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Crusaders 23 Blues 27
Crusaders - Jordan & Reece 2 tries, Mo'unga conversion & 2 penalties
Blues - Christie, Eklund & Papalii tries, Perofeta penalty & 2 conversions, Barrett conversion & penalty
Second half
40th minute - Crusaders win the lineout and maul into the 22. Taylor charges off the back... the siren sounds, as the ball shifts right to Havili.
Jordan offloads, but Crusaders spill the ball and Beauden finds touch. Blues win, Blues win!
And isn't Leon MacDonald happy!
39th minute - Pressure still on the Blues lineout just five metres out. Riccitelli throws long and Choat has it beside the posts.
Beauden clears from the in-goal and Crusaders lineout just outside the 22.
38th minute - Matera charges off the ruck, Newell is next. When the ball comes right, Gardner dashes towards the corner, but Ioane and Papalii tackle him into touch short of the flag.
36th minute - Grace can't gather the ball cleanly at the back of the scrum, but Crusaders eventually muster.
35th minute - From the scrum, Mo'unga kicks to the Blues 22, but Sullivan returns in kind. Fainga'anuku kicks ahead, but Papalii has it covered.
Beauden tries to clear from his in-goal, but it's charged down, Crusaders scrum.
34th minute - Christie dashes through quickly on Mo'unga, but knocks himself out in the tackle. Fraser stops play and Christie leaves for an HIA.
Tough time for Funaki to come on.
33rd minute - Christie puts up a high kick, but Mo'unga is equal to the task. Jordan threatens another break, but is halted on halfway.
30th minute - TRY to Reece
Gardner drives towards the line, Mo'unga jinks towards the posts and eventually a long pass finds Reece to score.
There's a hint of a knock-on by Reece, but Mo'unga's conversion attempt is allowed to proceed - he leaves it right, BLU 27-23
29th minute - Crusaders have retreated deep into their own half and eventually kick to Beaude, who kicks ahead. Jordan gathers and dashes into the 22.
28th minute - Tucker wins a lineout, but Telea runs into a Crusaders wall. Jordan fields a clearing kick and counterattacks.
27th minute - Blues are quickly on Matera and the Crusaders clear, but Sullivan kicks long... Mo'unga kicks longer. Crusaders are back to 15, with Gardner coming into the second row.
25th minute - Beauden slots the penalty, as Tuivasa-Sheck replaces Heem, BLU 27-18
24th minute - Barrett grubbers into the Crusaders 22 and Mo'unga is there to clean up, but Fraser is playing advantage and Blues have a penalty to the left of the posts.
23rd minute - Robinson challenges at the lineout, but Gallagher salvages the ball. Drummond clears to 30 metres out.
22nd minute - Barrett angles a kick towards the corner, but Mo'unga cuts it off and Jordan hoofs it down field. Sullivan kicks inside the 22.
21st minute - Mo'unga slots the penalty, BLU 24-18
20th minute - Ioane is penalised for offside in front of the posts and Mo'unga points towards them.
19th minute - Crusaders win a lineout and maul towards the BLues 22. Jordan beats a couple of tackles and Reece dashes down the right touchline.
18th minute - Jordan kicks long to Perofeta, who finds touch near the Blues 10.
17th minute - Mo'unga kicks long and Perofeta slips, as the ball dribbles over the sideline near his 22.
14th minute - TRY to Reece
Grace wins the lineout and Crusaders maul forward, before releasing to the backs. Matera throws a long pass right, where Reece outflanks his markers for the corner.
Mo'unga leaves his sideline conversion right, BLU 24-15
13rd minute - Robinson wins a lineout and Blues rumble into Crusaders half, but loose the ball. Mo'unga kicks a 50-22, so Crusaders have the attacking throw-in.
11th minute - Havili returns and Crusaders bring on fresh troops to help cover the missing man.
Crusaders clear the scrum quickly and kick long to Beauden, who spots a gap and kicks ahead. Beauden chases hard and skids towards the ball and goal-line, but knocks on.
10th minute - Sotutu wins the lineout and Eklund has the ball in the maul, but when the ball moves right, Perofeta spills the ball, with the last defender at his mercy and a man outside him.
Ninth minute - From the kickoff, Ioane breaks out of his 22 and Eklund rumbles a little further. Barrett kicks to the 22 and Mo'unga is monstered into touch.
Seventh minute - TRY to Eklund
Tucker wins the lineout and Blues maul towards the line, with Eklund breaking off the back to score. Beauden has relieved Perofeta of kicking duties and slots the conversion from wide out, BLU 24-10
Sixth minute - Replays show Barrett is late, wasn't wrapping his arms, forceful contact to the head... that's got to be read. Crusaders are now down to 13 men for a couple of minutes and don't have any real lock cover on their bench.
Beauden kicks to the corner and Blues have Crusaders on the ropes...
Fifth minute - Blues recover the kickoff and charge into the 22, but Hodgman spills the ball and Mo'unga breaks upfield. As the Crusaders move continues, they're called back for a forward pass.
Back in the Crusaders 22, Hodgman is still down and replays show Scott Barrett caught him with a shoulder to the head - this could be bad for the Crusaders.
Fourth minute - Tucker replaces Goodhue at lock for the Blues, so Romano looking at the full 80 perhaps.
Third minute - Mo'unga slots the penalty from left of the posts, BLU 17-10
Second minute - Crusaders in the 22, with Bower charging forward. Blues absorbing phases, but conceding a penalty advantage.
Fraser brings them back for the penalty near the posts.
First minute - Havili still has eight minutes to serve in the bin, so the BLues will want to capitalise on that. When will Leon MacDonald inject RTS into the game?
Lam gathers the kickoff, but his pass goes behind its target.
Blues kick, but Jordan again threatens to bust them open.
Halftime
40th minute - Perofeta lines up the penalty kick from in front of the posts, but leaves it right - really a missed opportunity on the stroke of halftime.
39th minute - Big push from the Blues scrum and they win a penalty. Perofeta takes it quickly and dashes to the Crusaders 22.
When Perofeta is tackled, Frasser double-blasts and shows Havili a yellow card for playing the ball on the ground.
38th minute - Barrett wins a lineout, but Crusaders are held up in the maul, so Blues turnover.
37th minute - Blues working the ball up the centre of the field, but Fraser penalises them at the ruck and Crusaders can clear.
36th minute - Crusaders move the ball right, but when it comes back left, they're back inside their half, where they turn it over. Perofeta threatens to bust through.
35th minute - Moody is down for treatment, buying his team time to regroup, after being rocked by that last try. Moody leaves and Bower comes on.
Crusaders feed the scrum on the Blues 10 and Mo'unga takes on the line.
34th minute - Crusaders enter Blues half, but more good defence forces them back to halfway, where Mo'unga kicks towards the wing and Perofeta spills.
31st minute - TRY to Papalii
Goodhue wins a lineout and Fraser is playing advantage to Blues. Beauden puts Papalii down the short side and brushes off a couple of tackles to score.
Perofeta sneaks his kick inside the left upright, BLU 17-7
30th minute - Crusaders win a lineout on their own 22 and Hall eventually clears near halfway.
29th minute - Perofeta fields a long kick and almost reels off a 50-22, but Jordan cuts it off. Still, a BLues lineout just outside the 22.
28th minute - Perofeta leaves his kick to the right of the posts.
27th minute - Fraser is playing advantage, as Papalii charges upfield and eventually they come back for the penalty. Papalii points to the posts...
26th minute - Crusaders trying to create something on halfway, but Hall puts in a high kick and Perofeta latches onto.
24th minute - Crusaders try to mount an attack, but Beauden disrupts the ball's passage acrossfield and Crusaders put it into touch.
22nd minute - TRY to Christie
Telea retreats quickly to thwart Jordan's attack and when the Blues counterattack, Beauden takes the ball within a couple of metres of the line, then Christie pounces from the ruck. Perofeta converts, BLU 10-7
21st minute - Blues try to pressure the scrum, but Crusaders give Jordan a chance to break out of the 22.
20th minute - Beauden looks for a gap, but knocks on in the tackle near the 22.
19th minute - Crusaders control the kickoff and clear, Blues win the lineout and mount an attack from the 10.
17th minute - TRY to Jordan
Blues scrum holds this time, so Crusaders go left and find Jordan wiht a cutout pass, for him to slice through to score. Mo'unga quickly converts, CRU 7-3
16th minute - Crusaders gain a scrum advantage and Mo'unga kicks towards Fainga'anuku's wing, but Beauden has it covered. Fraser comes back for the scrum penalty and Crusaders call for another scrum.
15th minute - Scott Barrett is receiving attention to a head injury and rookie lock Dom Gardner is warming up, but Barrett is back to his feet for this scrum.
14th minute - Ennor throws a wide pass to Fainga'anuku, but the Blues defence is good. Crusaders still on the 10 and Havili puts a kick towards the corner, which Perofeta fumbles and eventually takes behind his own line for a Crusaders five-metre scrum.
13th minute - Jordan puts a dangerous kick into the 22 and Beauden is caught flatfooted. Papalii is back quickly to tidy up and Barrett clears his goal-line.
12th minute - Scott Barrett steals the Blues throw-in, the ball is kicked to Beauden, whose kick is charged down.
11th minute - From a penalty inside his own half, Beauden finds touch near the Crusaders 22.
10th minute - Crusaders inside Blues half, but defensive line is up quickly and eventually Mo'unga kicks from his own territory, finding a good touch inside the 22.
Blues take a quick lineout and clear...
Eighth minute - Beauden Barrett handling many times, as Blues enter the 22 and eventually win a penalty in front of the posts. Scott Barrett guilty of not supporting his weight at the breakdown.
Perofeta slots the kick, BLU 3-0
Seventh minute - Blues win a lineout inside Crusaders half and try to punch the ball up midfield.
Sixth minute - Mo'unga puts Jordan through a gap inside their own half, but Telea retreats quickly to cut off the inside pass.
Fifth minute - Blues win the lineout and Barrett kicks long to Jordan.
Fourth minute - Crusaders win a lineout and Grace charges towards the posts, but they have run interference and Blues can clear their line.
Third minute - Barrett tries to kick into the 22, but it bounces off Havili and Blues knock on.
Jordan kicks long and Telea is trapped in his 22, with no-one around him. He's penalised and Mo'unga kicks to the corner.
Second minute - Blues control the scrum and Romano trundles into the 22, but Barrett is rocked in a tackle and they lose ground.
First minute - Beauden Barrett will kick off into a slight wind, but perfect conditions in Christchurch tonight.
Crusaders control the kickoff and drive outside their 22, but there's a knock-on, so Blues scrum.
7:02pm - Both teams lining up as named, which is a bit of a rarity in this COVID-19 age.
Mike Fraser will referee the game tonight.
*****
Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Super Rugby Pacific top-of-the-table clash between the Crusaders and Blues at Christchurch's Orangetheory Stadium.
This is the contest the newly expanded format desperately needs, after staggering through the opening two months of COVID-19 disruption.
With COVID-19 keeping stadiums empty, postponements forcing midweek fixtures with understrength teams and the introduction of Moana Pasifika - long overdue, but still diluting the competition - Super Rugby has struggled to capture the public imagination.
The Crusaders have been clinical rather than commanding, using their roster depth to wear opponents down.
Quietly, the Blues have been the story of the season, dropping a heartbreaker against the Hurricanes in their season-opener, but compiling a six-game winning streak since then, including two victories over new crosstown rivals Moana Pasifika within four days and last week's gutsy, shorthanded whitewash of the Chiefs.
That performance has given the Aucklanders renewed hope that this may be the year they finally turn things around, after taking out last season's Super Rugby Trans Tasman lolly scramble.
Of course, the Blues have flattered to deceive before and desperately need to put that underachieving reputation behind them.
While the Blues and Crusaders currently sit second and third on the combined Super Rugby table, the winners will overhaul the Brumbies, who have played an extra game, with the trans-Tasman crossovers scheduled to start next week.
Of course, the NZ rivals still have another postponed meeting to make up later in the season.
TAB Odds: Crusaders $1.50, Blues $2.45
Crusaders: 1-Joe Moody, 2-Codie Taylor, 3-Oli Jager, 4-Scott Barrett (c), 5-Zach Gallagher, 6-Ethan Blackadder, 7-Tom Christie, 8-Cullen Grace, 9-Bryn Hall, 10-Richie Mo'unga, 11-Leicester Fainga'anuku, 12-David Havili, 13-Braydon Ennor, 14-Sevu Reece, 15-Will Jordan
Reserves: 16-Ricky Jackson, 17-George Bower, 18-Fletcher Newell, 19-Dominic Gardner, 20-Pablo Matera, 21-Mitch Drummond, 22-Fergus Burke, 23-George Bridge
Blues: 1-Alex Hodgman, 2-Kurt Eklund, 3-Ofa Tuungafasi, 4-Luke Romano, 5-Josh Goodhue, 6-Tom Robinson, 7-Dalton Papalii, 8-Hoskins Sotutu, 9-Finlay Christie, 10-Beauden Barrett, 11-Mark Telea, 12-Bryce Heem, 13-Rieko Ioane, 14-AJ Lam, 15-Stephen Perofeta
Reserves: 16-Ricky Riccitelli, 17-Jordan Lay, 18-Nepo Laulala, 19-James Tucker, 20-Adrian Choat, 21-Taufa Funaki, 22-Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 23-Zarn Sullivan/Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepens
Romano 'all about Blues' in preparation for homecoming against Crusaders
Alex Powell
If the Blues are to beat the Crusaders on home soil for the first time since 2004, one of Canterbury's finest could just play a part in ending their winless run in the Garden City.
After 136 games in red and black with the Crusaders, Romano moved north to the Blues for the 2022 season and has established himself as a go-to man for coach Leon MacDonald.
The veteran has again been named in the second row for the Blues' clash on Friday, when he will square off against his former teammates for the first time.
And with inside knowledge of what makes the reigning Super Rugby Aotearoa champion Crusaders tick, Romano, 36, is an ace up the Blues' sleeve, if they're to end their Christchurch hoodoo.
Aside from his expertise of the Crusaders' inner workings, Romano has been hailed as a "fantastic addition" by assistant coach Tom Coventry, with the Blues sitting second on the overall table, just four points off top spot with a game in hand over Australia's Brumbies.
"He brings so much experience and knowledge he's willing to share," Coventry said. "He's been the benchmark down there for so long, and it's nice to have him in our camp.
"He gives a perspective of what it's like to be a successive champion. He plays like it, he gives us confidence.
"He's all about the Blues and his role here in our team. He hasn't spoken too much about the Crusaders, that's a team from the past.
"He's just been good for us and I know he's concentrating on doing his role in our team."
Blues captain Dalton Papalii is also grateful for Romano's presence. In his first season as skipper, the flanker could do worse than call on the expertise of a serial Super Rugby winner.
"It's been massive for me," said Papalii, 24. "Getting the armband this year, having him sort of being a bit of a mentor for me, telling me a few tips or if I'm stepping out of line, bringing me back in, he's been massive for me.
"I'm so grateful to have him in our camp and I'm just soaking up as much as I can from him. He's an old dog here and I'm learning as much as I can off him."
