Final: Hurricanes 29 Blues 27 [Refresh browser for latest score]
Hurricanes 29 (Laumape, Coles, Prinsep, Aumua tries, J. Barrett 3con, 1pen) beat Blues 27 (B. Barrett, Papalii. Eklund, Ioane tries, Black 1con 1pen, B. Barrett 1con)
80mins - Big scrum from the Blues pack but Booth scoops up the loose ball ..... Perenara off the ruck clears for touch to end the game.
79mins - Knock on from Narawa and that should be the game. Hurricanes just need to clear the scrum.
78mins - Hurricanes win the lineout - Barrett kicks to Telea who runs back to halfway for the Blues.
77mins - Kickoff is to Laumape who storms back. Jodie Barrett clears to the 10m line.
76mins - Try Hurricanes: Asafo Aumua - Lineout drive is on point again from the Canes and it's Aumua who scores. Jordie from wideout drills it! Great kick that!! HUR 29-27
75mins - Penalty for the Canes. Blues not rolling away. Lineout 5m for the hosts.
73mins - Laumape busts through the Blues midfield again, but he trips over Duffie who had been beaten on the step. Two phases later and Blackwell with the knock on costs the Hurricanes. Scrum Blues on their 22.
71mins - Nine phases for the Blues but Renata coughs up possesion inside the 22. Hurricanes on the counter are up to halfway.
69mins - Mistake from Perenara - his kick is out on the full. Blues lineout just outside the Canes 22.
68mins - Penalty for the Blues - Prinsep ruled offside after a mistake from Laumape. Barrett's kick finds touch just inside Hurricanes territory.
67mins - 18 phases for the Canes goes nowhere .... Telea eventually pinged for taking a player out at the ruck. Jordie finds touch just outside the 22.
62mins - Try Blues: Kurt Eklund - The Blues lineout drive has been huge tonight. Textbook again and it's Eklund that crashes over to score. Beauden from a wide angle pulls it. BLU 27-22
60mins - Penalty for the Blues. Perenara a bit keen to nic the ball from the back of the scrum is pinged, Beauden for touch and finds it 10m out.
59mins - Scrum for the Blues just inside Hurricanes territory.
57mins - Try Blues: Akira Ioane - Lineout drive is well defended, but the Blues pick 'n go is hard to stop and Ioane crashes over to score. Barrett from a wide angle, surrounded by heavy boos from upset Wellingtonians, is good. 22-22
55mins - Hurricanes drag the maul down illegally - another penalty for the Blues and another 5m lineout. Key moment this.
54mins - Penalty for the Blues just outside the 22. The opt for the lineout 5m.
53mins - Long period of play ends ina 22 dropout for the Hurricanes. Blues with a decent period of possesion but didn't do much with it.
49mins - Great defence from the Blues. Hurricanes going nowhere. A loose pass from Laumape is pounced on by Telea but he knocks the ball on. Scrum 10m line for the Canes.
47mins - Long period of play ends with an attacking scrum for the Hurricanes. Up and under from Jordie is taken in well by Duffie but Laumape hammers him - Papalii with the mistake on the exit.
43mins - Try Hurricanes: Dane Coles - That was all down to Laumape who burst through a weak tackle of Papalii. Hurricanes stay patient, and on the fifth phase it's Coles who is put through the gap by Perenara to dot down under the posts. Laumape is destroying the Blues tonight. Jordie converts. HUR 22-15
42mins - Otere Black scoops up a loose ball but is hurt in the tackle. Barrett clears to halfway and we will have a stoppage in play here. Doesn't look good for the Blues No.10. Black not leaving the field - referee isn't happy with that and has requested an HIA. Matt Duffie on.
41mins - Jordie drills for touch and finds it on the 22.
Second-half: Garden-Bachop gets play back underway - it's long to Telea. Box kick from Christie - Hurricanes run it back through Ben Lam - under advantage for a high shot on Lam.
Halftime wrap - If your Leon MacDonald you are delighted. Very little ball and not a single tackle inside the Hurricanes 22, yet they've scored twice. The Hurricanes played 10 mins with a man advantage, had a wealth of possesion and territory and are could only manage the leveller in added-on time. It's all on in the second half.
40+2mins - Penalty goal Hurricanes: Jordie gets it this time. 15-15
40+1mins - Offside Eklund from in front of the post and the Barrett should tie the scores heading into the sheds.
39mins - Scrum halfway for the Hurricanes. Narawa loses the ball forward trying to collect a wayward Hurricanes pass.
37mins - Perenara nicks the ball from the base of the Blues scrum....he's chased down by Christie who rips the ball away and clears.
35mins - Ardie Savea makes a 40m break from a ruck inside the Hurricanes 22.....mistake from Kirifi two phases later. Scrum Blues on halfway.
34mins - Try Hurricanes: Reed Prinsep - Hurricanes reply witha textbook lineout themselves - Prinsep dives over to score from the drive. Jordie misses from a wide angle. BLU 15-12
33mins - Penalty for the Hurricanes - Jordie kicks and finds touch 5m out.
32mins - Blues exit play is good. Hurricanes lineout 10m line Blues territory.
28mins - Try Blues: Dalton Papalii - All that possesion for the Hurricanes comes to nought and the Blues strike right away. Textbook 5m lineout drive and Papalii dives over to score. Black hits the post as the rain starts to drive in hard. BLU 15-7
27mins - Barrett hits the post from in front! Blues clear ti Ben Lam who runs it back but the Blues have a penalty for holding on. Barrett finds touch 5m out.
26mins - Penalty for the Hurricanes inside the Blues 22 for offside play. Jordie will take a shot here.
24mins - Attcking scrum coming up for the Hurricanes. Mistake from Carroll on the exit play for the Blues. Narawa back on for the Blues.
22mins - Scrum for the Blues on their own 22 .... Kirifi with the mistake with ball in hand.
21mins - Lineout for the Hurricanes on the Blues 22 - great touch finder from Garden-Bachop from a penalty for obstruction.
20mins - Mistake from Laumape looking to create space - his flick pass is thrown over the touchline. Blues lineout just outside the Hurricanes 22.
19mins - Box kick from Christie is well weighted - Barrett comes forward and knocks the ball into touch under a challenge from Telea. Lineout for the Blues just short of halfway.
18mins - Penalty for the Blues will relieve the pressure. Black kicks and finds touch on the 22.
17mins - Umaga-Jensen through the gap and he's away - flings a wide pass to Van Wyk but the cover is there - back inside comes the winger but he's pulled down by Barrett. Jordie out wide but his pass floats out and the Blues have a defensive lineout 5m.
16mins - Nice box kick from Christie clears for the Blues under pressure. Hurricanes lineout on the 10m line.
14mins - Jordie Barrett thinks he has a try for the Hurricanes off a Prinsep pass, he beats brother Beauden to score, but it's under review. No try - forward pass to Barrett.
12mins - Laumape away again from a Kirifi break. He steamrolls Barrett, but is dragged down an inch short from the cover defence. Blues will lose a player for 10 here as Narawa is pinged for not rolling away. Lineout Hurricanes 5m.
9mins - Try Blues: Beauden Barrett - Class! Black with a nice slight of hand finds Telea who busts a couple of tackles. Christie from the ruck to Barrett who dummies an inside pass, steps Perenara and races away to score from 40m tp heavy heavy boos. He gives Caines fans a bit of serve and celebrates. Black converts. BLU 10-7
7mins - Turnover for the Hurricanes - Kirifi swings left but Laumape is hammered. Jordie kicks to Beauden who is booed heavily .. lol. Beauden kicks and finds touch just inside Hurricanes territory.
6mins - Lineout for the Blues on halfway. Nice exit play from the Hurricanes.
4mins - Try Hurrricanes: Ngani Laumape - Wow! Long period of possesion for the Hurricanes is unproductive. Eventually Garden-Bachop throws a long pass wide left to Laumape who stands up Beauden Barrett, gasses the fullback and runs over Black to score a stunning try. Jordie converts from the sideline. HUR 7-3
1min - Penalty goal Blues - Black makes no mistake from a handy angle to give the Blues the lead. BLU 3-0
Kick-off - Beauden Barrett gets the game underway - it's long and returned back by Laumape. Early penalty for the Blues - Laumape hanging on. Black will take a shot.
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7:02pm - Rain has arrived! Talk about commentators curse. It's not heavy - just annoying.
6:57pm - Hello folks - not too far away from a start. Cold, but dry conditions at Sky Stadium tonight.
Kia ora and welcome to play-by-play coverage, as the Blues and Hurricanes do battle in Wellington.
It's a crunch game for both sides, with the Blues looking to bounce back from last week's lost to the Crusaders and prevent the red and blacks from an opportunity to push for an 11-point lead.
For the Hurricanes, the need a win to hold out any hope of claiming the inaugural Super Rugby Aotearoa title.
Commentary will start from around 7pm. In the meantime check out the video above for a preview of today's big match.
Betting odds:
Hurricanes - $1.72 Blues - $2.03
Pre-match banter
Dan Carter robbed of Blues debut after injuring calf during training
Dan Carter's long-awaited Super Rugby return will have to wait after a calf injury ruled him out of the Blues' clash against the Hurricanes at Sky Stadium on Saturday.
Carter was initially named on the bench for the clash, but felt a tightening of the calf during training on Thursday and was later ruled out by coach Leon MacDonald.
"Dan has pulled up tight, it is nothing major but we don't want to risk anything," says MacDonald.
"He was due to take his place on the bench but we will be starting with Matt Duffie on the bench.
"Dan was on the bench to cover 10 and 15. He wants to get in the campaign, and it felt like the time was right.
"If he was 23, we would have said he's good to go, but in his 30s we will err on the side of caution."
If Carter played, it would have been his first Super Rugby match since June 13, 2015.
Meanwhile, the Blues have made three forced changes from the team that lost to the Crusaders last weekend in Christchurch. Hooker Kurt Eklund, loose forward Aaron Carroll and wing Emoni Narawa replace James Parsons, Hoskins Sotutu and Caleb Clarke respectively.
Parsons (concussion) and Sotutu (knee) have been ruled out with injury, while Clarke is unavailable so he can attend his grandfather's funeral.
"Family is important to us," MacDonald said of Clarke's omission. "He fronted two games ago with his grandad's death and now it's time to go with his family and do the right thing. We support him fully with what he needs to do."
For the Hurricanes, Dane Coles will make his return from injury in one of four changes made to their starting side.
The Hurricanes co-captain missed last week's 17-11 win over the Highlanders with a calf issue but is fit enough to reclaim his spot in the starting side over Asafo Aumua, who is on the bench.
Along with Coles, Reed Prinsep has overcome a hamstring injury, replacing Devan Flanders who has been omitted from the team.
In the backs, Jackson Garden-Bachop comes in for Fletcher Smith, while Peter Umaga-Jensen replaces Vince Aso in the centres.
On the bench, prop Fraser Armstrong replaces Pouri Ratate-Stones, while Isaia Walker-Leawere comes on for Murphy Taramai, who made his Hurricanes debut in the win over the Highlanders.
The Blues beat the Hurricanes 30-20 in the opening round of Super Rugby Aotearoa.
