Refresh the page for latest updates
Chiefs 18 Hurricanes 25
Fulltime
Hurricanes 25 (Van Wyk 2 & Kirifi tries; Barrett 2 conversions & 2 penalties) Chiefs 18 (Boshier try, penalty try; McKenzie 2 penalties)
40th minute: Wainui spills the ball in midfield and gives the Hurricanes a chance to kill the clock.
The siren sounds and Barrett hoofs the ball into the stand. The Hurricanes finally have a win
39th minute: Golden point is still on the table, as Barrett kicks off. Chiefs keep the ball in hand and Cruden makes ground.
37th minute: TRY to Boshier
Chiefs counterattack sees Alaimao eventually chopped down inside the 22. When the ball goes left, Boshier is over in the corner, but McKenzie leaves his conversion right.
36th minute: Brown offloads to a Hurricanes player and the Chiefs are penalised. Barrett clears.
Booth kicks high on halfway and when the Chiefs knock on, Fidow gathers and bursts 30m upfield.
35th minute: Chiefs are running out of time, but McKenzie sends Alaimalo down the right.
34th minute: Hurricanes are penalised just over halfway and Cruden's touchfinder is not out. Barrett kicks back and actually makes net gain.
33rd minute: McKenzie kicks long, from his own 22 to the Hurricanes 22.
32nd minute: Hurricanes bring on their last replacement, with Billy Proctor replacing Umaga-Jensen.
31st minute: Chiefs try to mount another attack on halfway, but McKenzie spills a pass, knocking on.
29th minute: Boshier is centimetres from the try-line, but Chiefs are penalised and Hurricanes can clear.
28th minute: Scrafton was the Hurricanes' best lineout exponent and they've lost two since he left. Chiefs feed to a five-metre scrum - they maul the Hurricanes scrum and earn a penalty.
27th minute: Chiefs steal a lineout and assault the goal-line. Tuapea is over, but held up.
25th minute: Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi bursts up field - he's just come on for Weber - but play breaks down.
24th minute: PENALTY TRY to Chiefs
Cane crashes towards the line, but when the ball goes loose, O'Keeffe awards a penalty to the Chiefs. McKenzie takes a tap behind the mark and charges to the goal-line, where he's tackled by Scrafton.
He's ruled to be offside, so the penalty try is awarded and Scrafton is sent off for his second yellow card. Big call in the context of the game.
23rd minute: Alaimalo makes a break down the park to put the Chiefs back on attack.
20th minute: TRY to Van Wyk
From a scrum on the left, Savea bursts over the advantage line and sets Booth away. As the ball moves right, Barrett provides a no-look backhander to Van Wyk for his second try.
Barrett's converstion is wayward, Hurricanes 25-6.
19th minute: Savea exploits the same channel Coles found moments earlier and the Hurricanes charge back on attack. Booth has replaced Garden-Bachop, so Perenara is now at first-five for the Hurricanes.
18th minute: Coles makes a break down the right, but the next pass finds a retreating Chiefs defender and a deep kick is eventually forced for a Hurricanes dropout.
16th minute: Vaea Fifita replaces Kirifi in the Hurricane's loose forwards, while Reuben O'Neill enters for Aidan Ross in the Chiefs front row.
15th minute: After defending 12 phases on their own goal-line, the Hurricanes defence snaffle the ball of the Chiefs and clear upfield. Umaga-Jensen is the thief.
Perenara is left on the ground and Cane is guilty of a late shoulder-charge. O'Keeffe considers it's only a penalty.
14th minute: Chiefs are struggling to find a way through the Hurricanes defence, but Cane crashes into midfield.
13th minute: Cruden takes a half gap, but is later blindsided by Laumape in midfield.
11th minute: Chiefs take a midfield scrum, but the short-handed Hurricanes pack hold them and the ball is eventually knocked on.
10th minute: In the lineout, Scrafton is penalised for jumping across the line and also given 10 minutes to consider his sins. To be fair, that seems harsh, but there have been too many penalties and it's time someone got the message.
Ninth minute: Barrett clears from the lineout, but O'Keeffe rules the ball was taken back, so an attacking lineout for the Chiefs, who replace Manu with Alaimalo.
Eighth minute: Barrett goes down, after copping a finger in the eye, while trying to tackle McKenzie. Weber kicks to the corner, as Barrett composes himself.
Hurricanes win the lineout, but Perenara's clearance holds up and they're lucky that Weber spills the ball into touch on the 22.
Sixth minute: Hurricanes turn the ball over on halfway and Manu makes ground. Barrettt eventually dives on a deep kick and Perenare clears.
Fifth minute: McKenzie runs into a hard tackle from Kirifi and loses the ball.
Third minute: Chiefs leave Garden-Bachop's kickoff, thinking it's out on the full, but it just sneaks inside the line. Hurricanes are pinged for interference in the lineout.
Second minute: Blackwell is pinged for offside in midfield and McKenzie lines up a kick at goal. He's successful to narrow the margin, 20-6.
First minute: Hurricanes fail to clear Cruden's kickoff, but Garden-Bachop eventually puts boot to ball.
Halftime
Hurricanes 20 (Van Wyk, Kirifi tries; Barrett 2 conversions & 2 penalties) Chiefs 3 (McKenzie penalty)
The big question from here will be how big an advantage that wind provides the Chiefs in the second half - and will it be big enough?
40th minute: Under advantage, Perenara puts Barrett through a gap down the right, but when the halftime siren sounds, O'Keeffe brings play back for the penalty. Barrett lines up a kick from almost his own 10m mark with a big breeze behind him - a huge kick.
Wow, he lands it - 58m!
38th minute: TRY to Kirifi
Chiefs try to mount an attack on halfway, but Coles intercepts the ball down the left and Lam makes ground.
Savea charges into the 22, O'Keeffe calls advantage and eventually Kirifi dives over by the posts. Barrett converts, Hurricanes 17-3.
35th minute: O'Keeffe penalises Chiefs in midfield - Boshier offends at the breakdown. Barrett lines up the kick at goal and is successful to extend the lead, 10-3.
34th minute: Chiefs drive over halfway, but May wins a penalty at the breakdown. Barrett kicks to the corner.
33rd minute: Hurricanes turn the ball over and Umanga-Jensen clears downfield. Ah Kuoi and Kirifi clash heads, so another medical stop.
Tupou Vaa'i replaces Ah Kuoi in the Chiefs second row, but the medicos are taking a long time to clear Ah Kuoi off the field. Seems serious, he's taken off on a cart, but gives the crowd a thumbs up as he leaves.
32nd minute: From the scrum, Chiefs mount another attack, with Webber dummying and running.
30th minute: Untidy lineout win for the Chiefs, who lose ground. Eventually, Hurricanes rip the ball free, but forward.
29th minute: Kirifi is penalised again for not supporting his body weight at the breakdown and Chiefs look to the corner for a lineout.
28th minute: Weber spots half gap and challenges the defence. Manu is dragged down out wide and the Hurricanes snaffle the ball to clear.
27th minute: Chiefs forwards have the ball in hand about 15m out and are building phases.
26th minute: At the scrum, Chiefs win a penalty against the feed. More whistle.
May is playing out of position in the front row and is struggling to adapt.
25th minute: Slater's throw-in to the lineout is not straight.
24th minute: From the lineout, Weber kicks downfield, but O'Keeffe is playing another advantage for Hurricanes offside.
23rd minute: These scrums are taking a long time to set and when it collapses again, Chiefs win a penalty to clear their line.
21st minute: Armstrong leaves the field with that earlier injury. Hurricanes opt for another scrum, with Ben May now at prop.
20th minute: From the scrum, Hurricanes go left, where Lam is dragged down short. Barrett tries a crossfield kick for his wing, but it's heavy.
They were playing under advantage and go back for the penalty. A lot of whistle in this game and referee Ben O'Keefe is discussed that the captains.
19th minute: From the kick-off, Hurricanes steal the ball and mount an attack, with Armstrong and Umaga-Jensen featuring prominently. Eventually they win a penalty in front - they decide to scrum.
16th minute: Hurricanes offend at the breakdown in midfield and McKenzie lines up a shot at goal from in front. It's down the middle, Hurricanes 7-3.
15th minute: From the lineout, Hurricanes are again pinged for taking a jumper in mid-air. McKenzie kicks into the Hurricanes half.
14th minute: Coles makes a break and sends Umaga-Jensen through a gap, but when he's tackled, Barrett is penalised for entering the breakdown from the side.
13th minute: McKenzie tries to clear, but kicks it infield to Barrett attempts a drop goal from just over halfway - it swings wide, but not short.
12th minute: Chiefs are attacking along the 22, but are eventually penalised for not releasing a tackle. Barrett finds touch on the Chiefs 22, a massive kick with the tail wind.
11th minute: Hurricanes prop Fraser Armstrong needs medical attention.
Hurricanes win the lineout and Garden-Bachop clears.
10th minute: From a quick lineout, McKenzie puts a deft kick to the corner for another attacking lineout five metres out.
Ninth minute: Cruden makes a half break in midfield to put the Chiefs on the front foot.
Eighth minute: After some kicking backwards and forwards, McKenzie runs into a wall of Hurricanes defenders, who are penalised for offside at the breakdown.
Fourth minute: TRY to Van Wyk
That was too easy. Savea peels off the back of the scrum and feeds Perenara, creating an overlap to the right for Van Wyk, who is 20m clear of any defender.
Barrett starts his conversion to the left, but bends it back between the uprights, Hurricanes 7-0.
Third minute: From the penalty, Hurricanes take a scrum five metres out.
Second minute: Hurricanes are playing under advantage, which is just as well, because Garden-Bachop isn't even looking at the ball being passed to him.
They kick to the corner and draw another advantage. The teams come together to introduce themselves around and renew acquaintances.
First minute: The crowd is still arriving at Hamilton's FMG Stadium, as Garden-Bachop kicks off.
Reed Prinsep leads the Hurricanes out for his 50th Super Rugby game.
Weather is fine and mild, with a northerly wind, which will favour the Hurricanes in the first half.
*****
Kia ora, good afternoon and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Super Rugby Aotearoa clash between the Chiefs and Hurricanes at Hamilton.
Today's encounter looms as a classic case of 'someone's O has got to go', but in this case, the zeroes sit in the win column, with neither side tasting victory since the post-coronavirus restart.
Their inability to win has probably been more indicative of the standard of competition than any glaring flaws in their own performances, but neither will want to walk away today with another defeat.
The Chiefs were bolstered by the return of All Blacks captain Sam Cane last week, but have lost the services of international midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown with concussion.
Across the park, the Hurricanes welcome back Jordie Barrett at fullback. The All Blacks utility was enjoying a breakout season before the coronavirus break, but has been missing since the restart with a shoulder injury.
The head-to-head match-up between Barrett and Damian McKenzie looms as a potential highlight.
But the Hurricanes also lose star midfielder Vince Aso through injury.
The NZ TAB has the Chiefs at $1.60 favourites to win, with the Hurricanes paying $2.23.
Chiefs lose Lienert-Brown for crunch match against Hurricanes
The Chiefs will be without star midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown, when they take on the Hurricanes in Hamilton on Sunday.
The All Blacks back will be sidelined with concussion, after reporting symptoms during training this week, then failing a head injury assessment.
"He said he can't remember where it happened and he was fine after the game [against the Crusaders]," says coach Warren Gatland. "He came in on Tuesday and just had a bit of a headache, so we gave him a test.
"No pressure from us. We're just making sure he takes some precautions… give him a rest this week and there's a bye week next week."
The 25-year-old will be sorely missed by the battling Chiefs, who desperately need a win to keep their Super Rugby Aotearoa season alive against the equally desperate and winless Hurricanes.
Flanker Mitch Karpik has also failed a head injury assessment and will play no part in this weekend's game.
Lienert-Brown's absence means stand-out rookie Quinn Tupaea shifts into second five-eighth, with Tumua Manu moving into the starting side at centre.
Etene Nani-Seturo comes takes Sean Wainui's spot on the left wing.
In the reserves, Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi will back up Brad Weber, while lock Tupou Vaa'i and loose forward Dylan Nel return to claim seats on the bench.
The forward pack remains unchanged from the one that was edged by the Crusaders 18-13 in Christchurch last weekend.
Gatland believes his side are just a few minor tweaks away from hitting its straps, but they need to do that immediately.
"We feel like we're not too far away," he notes. "We showed character getting back into the game against the Crusaders.
"It's a big game for us this weekend, because we know were up against it 0-3 and we've got to get back into this competition.
"We've had a couple of losses in injury time, so it would be nice to hopefully not get there, but to turn the tables."
