Watch the highlights above
Final score: Hurricanes 31 Chiefs 18
Hurricanes 31 (Umaga-Jensen x2, Van Wyk, Coles, Proctor tries, Barrett 3con) bt
Chiefs 18 (Wainui, Karpick tries, McKenzie 2xpen, 1con)
Full time - Booth kicks the ball out and that's the game. Vitally for the Hurricanes they secure the bonus point win and remain alive. They'll need the Highlanders to do them a favour tomorrow night, but they are still alive.
79mins - Jacobson pinged for not rolling away and the Hurricanes have a lineout 5m. Secure this and kick the ball out and that'll be it.
78mins - Perenara looking for the same play that led to the Van Wyk try but his kick is charged and Nankivell hoofs the ball upfield.
76mins - No arms tackle and the Hurricanes have another penalty. Barrett finds touch .... lineout 5m.
75mins - Scrum for the Hurricanes 25m out .... Tupaea drops a high kick from Barrett.
73mins - Try Hurricanes: Billy Proctor - Vital try for the Hurricanes. Good ball retention for the home side. Barrett beats a couple in the midfield but goes to ground .... Booth snipes from the back and gets an arm free in the tackle and finds Proctor with the inside ball and he scores under the posts. Barrett converts the bonus point try. The must stop the Chiefs scoring another. HUR 31-18
70mins - Knock on by the Chiefs at the lineout. Scrum Hurricanes from the same spot.
69mins - Penalty for the Hurricanes just inside their own half. Barrett finds touch just outside the Chiefs 22.
68mins - That Chiefs try swung the bonus point in the other direction, so the Hurricanes must score another.
67mins - Chiefs flinging the ball around and creating panic among the Hurricanes defenders. McKenzie sniped through a gap but his pass to Wainui floats over the sideline and the Hurricanes have a lineout 10m from their own line.
65mins - Try Chiefs: Mitch Karpick- Lineout maul works this time and Karpick powers over to score. McKenzie cannot convert. HUR 24-18
64mins - A couple Hurricanes players pinged for entering the maul from the side .... another penalty and another lineout 5m.
63mins - Lineout penalty against Scrafton. Trask finds touch - 5m lineout again.
62mins - Chiefs with an attacking lineout midway 22 and goal line.
58mins - As it stands, the Hurricanes have the bonus point they are searching for.
57mins - Try Hurricanes: Kobus Van Wyk - The Hurricanes fake the drive and Perenara swings the ball to Barrett who cross kicks to an unmarked Van Wyk who runs around to score a lovely try. Barrett converts. HUR 24-13
55mins - Off the ball tackle from Mitch Brown on Aso .... Barrett finds touch 5m out.
54mins - Scrum for the Hurricanes on halfway.
52mins - Penalty goal Chiefs: McKenzie makes no mistake. HUR 17-13
51mins - Penalty for the Chiefs 10m out following a turnover from the restart. McKenzie will stab this over from in front.
49mins - Try Hurricanes: Dane Coles - Long period of play with several turnovers both ways. Hurricanes rewarded with some fine ball movement. Aso put through a midfield gap by Perenara who receives the ball back and looks like he will run away to score but Weber drags him down. Ball is swung left and Coles out on the wing beats one and dives over to score. Not converted. HUR 17-10
44mins - Try Chiefs: Sean Wainui - Good lineout drive takes the Chiefs within inches of the line. Weber swings the ball out to Trask who fires a long pass out to Wainui who dives over to score in the corner. McKenzie converts from the sideline. HUR 12-10
43mins - No foul play - TMO says Wainui did leap into the tackle. There is a penalty for the Chiefs because of offside play. Lineout 5m for the Chiefs.
42mins - Great ball retention from the Chiefs. 13th phase and McKenzie sets Wainui free down the left ... he's tipped by Barrett but Wainui was kinds jumping into the tackle to look for a pass. It's under review as to whether it's foul play or not.
41mins - Early scrum for the Chiefs inside the Hurricanes half. Knock on from Ben May.
Second-half - Trask gets the game back underway.
8:04pm - Welsome back - the Hurricanes need a bonus point win to keep their title hopes alive. Lets see how they go.
Halftime - Perenara puts the ball in touch to end the half. Back soon.
39mins - Great maul defence from the Hurricanes .... Weber is forced to release the ball to the backs ... McKenzie crabs across field and finds Stevenson but he losses the ball forward in contact.
38mins - Penalty for the Chiefs. Scrafton pinged for entering the maul from the side. Another lineout for the Chiefs.
37mins - Yellow card Hurricanes : Kobus Van Wyk - Off the ball tackle from Van Wyk on Weber and the Cheifs have an attacking penalty. Trask finds touch 5m out. TMO Mike Fraser looking at the tackle to see if it's foul play - could be a yellow card as he lifted Weber. Yep he's given 10 in the bin.
36mins - Lineout for the Hurricanes on their own 22.
33mins - Chiefs with some field position finally but crimanally Laulala knocks the all on third phase. Scrum Hurricanes on their own 10m line.
32mins - Mitch Karpick, who is on for Cane, wins the turnover. Trask clears to just beyond the 22.
30mins - Scrum penalty for the Hurricanes .... alot of penalties going against the Chiefs so far. Lineout 5m for the Hurricanes. They are playing with 65 percent of the ball and 70 percent territory.
29mins - Yet another penalty for the Hurricanes. Barrett kicks for touch and the Hurricanes have a lineout midway halfway and 22. Free kick to the Hurricanes from the lineout and now they will have a scrum from the same spot.
28mins - Try Hurricanes: Peter Umaga-Jensen - Lovely set-piece try. Perenara off the back of the scrum finds Garden-Bachop to Umaga-Jensen who beats one and sets Goosen free down the left .... cover defence is there, but Goosen slips a lovely pass back on the inside to Umaga-Jensen for his double. Barrett can't convert. HUR 12-3
27mins - Cane is back up and walking off the park unassisted thankfully. He will undergo a concussion test.
26mins - Sam Cane looks in serious trouble after making a tackle on Barrett....looks like hip to jaw and he's out cold. Hopefully it's not his neck but he is quite prone and being attended to.
25mins - Penalty goal Chiefs: McKenzie makes no mistake. HUR 7-3
23mins - Plenty of ball movement form the Chiefs but they can't create much .... eventually Coles is pinged for being offside and McKenzie will take a shot from in front.
22mins - Long period of play with multiple turnovers to both sides....eventually the Chiefs create some space through McKenzie who finds Stevenson in space down the right ... he kicks ahead and Goosen is back to tidy up and clear for touch. Great ball movement from both sides. Chiefs lineout on the Hurricanes 22.
18mins - Set play for the Hurricanes and Barrett is into the line .... long pass out to Van Wyk who is hammered over the sideline by the covering tackle of Sam Cane.
17mins - Penalty for the Hurricanes on the Chiefs 10m line .... Soqakula pinged for not rolling away. Barrett clears for touch and the Hurricanes have a lineout 10m out.
15mins - Scrafton does well to shut down the Chiefs maul and wins his side a turnover. Scrum Hurricanes on halfway.
13mins - Lovely kick from Trask as he finds touch on the Hurricanes 22 and Dane Coles will throw. Perenara clears into Chiefs territory with the box kick. Lineout Chiefs just inside their own half.
12mins - Forward pass puts Umaga-Jensen in space up the middle, but the referee rightly calls it back. Scrum on their own 10m line for the Chiefs.
10mins - Perenara kicks in behind the Chiefs and finds touch 5m out. Chiefs win the lineout .... two phases and Weber box kicks to touch. Lineout on the Chiefs 10m line for the Hurricanes.
9mins - Savea turns the ball over in contact and the Chiefs attack. Great run from Jacobson but it's a Hurricanes penalty. Wes Goosen with a tackle and turnover won. Lineout on halfway for the Hurricanes.
7mins - Try Hurricanes: Peter Umaga-Jensen - Six phases for the Hurricanes .... quick ball for Perenara and he puts Umaga-Jensen through a hole from 5m out. Converted from in front. HUR 7-0.
5mins - Hurricanes flinging the ball around a bit. Du Plessis Kirifi makes a break down the right but is brought down. Under advantage and that'll be a Hurricanes penalty. Barrett for touch and it's a Hurricanes lineout 10m out.
2mins - McKenzie from about 45m hits the crossbar .... Jordie Barrett clears. Nankivell on the return and gets hammered by Barrett and spills the ball. Scrum halfway for the Hurricanes.
1min - Early penalty for the Chiefs. Ardie Savea pinged for holding on at the ruck, just inside his own territory. McKenzie will have a stab. Sowakula with great work at the breakdown there.
Kick-off - Referee Mike Doleman says play and Garden-Bachop gets us underway.
7:04pm - Juilan Savea returned to club rugby today. For all the details, including the surprise position he played in .... click here.
7:02pm - Teams are as adevertised ...... damp conditions, but not currently raining.
7:00pm - Bumper crows in the windy city tonight .... north of 20,000. Nice work Wellingtonians.
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Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Super Rugby Aotearoa clash between the Hurricanes and Chiefs, at Sky Stadium in Wellington.
The Hurricanes still have a slim chance of claiming the title this season, but need no less than a bonus point win tonight.
For the Chiefs, tonight is their final games of a winless season, so providing a roadblock to the Hurricanes Super Rugby aspirations will be a motivating factor.
TAB odds:
Hurricanes $1.40, Chiefs $2.80
Hurricanes: 1-Ben May, 2-Dane Coles, 3-Tyrel Lomax, 4-James Blackwell, 5-Scott Scrafton, 6-Reed Prinsep, 7-Du'Plessis Kirifi, 8-Ardie Savea, 9-TJ Perenara, 10-Jackson Garden-Bachop, 11-Wes Goosen, 12-Vince Aso, 13-Peter Umaga-Jensen, 14-Kobus Van Wyk, 15-Jordie Barrett
Reserves: 16-Asafo Aumua, 17-Tevita Mafileo, 18-Pouri Rekate-Stones, 19-Kane Le’aupepe, 20-Devan Flanders, 21-Jamie Booth, 22-Billy Proctor, 23-Jonah Lowe
Chiefs: 1-Ollie Norris, 2-Samisoni Taukei'aho, 3-Nepo Laulala, 4-Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 5-Mitchell Brown, 6-Luke Jacobson, 7-Sam Cane, 8-Pita Gus Sowakula, 9-Brad Weber, 10-Kaleb Trask, 11-Sean Wainui, 12-Alex Nankivell, 13-Anton Lienert-Brown, 14-Shaun Stevenson, 15-Damian McKenzie
Reserves: 16-Bradley Slater, 17-Robb Cobb, 18-Angus Ta'avao, 19-Tupou Vaa’i, 20-Mitchell Karpik, 21-Lisati Milo-Harris, 22-Quinn Tupaea, 23-Kini Naholo
Pre-match banter
Players call for Super Rugby Aotearoa review
Some of our top All Blacks have called for NZ Rugby to seriously review Super Rugby Aotearoa, before committing to it for another year.
This week, Newshub has revealed the option is firmly on the table for 2021, as the COVID-19 crisis worsens across the ditch, raising doubts over a potential trans-Tasman competition.
The revamped post-lockdown format is widely seen as the closest thing to test-match rugby, but the injury toll has been brutal.
For that reason, those involved feel changes need to be made, if the competition is rolled out again next year.
"I'd like to see more teams added or a different schedule put out there," says Hurricanes co-captain TJ Perenara.
"I really enjoy the competition itself, I just don't think the way it's structured at the moment is sustainable."
Crusaders skipper Codie Taylor agrees, but wants more opponents than just the Kiwi derbies.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss playing Australian or South African teams, just because it adds different challenges," he says.
They likely won't face their rivals from across the ditch anytime soon.
With the Australian coronavirus situation getting worse by the day, a second year of Super Rugby Aotearoa is more likely, with a potential cross-border playoff format also touted.
Wallabies and former Chiefs coach Dave Rennie's clear on his preferred concept.
"I think a trans-Tasman competition is important and important for both countries," he says. "It's a great opportunity for our young kids to get involved in professional footy and get that experience."
Current Chiefs coach Warren Gatland has fallen foul of several referee's blunders this season and his philosophy is a little more to the point.
"Maybe a captain's challenges on the field... I think that would be a positive," he chuckles.
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But the general feeling among franchises is that they have the foundations to make the format work again.
"If it is Aotearoa, then we can make it even better, I believe," says Crusaders coach Scott Robertson.
"Going forward, I think there will be adjustments to the competition," says Perenara.
As Australia's covid crisis goes from bad to worse, it's fast becoming the only option.
