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Blues 27 Hurricanes 17
Blues - Tries: Penalty try, Faiane, Telea. Conversions: Black (3). Penalties: Black.
Hurricanes - Tries: Prinsep. Penalties: Barrett (4)
FULLTIME
The Hurricanes need to go the length of the field, score and convert for a draw.
Penalty to the Blues from the scrum, and the Blues will take a shot at goal to end the evening.
Black with one last kick as the siren goes. He's got it, and that's that.
(BLU 27 HUR 17)
80 mins
Akira Ioane wins a turnover to stop the Hurricanes' attack, and that should be it for the Blues.
There'll be one last scrum for the Blues.
77 mins - TRY HURRICANES
Hurricanes penalty. They go to the lineout in the corner. Riccitelli throws and they drive.
Riccitelli has the ball at the back, but the Blues' defend well. The Blues bring the maul down short, and the Hurricanes go wide.
Rayasi goes for the line, but is tackled short, only for Prinsep to cross over and score!
Barrett's kick is a shocker though.
(BLU 24 HUR 17)
74 mins
The Hurricanes need to score. They win their own scrum before going wide, but Leger drops the ball cold!
You'd have to think that should be it for the Hurricanes' chances.
71 mins
Blues' scrum inside their own half. They knock it on and Flanders is there to snap it up!
He tries to get the pass away to Leger, but the ball goes to ground and the Blues get out of jail. We'll go back for the initial knock-on. Hurricanes' scrum.
65 mins - TRY BLUES
Ruru clears the ball, Julian Savea claims it in the air, but he's tackled into touch by the oncoming Blues.
Blues' lineout. Apisai throws and goes to Black. Advantage Blues. Papalii runs but he's tackled. They go wide to Ioane, who breaks the line before getting the pass away to Telea to score in the corner!
Black lines up his hardest kick of the night, from the right touchline, and he slots it!
(BLU 24 HUR 12)
61 mins
It's a game of forceback as both side trade kicks. The Hurricanes take a quick lineout as Barrett runs. Campbell wins advantage before Julian Savea breaks the line!
He's tackled, but finds his brother in support. The Blues are back in numbers though, and manage to end the threat as Ardie knocks on. Blues' scrum.
58 mins
The Hurricanes win anither penalty, but Barrett decides that seven points might be better than three.
They take the lineout and win it, only for Sotutu to win a turnover from Laumape. Black clears for a Blues lineout.
55 mins
Hurricanes' scrum. They go to Barrett, who breaks down the left and tries to find Julian Savea, who drops the ball.
Blues' scrum. Perofeta is leaving the field for a concussion test.
51 mins - TRY BLUES
The Blues attack inside the Hurricanes' half, and get through 15 phases before Ruru is held up in-goal.
Goal line dropout forced. Leger goes shallow, but Ioane beats Rayasi to win the ball and start the Blues' attack again.
Perofeta breaks the line, draws in the last man before putting Faiane through to score!
Black lands the conversion.
(BLU 17 HUR 12)
46 mins
Ok then, Barrett points at the posts from that last penalty - inside the Hurricanes' half.
This one has to be about 55 metres. Barrett lines up the shot and he's slotted it.
Wow. Hurricanes take the lead.
(BLU 10 HUR 12)
45 mins
Tu'inukuafe is back on his feet, but limping from the field.
We'll have a Hurricanes scrum. False start as the Eden Park turf gives out beneath the two forward packs.
Campbell feeds, and eventually gets the ball to the backs. Advantage Hurricanes after offside at the scrum. Laumape runs, but we go back for the penalty.
43 mins
Bit of a mix-up between Coles and Robinson over which team's lineout it is. It goes to the Hurricanes. They run the ball, but Leger's pass to Proctor is spilled and snapped up by the Blues.
The Blues go to Perofeta who clears as far as Barrett. Campbell kicks over the top back to Perofeta. Nock goes to the air, and the Blues knock it on attempting to win the ball.
Hurricanes scrum. But Tu'inukuafe is staying down and looks in a lot of pain. He's clashed knees with Lomax. Ouch.
41 mins
We're back for the second half, only a point in it! Leger kicks off.
HALFTIME
Into the final 30 seconds of the half. The Blues try to run from their own half, but Black throws a shocker of a pass straight to Rayasi.
Rieko Ioane gives away a penalty for not rolling away, and Barrett wants another shot. Clever, he can use up the last minute or so of Savea's yellow card.
Barrett with the attempt then, and has no issue.
(BLU 10 HUR 9)
39 mins
The Blues have advantage inside the Hurricanes' half. Nock and Telea are both driven backwards. Ioane nearly breaks through, but drops the ball, so we'll go back for the penalty.
Will the Blues want the points now? They do.
Black lines it up from in front, and lands it.
(BLU 10 HUR 6)
37 mins
Hurricanes scrum after the Blues make a mistake at the kickoff. Campbell feeds, and goes to Leger who hits Laumape with a crash ball.
They get to the 22, and have advantage for offside. They go through the backs to Coles on the wing, who spins out of a tackle.
The Hurricanes move back infield, but we'll go back for that advantage, and they'll take the points.
Barrett lines up his shot from relatively in front, and hammers the ball through the uprights.
(BLU 7 HUR 6)
32 mins - TRY BLUES
The Blues go for the lineout drive and have the advantage. Tolai goes for the line, where Ardie Savea holds him up, but the referee awards a penalty try!
What's happened here? Ardie Savea's been shown a yellow card, called for bringing it down. That's a very harsh call.
The kick is good.
(BLU 7 HUR 3)
31 mins
Hurricanes scrum after Telea knocks on. Campbell feeds and they go to the backs where Laumape hits the line. Rayasi takes the line on and tries to offload, but it goes to no one.
The Blues turn the ball over and now they can run it. They get to halfway, where Kirifi turns it over, but the referee calls him for hands in the ruck.
Black kicks to the sideline for a Blues lineout.
28 mins
Advantage Hurricanes inside the Blues' half, Cowley-Tuioti didn't roll away.
The Hurricanes want the points, smart play. They'll have the chance for points and run down the last minute of Kirifi's yellow card.
Barrett lines up the kick, and this time he gets it. Finally, the scoring is opened.
(BLU 0 HUR 3)
25 mins
Blackwell steals the lineout and the Hurricanes get out of trouble. They clear the ball, where Clarke races back to tidy up. He can't hang onto it though, and spills it into touch. Hurricanes lineout.
Coles throws and the Hurricanes bring it down. Ardie Savea runs it up field, before Leger stabs a kick through. Laumape and Black race for the ball. Black wins, but he's tackled in goal by Laumape.
Line dropout.
23 mins
Blues scrum after Barrett knocks on. They go wide to the right wing, but Perofeta's pass to Telea is forward. Hurricanes scrum.
Campbell feeds, Rayasi fills in for Kirifi. The Blues win a penalty at the scrum though! Tuungafasi the hero for the Blues there.
Blues lineout on the 22.
20 mins
The Blues look to attack with their extra man. They run the ball over halfway, but Ardie Savea wins a penalty. Brilliant from the Hurricanes' skipper.
Will they want the points? They do, just inside their own half, but Barrett can definitely land them from here.
Barrett lines up his first shot of the night, he gets the distance - just not the direction.
Still scoreless.
17 mins
The Hurricanes have a penalty right in front, but will they want the points? They do indeed.
Barrett lines up the kick from right in front, but hang on, the TMO wants to check for foul play.
Black has been hit high by Kirifi cleaning out a ruck, and is staying down. Replays don't look good, contact with the head by Kirifi on Black.
This should be a yellow card. It is. The Hurricanes are down to 14, and won't have that shot at goal.
16 mins
The Hurricanes win a short-arm penalty. Barrett belts it 50m downfield, Blues lineout.
Tolai throws, but Darry knocks it on. Hurricanes scrum and Rayasi runs from first-receiver.
Laumape kicks through with Coles and Proctor chasing. The Hurricanes are on attack. They go to the right where Rayasi is tackled by Clarke with the tryline in sight.
Campbell and Kirifi combine, but are tackled. Ardie Savea runsbut is tackled shy of the five-metre line. Laumape tries to dance through, but can't. Advantage Hurricanes for a high tackle on Campbell.
Barrett goes to the air for Julian Savea, but Black wins it. We'll go back for the penalty.
11 mins
Armstrong gives away a penalty and the Blues want the lineout. First chance of the night for the home side.
Tolai throws, Darry takes it and the Blues drive. The Hurricanes defend well though, as Scrafton wins a penalty.
9 mins
Coles throws to Prinsep again and the Hurricanes run. But hang on, because Papalii has stolen it again! The Blues clear and force Barrett to scramble back and find touch.
The Blues take it quickly though as Perofeta runs. Papalii breaks down the Blues' right, and gets a pass back infield, but Nock can't take it cleanly.
The Hurricanes managed to regain possession, and Campbell clears.
6 mins
The Blues go to the air, and Leger takes it cleanly. There's a knock-on though, and the Hurricanes will have a scrum.
Campbell feeds, and the Hurricanes run from inside their own half. The Blues look to turn the ball over, but Sotutu is penalised. The Hurricanes take the lineout.
4 mins
Coles throws, Prinsep takes it. The Hurricanes start to drive inside the '22. Laumape runs but Papalii defends well. The Hurricanes move towards the left wing, before Kirifi goes back inside.
Barrett tries to step through the line but is tackled. Papalii does brilliantly to turn the ball over and the Blues can counter!
2 mins
Scrafton takes the kick-off and the Hurricanes look to use the ball. Campbell clears, Clarke takes it in the air, but the Hurricanes are awarded a penalty, Tolai with a late tackle.
Will Jordie Barrett look to take the points? Nope, the Hurricanes want a lineout.
KICK-OFF
We're away! Otere Black kicks off to get us going.
7:04pm
We're all good to go in Auckland! The ball has been delivered by a helicopter, because why not?
Both sides are out on the ground, interesting to note that the Hurricanes walked out to Star Wars' Imperial march...
Ofa Tuungafasi leads the Blues out onto Eden Park, playing his 101st game, Mangare College students are there to greet him with a haka.
6:55pm
The Hurricanes have finished their warm-up and make for the changing sheds, while the Blues are still out on Eden Park. Kick-off around 10 minutes away.
6:30pm
Good evening! We should be in for a treat tonight, with the second Super Rugby Aotearoa match of the weekend. Auckland has turned on a stunner, which will hopefully translate into a good game!
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Kia ora, welcome to Newshub's live updates of this Super Rugby Aotearoa clash between the Blues and the Hurricanes, from Eden Park.
With two losses in the last two weeks, the Blues' desperately need victory tonight if they're to have any chance of challenging the Crusaders for this year's Super Rugby Aotearoa title.
But they'll have to do it without captain Patrick Tuipulotu, who's out with a shoulder injury.
Tom Robinson takes his place as skipper, leading the Blues for the first time.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes are looking for their second win of 2021, having finally broken their duck against the Highlanders last weekend.
The Wellington-based side welcome back Julian Savea, who starts on the right wing, joined in the starting side by Fraser Armstrong.
TAB head-to-head
Blues $1.36 Hurricanes $2.95
Lineups:
Blues: 1-Karl Tu'inukuafe, 2-Luteru Tolai, 3-Ofa Tuungafasi, 4-Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, 5-Sam Darry, 6-Tom Robinson (c), 7-Dalton Papalii, 8-Hoskins Sotutu, 9-Sam Nock, 10-Otere Black, 11-Caleb Clarke, 12-TJ Faiane, 13-Rieko Ioane, 14-Mark Telea, 15-Stephen Perofeta.
Reserves: 16-Leni Apisai, 17-Alex Hodgman, 18-Nepo Laulala, 19-Josh Goodhue, 20-Akira Ioane, 21-Jonathan Ruru, 22-Harry Plummer, 23-AJ Lam
Hurricanes: 1-Fraser Armstrong, 2-Dane Coles, 3-Tyrel Lomax, 4-James Blackwell, 5-Scott Scrafton, 6-Reed Prinsep, 7-Du'Plessis Kirifi, 8-Ardie Savea (c), 9-Luke Campbell, 10-Orbyn Leger, 11-Salesi Rayasi, 12-Ngani Laumape, 13-Billy Proctor, 14-Julian Savea, 15-Jordie Barrett
Reserves: 16-Ricky Riccitelli, 17-Xavier Numia, 18-Tevita Mafileo, 19-Isaia Walker-Leawere, 20-Devan Flanders, 21-Jonathan Taumateine, 22-Peter Umaga-Jensen, 23-Wes Goosen
Ardie Savea plays downs All Blacks captaincy talk
Ardie Savea has played down talk of him taking over the All Blacks captaincy after the injury to skipper Sam Cane.
Cane was ruled out for up to six months with a pectoral injury on Thursday, meaning coach Ian Foster will need to find a new leader for three tests against Italy and Fiji in July and August.
Savea is one name that has been thrown into the mix, currently in his first year of leading the Hurricanes in Super Rugby Aotearoa, as well as being part of the All Blacks' leadership group.
The 27-year-old didn't give much away when asked if he wanted the role, and instead turned his attention to the Hurricanes.
"I can see where this is going," Savea joked.
"If I say yes, then it's 'Ardie wants to be captain.'"
"I'm one of the leaders in the team and if I got asked? I'm not sure.
"But I'm not even thinking about the All Blacks. I'm just trying to play well for the 'Canes and lead the boys here."
In 2019, Cane returned to the All Blacks after suffering a broken neck the year before.
The 46-test loose forward is confident his All Blacks teammate will bounce back stronger than ever from another injury setback.
"I know what it's like. It's sad for Sammy and a massive blow for the All Blacks," he says.
"That's our skipper and leader.
"It's unfortunate, but I know with Sammy he's strong, he's been through the trenches before with previous injuries and I know he'll come back strong and better.
"It's a blow for the All Blacks but like life, we need to adjust and move forward."
Savea is focused on his Hurricanes side, who travel north for their clash against the Blues on Saturday.
After picking up their first win of the season against the Highlanders last week, the 'Canes will be out for revenge, following a disappointing 31-16 defeat in the opening round of Super Rugby Aotearoa.
"We've been preparing ourselves for a very tough match this week at Eden Park. It's been a good week, the boys are ready, training hard and looking forward to getting stuck into it."
