Crusaders - 42 Hurricanes - 32
FULLTIME - Click here for a full wrap and try highlights
79th min - TRY HURRICANES to Jackson Garden-Bachop
They keep on coming! Great news for the Tonga relief fund.
75th min - TRY HURRICANES to Jordie Barrett
The fullback sneaks the ball over from a ruck, catching the Crusaders napping. Converts his own try. (Crusaders 42-25).
71st min - TRY CRUSADERS to Shiloh Klein
Another debutant scores, as the hooker completes a textbook rolling maul try from an attacking 5m lineout. (Crusaders 42-18)
68th min - TRY HURRICANES to Bailyn Sullivan
The debutant takes a pass from Barrett, who had just brushed off a Sevu Reece tackle attempt, to claim a try off the bench. Barrett conversion is wide.
65th min - Penalty try to CRUSADERS
That's salt in the wounds for the Canes, who are ruled to have pulled down the Crusaders' rolling maul from a 5m lineout. Canes cop a yellow card to boot, and this one is about done. (Crusaders 35-13)
62nd min - Vintage try to the big No. 8 Ardie Savea, who picks up at a ruck at the 10m line, breaks a tackle and puts the foot down to go in next to the posts.
Uh oh, they want to go back the maxiumum two phases to the lineout to look at a potential knock-on from Ben May. The centurion has got the most marginal of touches on a loose ball and back we go. No try.
60th min - Canes with a mountain of ball and field position but the Crusaders defence holds firm, then clears all the way back to the Canes 22m. Lineout at halfway.
56th min - Fergus Burke slots another penalty and suddenly the Crusaders are back out to a 10-point advantage (Crusaders 28-13).
51st min - TRY CRUSADERS to Leicester Fainga'anuku
The blockbusting wing comes charging hard off the back of a lineout maul, skips inside one and crosses to claim his hat trick. Burke converst (Crusaders 25-13)
45th min - Jager returns from the bin, after his shorthanded side added six points in his absence.
43rd min - Crusaders with some strong tackling to start the second stanza, in the turnover and Burke will have a shot from 40m on the angle... nails it. (Crusaders 18-13)
Second half underway...
HALFTIME
41st min - We'll end with a penalty in kicking range for the Crusaders. Fergus Burke lines one up from 30m on a slight angle... sends it over and sends us to the break.
39th min - Referee awards a try to Asafo Aumua, after the hooker and had picked and gone from close range. But there's a hint of a double movement, and the referee will send this upstairs.
Yep, his knees had hit the ground. Big moment there right before halftime, Crusaders will clear with a penalty.
38th min - Aumua off the back of the rolling maul, two metres short. Canes continue to recycle, Crusaders try-line defence scrambling.
37th min - Penalty advantage cashed in and there's a yellow card to boot, Oli Jager sent to the bin for offside at the ruck, repeated infringements. The Canes look to the 5m lineout.
35th min - Ardie Savea explodes from the back of the scrum, he's over the line but can't quite get the ball on the turf. Goal-line dropout.
33rd min - Canes right back on attack, real momentum swing in this contest.
They'll pack a scrum in the shadow of the posts, 10m out.
28th minute - TRY HURRICANES to Ruben Love
Wes Goosen breaks clear on the left flank, finds Love inside and the pivot does well to reach out and brush the ball on the chalk in the tackle. Barrett bangs this one over. (Canes 13-12)
25th min - Canes picking up the tempo, earn another penalty right in front of the posts. This will be an easy three for Barrett.
Scratch that, Jordie has shanked that one like a dodgy drive at the 14th.
22nd min - Attacking scrum for the Crusaders at the Canes' 10m. Recycling well but the Canes defence is up to the task.
Bomb goes up, Crusaders player pinged for being in front. Canes take us to a lineout near the Crusaders' 10m.
17th min - Canes with some red zone ball. Penalty advantage cashed in, Savea opts to claim the gift three points. Barrett obliges (Crusaders 12-6)
13th min - TRY CRUSADERS to Leicester Fainga'anuku
Will Jordan bursts into a hole of a great ball from Braydon Ennor, and the big wing is over unotuched for his second of the night. Conversion wide. (Crusaders 12-3)
8th min - TRY CRUSADERS to Leicester Fainga'anuku
Will Jordan carves thorugh a gap after a great Whitelock run and the wing is on hand to pick up and power his way over. Burke converts. (Crusaders 7-3)
6th min - Penalty at the ruck and the Canes will have a crack at the posts here. Jordie Barrett from 30m on the angle, no mistake (Canes 3-0)
5th min - Scrum penalty Canes and we move to a lineout at the Crusaders' 10m.
3rd min - Crusaders work through the phases near halfway. Jordan beats two, building patiently.
First touch for marquee signing Pablo Matera, who frees a great offload in the tackle that Grace can't hold on to. Canes scrum at their own 10m.
1st min - Crusaders kick off, Canes return, and we'll have an attacking lineout early for the red and blacks. Ball stolen, Canes avoid danger.
7:04pm - Centurion Ben May leads out the Hurricanes for his milestone match.
7:01pm - Welcome back rugby fans, time for another season of Super Rugby.
We shift across to Dunedin, after the Chiefs held on to beat the Highlanders at Queenstown earlier.
Conditions are obviously ideal inside the Forsyth Barr greenhouse, let's get this underway.
___________________________________________________________________________
Kia ora and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Super Rugby Pacific clash between the Crusaders and the Hurricanes from Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium.
We should be in for a high-paced contest, with both teams eager to kick off their campaign with a victory.
Argentinian international Pablo Matera will make his Crusaders debut at blindside flanker, after 52 games for the Jaguares previously. Utility back Simon Hickey will also make his debut for the southerners, after previous stints with the Blues and Hurricanes, while hooker Shilo Klein will likely come off the bench for his first Super Rugby appearance.
Lock Justin Sangster will make his Super Rugby debut, with Hawke's Bay hooker Jacob Devery likely to come off the bench for his first appearance at this level and former Chief Bailyn Sullivan eyeing his Hurricanes debut at some point.
At the other end of the spectrum, veteran prop Ben May faces his 100th outing for the Hurricanes from the reserves, after previous stints with the Crusaders and Chiefs.
Join us for all of the action from 7pm.
TAB Betting odds:
Crusaders - $1.30, Hurricanes - $3.30
Team line-ups:
Crusaders: 1- Joe Moody, 2-Brodie McAlister, 3-Oli Jager, 4-Scott Barrett, 5-Sam Whitelock, 6-Pablo Matera, 7-Tom Christie, 8-Cullen Grace, 9-Bryn Hall, 10-Fergus Burke, 11-Leicester Fainga'anuku, 12-David Havili, 13-Braydon Ennor, 14-George Bridge, 15-Will Jordan
Reserves: 16-Shilo Klein, 17-George Bower, 18-Tamaiti Williams, 19-Quinten Strange, 20-Mitchell Dunshea, 21-Mitchell Drummond, 22-Simon Hickey, 23-Sevu Reece
Hurricanes: 1-Pouri Rakete-Stones, 2-Asafo Aumua, 3-Tyrel Lomax, 4-James Blackwell, 5-Justin Sangster, 6-Devan Flanders, 7-Du'Plessis Kirifi, 8-Ardie Savea (c), 9-Jamie Booth, 10-Ruben Love, 11-Wes Goosen, 12-Peter Umaga-Jensen, 13-Billy Proctor, 14-Julian Savea, 15-Jordie Barrett
Reserves: 16-Jacob Devery, 17-Xavier Numia, 18-Ben May, 19-Reed Prinsep, 20-Brayden Iose, 21-Richard Judd, 22-Jackson Garden-Bachop, 23-Bailyn Sullivan
