Crusaders - 52 Blues - 15
FULLTIME - An awe-inspiring performance by the Crusaders. Click here for a full wrap and highlights.
82 mins TRY BLUES - Caleb Clarke nabs a consolation try.
77 mins - Mo'unga soaks up some time with another penalty shot at goal to lift the score past 50. One final degree of humiliation.
71 mins - TRY CRUSADERS - A series of long, prescision cut-out passes puts Mo'unga in half a gap, he draws and hits a charging Fergus Burke for their sixth try.
70 mins - Just a procession to the finish line here as the subs roll. Crusaders win a penalty and set-up a 5m lineout - this spells trouble.
58 mins - Rieko Ioane carves thorugh the defence, brought down 10m shy. The Blues under advantage...
TRY BLUES - Finally, they're in. Barrett punches on to a flat Christie pass, plants a fend and dots down. Unable to convert his own try. (Crusaders 39-8)
55 mins - Scott Robertson with the luxury of being able to pull his Rolls Royce wing Fainga'anuku from the field - one eye justifiably on next weekend's final.
48 mins - TRY CRUSADERS - Another piece of brilliance from the set-play book. Decoy runner opens up a huge hole for Fainga'anuku from the lineout. He powers 30m clear, looks for support but doesn't need it - running over the last line of defence to score the fifth Saders try. A joy to behold. Conversion is successful. (Crusaders 39-3)
46 mins - Blues' lineout throw isn't straight. Crusaders with some lovely interplay from the 22m scrum, and they're at halfway in a flash. Mistake from Drummond, Blues scrum.
Christie bolts to the second breakdown of the phase - wins his team a defensive penalty. They'll launch from a 10m lineout in Blues' territory.
42 mins - Mo'unga scurrie back to collect a loose pass then fires a serahcing ball that drfits forward, then into touch. Chance for the Blues to build from halfway.
41 mins - Wind at the Blues' back this half. Not sure it's a 30-point wind...
Second half underway...
HALFTIME - Wow. Utterly ruthless 40 minutes from the Crusaders and the Blues have had no answers. This game is over.
39 mins - TRY CRUSADERS - Textbook lineout drive ends with a trademark Taylor try - their fourth of the half.
38 mins - Monstrous lineout drive brings Orangetheory to its feet. Down it goes, and referee Gardner rules it did so due to Hoskins Sotutu indiscretion. Yellow card goes his way.
35 mins - TRY CRUSADERS - Beautiful footwork from Ennor who spots the Blues defence rushing out of the line, ghosts back the other direction and pops a perfect short ball for a bolting Jordan to dive in under the black dot. This is getting very ugly for the Aucklanders. (Crusaders 25-3)
34 mins - Defensive penalty for the Crusaders near halfway after some great work at the breakdown by Christie. Here comes another assault.
30 mins - So much variety in this Crusaders attack, the Blues being tested across the park. McLeod places a grubber for Fainga'anuku that only just beats his wing dead in-goal.
28 mins - Mo'unga scythes through the Blues' defence, Crusaders inside the Blues' 22m now.
Brilliant turnover by the Blues' skipper Papali'i just 2m from his own line. Vital. Penalty gives the Blues some breathing space.
25 mins - Best attacking movement of the game for the Blues results in a penalty. Papali'i opts to take the three points from right in front of the posts.
The Blues are on the board! (Crusaders 18-3)
20 mins - Defensive penalty Crusaders. Mo'unga calls for the tee and makes them pay from 35m out. The points keep piling up. (Crusaders 18-0)
18 mins - Here comes the red and black wave yet again. 5m out...obstruction lets the Blues off the hook.
16 mins - Ball ripped free by Barrett to quickly put a halt to the Blues attack. Swiftly back to halfway and a penalty helps their cause even further.
13 min - The Saders tracking at better than a point a minute here. Dangerous times for the northerners.
Blues work their way to a lineout inside the Crusaders' 22m, only to cough up possession on the first phase.
Defensive penalty hands them another chance. Barrett plugs the corner to set-up the lineout drive.
11 mins - TRY CRUSADERS - They're in again! Slick set play involving none other than prop Tamaiti Williams sets Jordan free, and he fires one final pass to Fainga'anuku to dot down untouched. Mo'unga hits the post from handy range.
10 mins - Loose pass Telea, Barrett has to clean up and he's bundled into touch. 22m lineout for the Saders. It's all red and black here early.
8 mins - Well-weighted kick ends up in Crusaders' hands - and eventually a penalty. Mo'unga will line up a shot from 30m on a slight angle...over it sails. (Crusaders 10-0)
5 mins - Riccitelli's heavy tackle forces a mistake, Blues scrum at the Crusaders' 10m line.
Wrap around set play ends with a tip pass that sails into touch. Opportunity squandered for the Blues.
3 mins - TRY CRUSADERS - Big lineout drive and some thunderous carries from the forwards creates a ton of space out wide and Braydon Ennor cashes in with the first try of the night. Mo'unga slots the conversion.
1st min - Beauden Barrett kicks off the first semi-final of Super Rugby 2023. Stiff wind at ground level favouring the hosts in the first half.
Rieko Ioane spills the ball near halfway and Dalla McLeod collects and calmly bangs a 50/22. Great start for the locals.
7:04pm - Both teams are out on the paddock on a clear and chilly evening in the Garden City. Let's get this started.
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Kia ora and welcome to Newshub's live updates of the first Super Rugby Pacific semi-final of 2023 between the Crusaders and the Blues.
The 'rivalry' between the northerners and the southerners has been a very one-sided affair over the past few years, with the Crusaders having won 18 of the last 19 contests between the two.
But with the defending champions crippled by injury, now would seem the optimal time for the Blues to get one back when it matters most and become the first visiting side to ever win a Super Rugby playoffs game in Christchurch.
We'll have all of the action from 7pm.
TAB betting odds:
Crusaders - $1.60 Blues - $2.35
Team line-ups:
Crusaders: 1-Tamaiti Williams, 2-Codie Taylor, 3-Oli Jager, 4-Scott Barrett, 5-Quin Strange, 6-Sione Talitui, 7-Tom Christie, 8-Christian Lio-Willie, 9-Mitch Drummond, 10-Richie Mo'unga, 11-Leicester Fainga'anuku, 12-Jack Goodhue, 13-Braydon Ennor, 14-Dallas McLeod, 15-Will Jordan
Reserves: 16-Brodie McAlister, 17-Kershawl Sykes-Martin, 18-Reuben O'Neill, 19-Dominic Gardiner, 20-Corey Kellow, 21-Willi Heinz, 22-Fergus Burke, 23-Chay Fihaki
Blues: 1-Ofa Tuungafasi, 2-Ricky Riccitelli, 3-Nepo Laulala, 4-Tom Robinson, 5-James Tucker, 6-Akira Ioane, 7-Dalton Papali'i (c), 8-Hoskins Sotutu, 9-Finlay Christie, 10-Beauden Barrett, 11-Caleb Clarke, 12-Bryce Heem, 13-Rieko Ioane, 14-Mark Telea, 15-Zarn Sullivan
Reserves: 16-Kurt Eklund, 17-Jordan Lay, 18-Marcel Renata, 19-Cameron Suafoa, 20-Adrian Choat/Anton Segner, 21-Sam Nock, 22-Harry Plummer, 23-Stephen Perofeta
Blackadder to miss rest of Super Rugby playoffs, in doubt for All Blacks
By Reece Labuschagne
Injuries continue to derail Crusaders star Ethan Blackadder's career, with the latest hiccup ruling him out of the rest of the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs.
After struggling with a calf niggle most of the season, Blackadder's return lasted just five minutes in their quarter-final win over Fijian Drua on Saturday.
In what looked like an innocuous collision, he limped off the field with a quad injury, with the extent of the damage revealed on Wednesday.
Crusaders coach Scott Robertson has confirmed the loose forward will miss "many weeks", cutting his Super Rugby season short.
It also casts doubt over his All Blacks aspirations, with Ian Foster to announce his squad for the Rugby Championship on Sunday.
It's a huge blow for Blackadder, having been ruled out of the 2022 international season with a serious shoulder injury.
Robertson sympathises with Blackadder, with his shortlived cameo against the Drua exemplifying exactly what the team will miss at this business end of the season.
"Ethan is out for quite a while with a quad injury," he said. "Many weeks…I'm not sure about that [All Blacks] but he won't be here the next few weeks.
"He strained his quad, he did a good job as Ethan tends to do. It was around that period, or a run after that, it was in that sequence.
"We really feel for him, he trained so hard to get back and just a couple of touches in those four minutes was pretty amazing. It shows what we've missed. He's such an important member of our squad."
The Crusaders host rivals the Blues on Friday in the first of the Super Rugby semi-finals, with their task made that much harder by Blackadder's absence.
But you won't find Blackadder, his teammates, or his coach feeling sorry for themselves as they chase a record-extending title.
"As a squad and as a team, I stand up in front of the group and talk about how we're all Crusaders, it's a team effort," Robertson said.
"Whoever comes in will step up and they have. We always make sure there's a touchpoint with a player that's been injured, we've played a tough game, it's a physical game and we're going to get injuries - they're going to come.
"You're going to get great runs, acknowledge it, and then move forward. You don't want to start making excuses.
"Any Crusaders team that's named will rise up to the occasion. It's going to be a hell of a weekend, it's got that feeling about it, doesn't it?
"It's the crowd, the milestones on both sides, it's huge, and it's just one of those games you want to play in."
