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Crusaders 33 Hurricanes 16
Crusaders (2 Taylor, Mo'unga, Blackadder, Barrett tries; Mo'unga 4 conversions)
Hurricanes (Riccatelli, Umaga-Jensen try; Barrett 2 penalty goals)
Full time
78 mins - TRY HURRICANES to Peter Umaga-Jensen
From the goal-line drop-out, Rayasi reclaims possession and breaks clear before offloading to Laumape who gets down to the Crusaders 22. The visitors get fastball and find Umaga-Jensen in space who crashes over in the corner. Barrett can't convert the try. (CRU 33-16)
76 mins - Goodhue makes a great tackle to dislodge the ball and the Crusaders swing onto the attack. The ball finds its ways to Reece who puts a great grubber in. Jordan ones a foot race nut knocks on a certain try.
75 mins - The Hurricanes string together there best period of play as the forward's string together a series of short sharp passes as they get down to just 10m out. They get fastball and as they're looking dangerous Umaga-Jensen falls over and knocks the ball on.
73 mins - The game is turning very scrappy in the last five minutes. An unforced error from both sides will see the Hurricanes have a scrum on their own 22m line.
From the scrum, the Hurricanes win a penalty which Barrett takes quickly and get down to the home sides 22 before losing possession. Jordan clears down to the 10m line.
69 mins - The Hurricanes are back onto the attack. Barrett goes for the cross-field kick that finds Savea in space. He gets down to the 10m line but the attack goes to nothing Ben O'Keffee comes back for a penalty and the Hurricanes will have a lineout on the 22.
From the lineout, Riccatelli, fails to throw it straight giving the Crusaders a scrum. The home side dominates the scrum and win a penalty to ease the pressure.
64 mins - The Hurricanes attack comes to nothing when they make an unforced error. Crusaders go straight back on the attack with a great flick pass from Whitelock that finds Strange.
He puts a grubber in that goes out on the Hurricanes 22m line.
61 mins - The Crusaders set up their attack on their own 10m line but the Hurricanes win another breakdown penalty and will have a lineout just 5m out.
59 mins - Hurricanes are straight back onto the attack after Rayasi break down to the Crusaders 22m line. After nine phases, the attack comes to nothing with a forward pass from Barrett.
57 mins - TRY HURRICANES to Ricky Riccatelli
From a lineout just 5m out, the Hurricane set a messy lineout drive but Riccatelli breaks off the back of the maul and crashes over. Barrett can't convert the try. (CRU 33-11)
55 mins - From the scrum, the Hurricanes win a penalty to go straight back onto the attack and will have a lineout 5m out. After five phases their attack comes to nothing but Ben O'Keefe goes back for a penalty.
53 mins - The day is going from bad to worse for the Hurricanes. They look to build their attack just inside the Crusaders half but Lomax puts down a simple pass to invite more pressure on his side.
50 mins - After seven phases of attack, where the Hurricanes looked very lost and not likely to score, Barrett makes a mistake in contact to ease the pressure. Crusaders will have a scrum 5m out.
48 mins - From the kickoff, the Crusaders are setting up to clear but at the breakdown, Savea wins a penalty to give his side a chance to attack with a lineout 5m out.
The Crusaders use their captains challenge for foul play but nothing comes of it.
45 mines -TRY CRUSADERS to Codie Taylor
From a scrum on halfway, Mo'unga puts in a pin-point grubber that goes into touch 5m out. The Hurricanes make a meal of a lineout and it goes over the top straight to Taylor who strolls over. Mo'unga converts the try. (CRU 33-6)
42 mins - The Crusaders continue where they left off at the start of the second half as they build there attack inside the Hurricanes 22. But the home side give away a penalty to ease the pressure.
Kick off - Jordie Barrett gets us back underway.
Halftime - The Hurricanes made a bright start to the contest, dominating territory and possession. They were rewarded with two Jordie Barrett penalty goals but the game swung when Ardie Savea was sent to the bin for 10 minutes.
In that time the Crusaders cross for three tries to build a commanding lead at the break.
40 mins - TRY CRUSADERS to Scott Barrett
The Crusaders are back on the attack down on the Hurricanes 22. After eight phases McLeod makes a strong run to come up inches short. Drummond gets fast ball and finds Barrett who crashes over in the corner. Mo'unga can't convert the try. (CRU 26-6)
36 mins - The Hurricanes make a meal of the lineout to hand possession back. Drummond clears down to the 22m line.
35 mins - Crusaders give away a penalty from the scrum and finds touch 5m out visitors line.
33 mins - The Hurricanes are their own worst enemy right now. Straight from the kickoff, the visitors give away another penalty to march the Crusaders down the field.
The Canes get a lucky break as the Crusaders make an unforced error on halfway.
30 mins - TRY CRUSADERS to Ethan Blackadder
The Crusaders are hot on the attack and win a penalty which Drummond takes quickly. After seven phases of more attack, Ethan Blackadder picks and goes to crash over. Mo'unga converts the try. (CRU 21-6)
Savea is back from the bin, but how crucial has this 10 minutes been.
28 mins - All the momentum is with the home side as the Hurricanes give away another penalty to invite more pressure. Crusaders have a lineout on the visitors 22m line.
26 mins - TRY CRUSADERS to Richie Mo'unga.
It all starts just outside the Crusaders 22. Mo'unga throws a beautiful pass to Taylor who sprints into a huge whole. He gets down to the 22 before he offloads to Drummond, who quickly offloads to Mo'unga who sprints clear and crashes over. Mo'unga converts the try.
Julian Savea has asked for a captains challenge for a forward pass but it's not given, so the try stands. (CRU 14-6)
24 mins - Jordie Barrett puts in a smart grubber kick to give the home side a lineout on their own 22.
22 mins - TRY CRUSADERS to Codie Taylor
The Hurricanes give away a free-kick at a scrum just 5m out. Taylor takes a sneaky quick-tap and he catches the Hurricanes napping and he powers over. Mo'unga converts the try. (CRU 7-5)
19 mins - YELLOW CARD HURRICANES to Ardie Savea
The Crusaders have a lineout on the 22m and set a rolling maul. It gets a head of steam down and Savea is forced to collapse it to save a try and Ben O'Keefe wastes no time in sending Savea to the bin.
18 mins - Crusaders steal a Hurricanes lineout on the home sides 10m line. McLeaod makes a strong run and is only just brought down. At the ruck, the Hurricanes give away a penalty.
16 mins - What play from Ardie Savea. The Hurricanes are pinned in their own 22. From a ruck, he picks it up and sprints clear. He gets down to halfway before putting a cross-field kick looking for Goosen but it goes into touch 5m out.
What a start the Hurricanes have made to this contest. Referee Ben O'keefe is looking at foul play by the Crusaders but nothing comes of it.
15 mins - From the kickoff, the Hurricanes are setting up to clear but the Crusaders give away another breakdown penalty to march them down the field.
13 mins - PENALTY GOAL to Hurricanes to Jordie Barrett
The Crusader lose the ball from a lineout just outside their own 22. The Hurricanes are straight back on the attack. With the home side scrambling, they give away a breakdown penalty right in front 22m out. Barrett nails the easy kick to extend the lead. (HUR 6-0)
11 mins - The Crusaders attack from the goal-line drop out but Jackson Garden-Bachop intercepts a poor Goodhue pass. He pings the ears back and looks like he's over but a great try saving tackle from Reece stops a certain try and he's thrown into touch.
10 mins - Jack Goodhue makes a steal in the tackle and he rolls free. He puts a grubber in behind but tt goes into the in-goal area and the Hurricanes will have a goal-line drop-out.
8 mins - The home side have made a rusty start to this contest. From a lineout, Dallas McLeod throws offloads forward to give the Hurricanes a scrum on halfway. Opportunity for the visitors to attack, space on either side of the scrum.
6 mins - Crusaders win a long passage of play, with a smart kick from Sevu Reece who finds touch inside the Hurricanes 22.
4 mins - HURRICANES Penalty goal to Jordie Barrett
After eight phases the attack comes to nothing and the visitors will come back for a penalty 46m out center field. Jordie Barrett will have a shot at goal. He nails it, straight down the middle. (HUR 3-0)
2 min - The Hurricanes have made a strong start to the contest building their attack just inside the home sides half.
Kickoff - Richie Mo'unga gets us underway.
*****
4:33pm - Ardie Savea leads his side out as they look for their second consecutive victory in Christchurch.
Scott Barrett leads his side out to a perfect playing surface at Orangetheory Stadium on a beautiful day in Christchurch. 20 degrees barely a cloud in the sky.
4:10pm - We are just 20 minutes from kick-off in Christchurch and the official team lists are in.
*****
Kia ora, good afternoon and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Super Rugby Aotearoa clash between the Crusaders and Hurricanes, at Christchurch's Orangetheory Stadium.
With most of the country now back at COVID-19 Level 1, the match will be played in front of a bumper crowd in Christchurch.
The game was originally scheduled for Saturday night, but with an alert change likely, officials made the call to shift to Sunday, in the hope of a crowd and their wishes have come true.
The home side have the opportunity to jump back to the top of the table with victory against the men from the capital.
The southerners started the season with a professional performance over the Highlanders where they soaked up pressure, before pouncing on their opportunities.
Former All Black David Havili returns to the Crusaders starting XV, with last season's top tryscorer Will Jordan relegated to the bench against the Hurricanes.
Mitch Drummond replaces Bryn Hall at halfback in the only other change to the line-up that started against the Highlanders last week - both halves are nearing their 100th appearaces for the southern side.
The Hurricanes will be looking to kick-start their season after a disappointing loss to the Blues in the opening round.
They'll be looking for back-to-back wins in Christchurch, after breaking the home sides four-year win streak in 2020, so will have confidence they can get the job done.
Coach Jason Holland has made four changes - three in the forwards - to his starting line-up against the Crusaders.
All Blacks centre Peter Umaga-Jensen replaces Billy Proctor in the backline, while lock Isaia Walker-Leawere, and loose forwards Reed Prinsep and Du'Plessis Kirifi join the pack.
Crusaders: 1-Joe Moody, 2-Codie Taylor, 3-Michael Alaalatoa, 4-Scott Barrett (c), 5-Samuel Whitelock, 6-Ethan Blackadder, 7-Tom Christie, 8-Cullen Grace, 9-Mitchell Drummond, 10-Richie Mo'unga, 11-Leicester Fainga'anuku, 12-Dallas McLeod, 13-Jack Goodhue, 14-Sevu Reece, 15-David Havili
Reserves: 16-Brodie McAlister, 17-George Bower, 18-Fletcher Newell, 19-Quinten Strange, 20-Sione Havili Talitui, 21-Bryn Hall, 22-Fergus Burke, 23-Will Jordan
Hurricanes: 1-Fraser Armstrong, 2-Asafo Aumua, 3-Tyrel Lomax, 4-James Blackwell, 5-Isaia Walker-Leawere,6-Reed Prinsep, 7-Du'Plessis Kirifi, 8-Ardie Savea (C), 9-Jonathan Taumateine, 10-Jackson Garden-Bachop, 11-Julian Savea, 12-Ngani Laumape, 13-Peter Umaga-Jensen, 14-Wes Goosen, 15-Jordie Barrett
Reserves: 16-Ricky Riccatelli, 17-Xavier Numia, 18-Tevita Mafileo, 19-Liam Mitchell, 20-Devan Flanders, 21-Luke Campbell, 22-Billy Proctor, 23-Salesi Rayasi
TAB odds: Crusaders $1.17 Hurricanes $4.55
Pre-match banter:
Rejuvenated Crusaders star Sevu Reece out to reclaim All Blacks jersey
Crusaders wing Sevu Reece has spoken out about a tough 2020 that saw him lose his All Blacks starting spot and his subsequent mission to win it back.
In round one of Super Rugby, Reece was back to his scintillating best, playing a key hand in the defending champions' win over the Highlanders.
The 24-year-old is the first to admit that his form last year wasn't where it should've been and he hopes a change in mindset will lead him back to the heights of 2019.
"Last year was a slow start for me," Reece tells Newshub. "Over the summer pre-season, I just put all my goals in place and I wanted to start this year on a high."
The outside backs are among the more congested positions in the All Blacks and Jordie Barrett was the selectors' preferred option on the right wing last year.
Reece realises he needs to be as involved as possible from the outset to help reclaim his spot.
"It's just those little things that could separate myself from the other outside backs… that work rate," he says.
Crusaders coach Scott Robertson has already noticed that work-rate increase and admits 2020 was a reality check, after his dizzying ascent to the All Blacks World Cup squad the previous year.
"He's realised, first year - boom, it was all here for him," Robertson tells Newshub. "Second year, it was probably a bit tough.
"What is required now for him, he's touched on that and he's doing it consistently."
And Reece is more determined than ever to cement his spot as the country's premier right wing.
"Now it's just, every week, having to play to that standard or lifting it even more," Reece adds.
