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Hurricanes 43 Western Force 6
Hurricanes - Aumua, 2 Rayasi, Kirifi, Goosen, Laumape, Barrett tries; Barrett 4 conversions
Force - Miotti 2 penalty goals
Full time
80 mins - Try Hurricanes to Jordie Barrett
The Hurricanes look to finish the contest on a high as they attack just short of the visitors 22 just as the siren goes. The Hurricanes back combine perfectly for the try of the night when Barrett fires a wide pass to Goosen who shows great footwork to beat two defenders before offloading to Barrett who tip-toes down the sideline to grab the Hurricanes seventh try of the evening.
Barrett can't convert the try and that will be full time. (HUR 43-6)
78 mins
The Force muscle up at scrum time and win a penalty ad will have a lineout just short of halfway. The visitors make a meal of the lineout and the Hurricanes will start their attack with just a minute remaining.
74 mins - Try Hurricanes to Ngani Laumape
The Hurricanes have made the Force pay. From the lineout, Barrett puts a beautiful chip kick over the top to Savea who gathers and offloads to Laumape who has too much pace to score under the posts.
Barrett converts the try. (HUR 38-6)
72 mins - No Try Force to Jeremy Thrush
From the lineout, the Force set the lineout maul and execute it perfectly and it's the former Hurricanes player Jeremy Thrush who crashes over at the back of the maul.
The referee has gone upstairs and replays have shown obstruction at the maul so the try has been disallowed.
71 mins
The Force are back on the attack inside the Hurricanes 22. Miotti makes a strong run just short of the line and looks to offload to Jordan Olowofela but he can't handle it and puts the pass down.
The referee was playing advantage and the Force will have a lineout just five metres out.
68 mins
The Hurricanes defence stands firm and forces the visitors into a forward pass to ease the pressure.
66 mins
The Force win a penalty at scrum time and they will have a lineout just eight metres out.
64 mins
The Force are building their attack nicely just inside the Hurricanes 22. After eight phases, Miotti puts a pin-point kick behind Barrett and it bounces into touch five metres out.
The Hurricanes take the lineout quickly and Barrett clears down to halfway.
61 mins - Try Hurricnes to Salesi Rayasi,
It looks for all money that the Force will grab their first try of the evening after going inches short on three occasions but it's the Hurricanes who pounce. After six phases, Ian Prior fires a long pass wide to the centre of the field but it doesn't find a Force player and Rayasi flicks it up off his boot. He sprints 80-metres untouched to score under the posts.
Barrett converts the try. (HUR 31-6)
57 mins
Force attack straight from the lineout with Thrash - back from his HIA assessment - who gets up to the Hurricanes 10 metre line. At the breakdown, the visitors win a penalty and will have a lineout on the 22.
55 mins
Barrett produces a brilliant flick pass to Savea who tip-toes down the sideline and get to the Hurricanes 22. Lomax makes a mini-break before offloading to Laumape who goes inches short.
After 16 phases and brilliant scrambling defence from the Force has seen Scrafton knock the ball on.
The referee has gone to the TMO to look at foul play by Barrett. Replays has shown Barrett has made contact with the head of a Force player while trying to clean him out at the breakdown. It will be a penalty to the Force.
52 mins
Savea has made an immediate impact as he wins a breakdown penalty to ease the pressure on his side.
50 mins
The Force have responded well from the Goosen try as they set up a rolling maul on the home side's 22. They get it 10-metres short where Feleti Kaitu'u makes a run to go inches short. At the breakdown, the Hurricanes give away a penalty and the Force will have a lineout five metres out.
Ardie Savea has come on for the Hurricanes for his first appearance since his injury.
48 mins - Try Hurricanes Wes Goosen
What a try from the Hurricanes as the backs show great quick hands to find Goosen out wide who uses his pace to crash over in the corner.
Barrett can't convert the try from the sideline. (HUR 24-6)
46 mins
The Force give away a breakdown penalty to invite more pressure on them as Barrett gives the Hurricanes a lineout five metres out.
44 mins
The Hurricanes are hot on the attack deep inside Force 22. After five phases, Barrett comes back across the field and looks for Riccitelli but the pass is behind the hooker and he puts it down to ease the pressure on the Force.
Jeremy Thrush has gone off for an HIA assessment.
42 mins
Toni Pulu makes a barnstorming run downfield inside the home side half. As he draws in the final defender, his pass is high and isn't gathered and rolls into touch. Big opportunity for the visitors.
Kickoff - The Force get the second half underway. News just coming through, Asafo Aumua has failed his HIA so he won't be back.
40 mins
The attack from the Force comes to nothing as Richard Kahui is forced into touch and that will be halftime.
39 mins
The Force prop Tom Robertson makes a barnstorming run downfield to get just short of the Hurricanes 22. At the next phase, Miotti puts a grubber in behind but Barrett cleans up and clears.
The visitors will have a lineout just short of the 22 as the siren goes.
38 mins - Try Hurricanes to Du’Plessis Kirifi
After a long passage of play the Hurricanes crash over for their third try of the evening. Tyrel Lomax wins a turnover and Campbell spins the ball wide to Kirifi. He finds some space and beats one defender and sprints clear to crash over.
Barrett can't convert the try. (HUR 19-6)
Aumua has gone off for an HIA
36 mins
The Hurricanes defend the lineout maul brilliant to win the turnover to ease the pressure.
34 mins
The Force are getting some phases together as Toni Pulu makes a break down to halfway. After six phases, the visitors win a penalty for the Hurricanes being offside and they will have a lineout 15 metres out.
31 mins
The Hurricanes are attacking just 10metres from the Force try line. They throwing everything at the visitors but the Force defence is standing strong. After 10-phases the referee awards a penalty for a high tackle.
The Hurricanes go for the lineout and they set a maul but the Force defend it well to win the crucial turnover.
28 mins
The Hurricanes dominate at scrum time and win penalty Barrett gives his side a lineout just short of the 22. The lineout is messy and the Force knock the ball on as they compete.
26 mins
The Hurricanes have muscled up in defence to hold up the Force ball carrier and win the turnover. The home side will have a scrum just outside their 22. But at the scrum, the Hurricanes pre-engage and it will be a free kick to the visitors and they choose to have a scrum.
24 mins
The Hurricanes look to attack straight from the kickoff and come wide to Goosen. He gets just outside his 22 and kicks downfield but it goes straight out and the Force will come back for a lineout just short of the home side's 22.
22 mins - Try Hurricanes to Salesi Rayasi
The Hurricanes have grabbed their second of the evening. After keeping it tight with the forwards for three phases, they come wide to the backs where Peter Umaga-Jensen fires a long cut-out pass to Rayasi who finishes acrobatically in the corner.
Barrett converts the try (HUR 14-6)
20 mins
The home side hasn't let that no try call affect them as they go straight back onto the attack. After eight phases of attack just short of the Force 22, it comes to nothing but the referee has come back for a penalty.
The Hurricanes will have a lineout seven metres out.
17 mins - No try Hurricanes
The Hurricanes are building their attack just inside the Force half before a beautiful cut-out pass from Rayasi finds Umaga-Jensen. He chips in behind and it ricochets off a Force player and falls to Rayasi who scores in the corner.
The television match official has found a penalty for a push in the back of a Force player in the lead-up and it will be no try
14 mins - Hurricanes Try to Asafo Aumua
The Hurricanes have hit back against the run of play. The Force over-throw the lineout and Asafo Aumua gobbles up the loose ball and fends off one tackler and sprints 70-metres to score.
Barrett converts the try. (HUR 7-6)
12 mins
Jordie Barrett's poor start to the contest has continued as he kicked the restart straight out. The visitors have a lineout and the Hurricanes give away a penalty and the Force will have a lineout just short of the 22.
11 mins - Force penalty goal to Domingo Miotti
The Force have started this contest brilliant and are looking very patient in attack. After 10-phases of testing attack, it comes to nothing but the referee will come back for a breakdown penalty.
Miotti will have another shot at goal this time from 32 metres out right in front and he nails it. (FOR 6-0)
8 mins
The Hurricanes win the ball back from the kickoff and look to attack. Rayasi makes a mini-break down the left-wing before his side come back to the right.
After four phases, the home side gives away a breakdown penalty to give the Force a lineout on halfway.
6 mins - Force Penalty Goal to Domingo Miotti
The Force put up a high kick up, which Rayasi drops but regathers quickly. At the breakdown, the visitors win a penalty and will have a shot at goal.
Miotti nails the shot at goal from right in front to put the visitors in front. (FOR 3-0)
4 mins
The Hurricanes win a breakdown penalty just inside the visitors half and Barrett will go for touch but he makes a meal of it.
He kicks it dead and the Force will have a scrum on halfway.
2 mins
The Hurricanes make a strong start with Jordie Barrett putting in a cross-field kick, which finds Laumpape out on the left-wing. He grubbers it behind the Force fullback but it goes dead and it will be a 22-metre drop-out to the visitors.
Kickoff - The Hurricanes will get this clash underway with James Doleman the man in the middle for this contest
7:03pm - Both sides out on the park and we are just moments away from kickoff. It's a cool night but perfect conditions for attacking rugby.
7:00pm - We are just five minutes from kickoff. Reed Prinsep will become the 20th captain of the Hurricanes when he leads his side out.
*****
Kia ora and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman clash between the Hurricanes and Western Force from Napier's McLean Park.
The Hurricanes have made a bright start to their Super Rugby Trans-Tasman campaign, with two bonus-point wins over the Waratahs in Sydney and Melbourne Rebels in Wellington to sit second on the points table.
The home side welcome back linchpin forward Ardie Savea from injury, while Dane Coles has the week off, as flanker Reed Prinsep takes over the captaincy.
The Force are playing their first Super Rugby game in New Zealand since 2017, after they were dropped from the competition, when Australia were reduced to four teams.
But the visitors have been the most competitive Australian outfit in this year's competition, with the four other Aussie teams suffering heavy defeats in the opening two rounds, while the Force had a one-point loss to the Chiefs, before losing by 10 to the Highlanders.
The two sides haven't faced each other since 2017, when the Hurricanes held the wood over their Australian counterparts.
Since the Perth side were formed in 2006, the Force have registered just the sole victory over the Hurricanes back in 2007, with the Wellington-based side winning the last nine encounters.
TAB odds: Hurricanes: $1.07 Western Force $7.50
Hurricanes: 1-Xavier Numia, 2-Asafo Aumua, 3-Tyrel Lomax, 4-Isaia Walker-Leawere, 5-Scott Scrafton, 6-Reed Prinsep, 7-Du’Plessis Kirifi, 8-Gareth Evans, 9-Luke Campbell, 10-Orbyn Leger, 11-Salesi Rayasi, 12-Ngani Laumape, 13-Peter Umaga-Jensen, 14-Wes Goosen, 15-Jordie Barrett.
Reserves: 16-Ricky Riccitelli, 17- Pouri Rakete-Stones, 18-Alex Fidow, 19-James Blackwell, 20-Ardie Savea, 21-Cam Roigard, 22-Billy Proctor, 23-Vince Aso
Force: 1-Tom Robertson, 2-Andrew Ready, 3-Santiago Medrano, 4-Jeremy Thrush, 5-Sitaleki Timani, 6-Fergus Lee-Warner, 7-Kane Koteka, 8-Tim Anstee, 9-Tomas Cubelli, 10-Domingo Miotti, 11-Jordan Olowofela, 12-Kyle Godwin (c), 13-Richard Kahui, 14-Toni Pulu, 15-Rob Kearney
Reserves: 16-Feleti Kaitu'u, 17-Angus Warner, 18-Greg Holmes, 19-Ryan McCauley, 20-Brynard Stander, 21-Ian Prior, 22-Jack McGregor, 23-Tevita Kuridrani
Highlanders v Rebels clash moved to Sydney
The Highlanders and Rebels' Super Rugby Trans-Tasman clash has been shifted to Sydney, after Melbourne's COVID-19 outbreak.
The two sides were scheduled to face off in Queenstown on Sunday, but Victoria's lockdown has forced that match be moved to Sydney's Leichhardt Oval.
The Rebels relocated from Melbourne to Sydney on Wednesday, hoping to travel from there to New Zealand, but a pause in the trans-Tasman bubble has forced organisers to move the encounter altogether.
On Thursday, the state of Victoria was plunged into a week-long lockdown, with 34 active COVID cases.
Highlanders chief executive Roger Clark says, while the team are disappointed they won't take the field in Queenstown, the fact the match can go ahead at all should be seen as a positive.
"Our players and coaches were really looking forward to heading to Queenstown for what would have been a fantastic day, and we share the disappointment of our fans that we won't be able to make it this season," Clark says.
"We certainly feel for everyone involved in the game. We received such great support from Mayor Jim Boult, Destination Queenstown, NZSki and the people of Queenstown in the preparation for this event, and as an organisation, we are extremely disappointed that we could not deliver the match as scheduled."
All Rebels players and staff will be tested for COVID-19 before Sunday's match. The club is confident no-one in their organisation has visited any of the locations of interest named by the Victorian state government.
Sunday's match will now kick off at 5pm (NZT), instead of the initially planned 2:35pm.
