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Highlanders - 38 Hurricanes - 21
FULLTIME - That will do us for both this game and the Super Rugby Aotearoa season. Click here for a full wrap.
77 mins - Landers lineout 10m inside Canes' territory. Can they finish with a bang? Not this time, knock-on at the lineout.
73 mins - TRY HURRICANES - Sneaky grubber from Gardon-Bachop eludes the defence and Umaga-Jensen is on the spot to collect and dot down. Conversion is over. (Highlanders 38-21)
67 mins - Highlanders win a penalty, lineout 10m inside the Canes' half. Savea returns from his yellow card respite. Knockon Collins, Canes have a scrum near halfway.
61 mins - TRY HIGHLANDERS - Superb counter-rucking by the Highlanders sees the ball spill free at the ruck. Smith pounces, draws a defender and sets Mitch Hunt 75m clear down the right edge to score what should be the killer blow. Conversion slotted from the sideline. (Highlanders 38-14)
59 mins - Highlanders win a turnover and go wide quickly, but a defensive penalty stops them in their tracks. Barrett finds touch 15m from the Landers' line.
58 mins - Penalty Canes, and Barrett finds touch about 7m from the tryline. They'll need to be the next team to score to have any chance in this one.
56 mins - TRY HIGHLANDERS - Dixon directing the maul from the back and the Highlanders forwards barrage over the chalk. Referee can't see the ball grounded but it won't matter, Savea deemed to have come in from the side and that's a yellow card and a penalty try. Huge blow for the hosts. (Highlanders 31-14)
54 mins - Highlanders awarded a penalty in handy kicking range Ioane. But no, they want the lineout. And here comes another drive from 10m out.
Lineout penalty will will give the pack another crack from 5m closer.
51 mins - Chase Tiatia put into a yawning gap by a well crafted set play and he's over the chalk. Review reveals a clear obstruction, and that's the third disallowed try of the day for the visitors. The Jason Holland facepalm says it all.
49 mins - Hurricanes swing quickly back on attack. Penalty Canes, and Barrett will set them up with a lineout 10m from the Landers' line.
46 mins - TRY HIGHLANDERS - Outstanding team try, the ball seemingly touching every players' hands in a long movement that ended with Michael Collins crashing over next to the uprights. Ioane slots the conversion. (Highlanders 24-14)
44 mins - Beautiful step to break through a hole by Ioane, and the Landers are on the offensive.
42 mins - Penalty Highlanders right in front of the posts after some back and forth attack. Ioane makes no mistake and the Landers have their first lead of the game. (Highlanders 17-14)
41 mins - Highlanders receive to get the second stanza going. Punivai breaks down the left edge, inside ball goes to ground and the Canes clear.
Second half underway...
HALFTIME - A Highlanders knock on takes us to the break. Join us for the second half shortly.
38 mins - Landers end up back at midfield, Parkinson rumbles over halfway. Tomkinson with room to move, almost breaks free. Ball is turned over and here comes another Canes counter. Aso just grazes the touchline, Landers lineout at their own 10m.
35 mins - Highlanders with the scrum 30m from their own line. Smith clears with the box kick. Canes return, Booth breaks clear from the ruck, no support in sight as he goes to ground at the Landers 22m. Knock on at the ensuing ruck and the Highlanders survive.
33 mins - TRY HIGHLANDERS - Clinical 5m lineout from the Landers, and it's Ash Dixon who burrows over from the back of the rolling maul. Ioane nails the conversion. (14-14)
31 mins - Highlanders regain possession and are quickly deep into the Canes' half.
28 mins - TRY HURRICANES - Another brilliant counter-attck from the Canes, who go 60m with some well-wroked passing, for Booth to step inside the final defender and go in under the crossbar. (Canes 14-7)
26 mins - Hurricanes knock on gives the Landers a scrum just inside opposition territory.
Mikaele-Tu'u with a strong run off the back of the scrum. Ioane scythes through a gap but his offload in the tackle goes to ground.
23 mins - The Hurricanes cross the line again, but the inside short ball from Scrafton to the streaking Prinsep is deemed forward upon review. Landers scrum at their own 30m.
21 mins - Breathless sequence of end-to-end action results in a Landers lineout at their own 5m. Crossfield kick to Nareki lands perfectly, and the winger jets to halfway.
Knock on gives the Hurricanes back the ball and they're 30m out now...
19 mins - Savea explodes from the back of the scrum, links with Barrett who fends off his defender, flicks to his winger Aso who tip-toes down the right touchline to score. Referee wants to double check, and Aso has indeed put a foot into touch. No try.
16 mins - Hurricanes launch from a midfield scrum. Shoddy pass leads to a lineout. Landers gift it back with a forward pass, scrum Canes just inside the Landers' half.
13 mins - Canes back on attack immediately. Coles on his favoured wing, knocks on a tricky pass. Scrum Landers at their own 22m.
10 mins - TRY HIGHLANDERS - Slick set piece play, Smith giving Hunt plenty of space to run a second-man play and put Punivai over. Conversion is good. (7-7)
8 mins - Mistake by the Canes gives the Landers a chance to respond, scrum 22m out.
5 mins - TRY HURRICANES - Scintillating counter attack from the Canes. Jordie Barrett collects a loose pass in his own half and peels off 30m, links with Booth inside, who eventually finds a long queue of supporting players to the right and try is scored. Conversion is successful. (Canes 7-0)
2 min - Highlanders retain possession but the Canes defence ensures the metres gained are minimal. Hurricanes receive the eventual clearance but knock on at the ruck. Landers scrum at the Canes' 10m.
1 min - Mitch Hunt kicks off and the Hurricanes answer with an early clearance.
We're underway...
3:04pm - Aaron Smith gets a moment to savour his 150th game milestone in the centre of the pitch. Now, to the formalities...
3:02pm - Both teams about to take the field at a barren Forsyth Barr Stadium. Here's hoping they give the season the send off it deserves.
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Betting odds:
Highlanders - $2.11 Hurricanes - $1.66
Pre-match banter
Babywatch forces Perenara out of Highlanders clash
By Ben Francis
Hurricanes co-captain TJ Perenara will miss this Saturday's Super Rugby Aotearoa match against the Highlanders, as he awaits the birth of his first child.
Wife Greer is due to give birth over the weekend and with uncertainty around COVID-19 spread, TJ has opted to withdraw from the fixture at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Coach Jason Holland has made three changes to the starting side that beat the Chiefs 31-18 in Wellington last weekend - all of them in the backline - with no sign of Julian Savea in the matchday 23.
With Perenara missing, Jamie Booth has been promoted to the starting side at halfback, with Jonathan Taumatiene in line for his club debut off the bench.
After a dangerous tackle against Chiefs halfback Brad Weber, winger Kobus van Wyk has been suspended, with Vince Aso shifting from the midfield.
Van Wyk has played his last game for the franchise, as he departs to join the Leicester Tigers in England.
Billy Proctor moves into centre, with two-try hero Peter Umaga-Jensen at second-five.
On the bench, Liam Mitchell will provide cover for the locks, while Salesi Rayasi and Chase Tiatia have been added as backline cover.
When the two teams met earlier this season, the Hurricanes claimed a 17-8 win.
