BLUES 55 WARATAHS 21
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FULLTIME
80min - Telea makes another good carry, as Ioane tries to weave his way through but is penalised for ducking in-behind his own teammates.
78min - Waratahs win the ball back from their own scrum on the Blues 22m but Ioane makes a crunching tackle in midfield to win possession back.
76min - BLUES TRY - SUAFOA
Akira Ioane gets up to claim the lineout, the Blues break away and Suafoa looks to glide is way over on the wet field with the support of his teammates. TMO checking ground and it's awarded!
74min - WARATAHS TRY - WILSON
It's messy for the Waratahs from the lineout, but replacement Wilson slips his way through a couple defenders to dive over for a try.
72min - Penalties really starting to rack up against the Blues now, as Nock is pinged at the ruck. Waratahs find touch about six metres out from the tryline.
70min - Again the Waratahs win the lineout, and again, the Blues march them back. They shift to the midfield but the ball spills free, and Sullivan clears. But the Blues are pinged for offside.
68min - Waratahs win the lineout and look to drive their maul but the Blues march them back. They try another grubber but it's too heavy and rolls dead. We'll come back for another penalty.
66min - An error gifts the Waratahs the scrum on the Blues 22m and they put a good shove on to earn the penalty advantage. They try the grubber kick but we'll come back for the penalty.
64min - BLUES TRY - DARRY
Barrett tries to spot the ball at the base of the goal posts, but we'll come back for the Blues penalty. Barrett taps, Darry picks up and crashes over for the try!
62min - Rain really coming down now, but the Blues look just as determined to add to their tally, as Akira Ioane and Telea combine well.
60min - WARATAHS TRY - PIETSCH
Waratahs with a rare opportunity in the second half to launch an attack. They're 10 metres out, Pietsch charges onto a pass back on the inside and he's over for the try!
58min - BLUES TRY - CLARKE
Waratahs force a loose Christie pass, but Blues do well to clean up, Plummer pops a nice pass to a surging Clarke and he's got nobody in front of him and strolls in for a try.
56min - Waratahs again their own worst enemy as they're penalised for advancing past the kicker, gifting the Blues another attacking lineout.
54min - Clarke is taken in a good tackle in midfield, as Ioane almost breaks free from the breakdown, but good counter-ruck helps the Waratahs clear downfield.
52min - BLUES TRY - RICCITELLI
Blues playing with another advantage. Waratahs have an injured player down in backfield...Riccitelli picks the ball up and crashes over for his second try!
50min - Vailanu is back from the naughty chair but is penalised not long after returning. Barrett finds touch for another attacking lineout just five metres out.
48min - Waratahs struggling to hold onto the ball, as Christie hacks ahead another loose possession and it rolls into touch for a lineout for the visitors.
46min - BLUES TRY - SULLIVAN
Blues playing with back-to-back advantages. They're not far away from the tryline...Sullivan pins the ears back and charges onto the ball and crashes over for his second try!
44min - Darry looks to crash over but he's held up and the Waratahs will have the goal-line dropout. Latu and the referee having an interesting chat with the hooker saying he's in the way.
42min - Blues showing plenty of intent straight from their own kickoff, with Clarke again involved. But the promising attack comes to an end with Darry pinged for holding on.
HALFTIME
40min - BLUES TRY - SULLIVAN
It's scrappy but the ball is still there for the Blues. Sullivan charges onto a classy Barrett tap on and he crashes over for the try! He's been really impressive since coming on.
38min - Vailanu looks to get over the ball and win the ball back right on his own tryline but he's shown a yellow card instead for his efforts. Blues want the scrum.
36min - Ball spills free for Clarke to charge but he's taken in a very good tackle from behind around the ankles. Waratahs are pinged for offside and Barrett finds touch just 5m out.
34min - Christie finds Ioane with a flat pass from the scrum, but Ward gets over him and Choat is unable to shift him off the ball for a Waratahs penalty. Waratahs kick doesn't find touch though.
32min - Sullivan makes an instant impact with a great return run! Blues shift it left to Sotutu, he draws in one and finds Ioane who looks to be over in the corner but he's tackled into touch.
30min - WARATAHS TRY - VAILANU
Waratahs win their own lineout and look to drive their maul. Blues seem at all sorts on defence, and Vailanu breaks away to dive over for the easy five-pointer.
28min - Waratahs try the grubber kick and it's awkward for the Blues to defuse, with Barrett under pressure, and the visitors are awarded the lineout.
26min - Ioane rushes the Waratahs twice on defence, and forces the error the second time around and allows Barrett to clear deep.
24min - Clarke is too eager on defence and is found to be offside right in front of the goal posts. Waratahs turn down the easy shot and opt for the scrum, about 10-12 metres out.
22min - Waratahs pressure Telea straight from the kickoff and force the Blues winger to knock on and gift the visitors a scrum inside the opposition 22m.
20min - A dominant scrum sees Clarke again down the left wing and his opposite does just enough to stop him. We'll come back for the scrum penalty. Perofeta adds another three.
18min - Game really opening up with Telea heavily involved in the counter-attacks, but Barrett knocks on as he tried to find space down the left. Players with hands on their heads.
16min - Clarke racking up the metres, before finding Christie on his inside. The halfback tries to find a support runner but the Waratahs do enough to force the pass towards touch.
14min - Clarke gets up to beat his opposite and free the ball up for Sotutu! He's away down the left wing but his pass is batted back by a Tahs player and they clear.
12min - BLUES TRY - RICCITELLI
Blues just a couple metres out from the tryline following the lineout win. Riccitelli picks up and Segner follows through to help the hooker over for the game's first try!
10min - Christie fakes left before going the other way at the scrum, and Clarke is released down the left wing. Barrett tries to find Telea with the cross-field kick but he's tackled into touch.
8min - Waratahs are awarded the penalty after half the Blues backline are pinged for being offside. Donaldson finds touch about five metres out from the tryline.
6min - Clarke busts through a tackle after a nice offload by Perofeta. Waratahs infringe at the breakdown on their own 22m and Perofeta will have a shot at goal...he makes no mistake.
4min - Blues get another go at the lineout after a poor clearance, but they knock on in the midfield and allow the visitors to hoof it down field.
2min - Blues use their maul straight away, marching almost 30 metres before the referee awards them the penalty. Barrett finds touch around the 22m.
7pm - Thank you for joining us tonight! Can the Blues win back-to-back games for the first time this season? We'll found out shortly.
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Kia ora, good evening, and welcome to Newshub's live updates of the Super Rugby Pacific clash between the Blues and NSW Waratahs at Auckland's Eden Park.
A refreshed Blues outfit are still chasing their first back-to-back win this season, following their bye week.
Standing in their way are the ninth-placed Waratahs, who are coming off a 20-point triumph over Australian rivals Western Force.
With just two wins so far this season, they're a long shot to add to their tally against the Blues at Eden Park tonight.
Blues first-five Beauden Barrett will play his 150th Super Rugby game, while midfielder Harry Plummer will bring up his half-century for the Auckland-based side.
Veteran lock Patrick Tuipulotu will captain the team in Dalton Papali'i's absence, who is currently nursing a rib injury.
All Black Akira Ioane will also make his return from a knee injury, having been forced to sit out since the season opener.
Join us at 7pm for kickoff.
Blues: 1-Ofa Tuungafasi, 2-Ricky Riccitelli, 3-Nepo Laulala, 4-Patrick Tuipulotu (c), 5-Sam Darry, 6-Anton Segner, 7-Adrian Choat, 8-Hoskins Sotutu, 9-Finlay Christie, 10-Beauden Barrett, 11-Caleb Clarke, 12-Harry Plummer, 13-Rieko Ioane, 14-Mark Telea, 15-Stephen Perofeta
Reserves: 16-Soane Vikena, 17-Jordan Lay, 18-James Lay, 19-Cameron Suafoa, 20-Akira Ioane, 21-Sam Nock, 22-Bryce Heem, 23-Zarn Sullivan
Waratahs: 1-Tom Lambert, 2-Mahe Vailanu, 3-Harry Johnson-Holmes, 4-Jed Holloway, 5-Zac von Appen, 6-Taleni Seu, 7-Hunter Ward, 8-Will Harris, 9-Jake Gordon, 10-Ben Donaldson, 11-Dylan Pietsch, 12-Joey Walton, 13-Izaia Perese, 14-Max Jorgensen, 15-Harry Wilson
Reserves: 16-Tolu Latu, 17-Nephi Leatigaga, 18-Daniel Botha, 19-Michael Icely, 20-Charlie Gamble, 21-Teddy Wilson, 22-Jack Bowen, 23-Mosese Tuipulotu
TAB odds: Blues $1.04, Waratahs $9, draw $36
