will make his first appearance since his appointment, when he runs out for the Chiefs against the Crusaders on Sunday.
With incumbent Kieran Read stepping down from the national team after last year's Rugby World Cup, Cane was named as his successor during the two-month coronavirus hiatus, beating out veteran lock Sam Whitelock for the honours.
But since the revamped Super Rugby Aotearoa competition kicked off this month, the loose forward has been sidelined with a back niggle unrelated to the career-threatening neck injury suffered two years ago.
"At this stage, he's good to go," confirms Chiefs coach Warren Gatland. "It was important that he got through Wednesday's training session - if he hadn't, we wouldn't be playing him.
"He's taking part in some unit stuff this morning, so he'll be OK for Sunday.
"It's massive for us. There's no doubt we've got some other quality players in the side, but it's just having that voice.
'If you look through our forward pack at the moment, Sam brings voice, leadership and experience. We don't have a lot of talkers, especially with two young locks who are learning and plying their trade.
"Our front-rowers don't say a lot, and Pita Gus just gets on and does a job. We've got a lot of doers, and Sam bringing that voice and communication is huge for us."
Gatland says Cane's workload will depend on the tempo of the game and if the high-penalty trend continues, he may see out the full 80 minutes.
Cane takes the No.7 jersey against the Crusaders, moving Lachlan Bashier to the blindside flank.
Searching for his first win in the NZ-derby format, Gatland has made several changes to the line-up that fell to the Blues last week.
Mitchell Brown returns to the second row and Brad Slater will start at hooker, while Solomon Alaimalo will take his place on the right wing.
Last time they met, the Chiefs defeated their rivals 25-15 before the Super rugby season closed down, but they have struggled to replicate that form since the restart, dropping a heartbreaker to the Highlanders two weeks ago.
"We were disappointed with our performance against the Blues and we know we are better than that." he says. "We are under no illusion that this weekend will be another challenging game.
"The Crusaders are a sharp team and can quickly punish teams for their mistakes. We need to be alert when we are defending and sharp on attack to allows us to capitalise on any opportunities presented to us."
Meanwhile, Crusaders coach Scott Robertson has retained the same starting line-up that manhandled the Hurricanes in Wellington last Sunday.
Centre Braydon Ennor left the field with a suspected hamstring injury during that contest, but that diagnosis was downgraded to a bruise during the week.
"We know the nature of the competition," says Robertson. "It is a spring, it's short and sharp.
"It's really important to get off to a good start, and that's what we've done with the team that played well last week and rewarded them."
Chiefs: 1-Aidan Ross, 2-Bradley Slater, 3-Nepo Laulala, 4-Mitchell Brown, 5-Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 6-Lachlan Boshier, 7-Sam Cane, 8-Pita Gus Sowakula, 9-Brad Weber, 10-Aaron Cruden, 11-Sean Wainui, 12-Anton Lienert-Brown, 13-Quinn Tupaea, 14-Solomon Alaimalo, 15-Damian McKenzie
Reserves: 16-Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17-Reuben O’Neill, 18-Ross Geldenhuys, 19-Adam Thomson, 20-Mitchell Karpik, 21-Lisati Milo-Harris, 22-Kaleb Trask, 23-Tumua Manu
Crusaders: 1-Joe Moody, 2-Codie Taylor, 3-Michael Alaalatoa, 4-Samuel Whitelock, 5-Mitchell Dunshea, 6-Cullen Grace, 7-Billy Harmon, 8-Whetu Douglas, 9-Bryn Hall, 10-Richie Mo'unga, 11-George Bridge, 12-Jack Goodhue, 13-Braydon Ennor, 14-Sevu Reece, 15-Will Jordan
Reserves: 16-Brodie McAlister, 17-George Bower, 18-Oli Jager, 19-Luke Romano, 20-Ethan Blackadder, 21-Mitchell Drummond, 22-David Havili, 23-Leicester Faingaanuku
More to come
