LIVE MATCH COVERAGE
Super Rugby
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20 |
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34 |
Hurricanes
Blues
| Kick-off local time | : | Sat, 23 February 2013 - 19h35 |
| Kick-off | : | Sat, 23 February 2013 - 08h35 |
| Venue | : | Westpac Stadium, Wellington |
| Referee | : | TBC |
| Match status | : | Result |
| Hurricanes | Blues | |
|---|---|---|
| Tries | Julian Savea (26min) | Frank Halai (21min), Charles Piutau (49min), Rene Ranger (72min), and Frank Halai (76min) |
| Penalties | Beauden Barrett (8min) and Beauden Barrett (18min) | Piri Weepu (4min), Piri Weepu (40min), Piri Weepu (61min), and Piri Weepu (80min) |
| Conversions | Beauden Barrett (26min) and Beauden Barrett (55min) | Piri Weepu (76min) |
| Penalty tries | ||
| Yellow cards | Frank Halai (55min) | |
| Red cards | ||
| DGs |
Commentary
| Minute | Commentary |
|---|---|
80 |
Julian Savea is pinged for holding on in his own 22. The Blues really going to shut it out and Weepu kicks the PENALTY and that's FULL-TIME in Wellington. Top effort from the Blues in the second-half and they completely out-played the Hurricanes who couldn't get their hands on the ball in the second period. Well deserved win for the side from Auckland. Join us for the massive game between the Brumbies and the Reds a bit later. |
78 |
The Blues have shown a completely different side to themselves in this second-half. A lot of commitment and grit from them. Complete contrast to the side in 2012. |
76 |
The Blues have gone coast to coast with George Moala gets the ball in his 22 and goes but he is caught by Taylor who pops to Ranger who sets it up and then it was just easy hands and Frank Halai has to cut inside and gets over for his second TRY. Weepu kicks the CONVERSION. Too much to do now for the Hurricanes. |
73 |
Hurricanes playing with some desperation in their play but they don't manage to score as Vito goes over but Halai comes away with the ball and the Blues clear their lines but the Hurricanes are on the attack again. |
70 |
Blues showing some serious patience as they head into the over 10 phases territory. Tough defence from the Hurricanes as the Blues finally get over for the TRY. Rene Ranger in his 50th Super Rugby game gets over for his first try of the evening. Blues are by far the better side in the second half at the moment. Weepu drags the conversion to the left. Blues up 24-20 with 8 minutes to play. |
66 |
Blues win the penalty at the scrum and the Hurricanes win the ball back from the line-out but Savea is blown for holding on. Noakes kicks an absolute beauty into the corner five metres out from the Canes line. Massive effort needed from the Blues here. |
65 |
Bateman with a little fend and bust but is dragged down by Steven Luatua by the collar. Hurricanes have a chance but they lose composure and Vito knocks it on at the ruck about 23 metres out from the Blues line. |
64 |
Sneaky box kick from Peranara and finds a little bit space in behind the Blues on the Wing were Halai would be. They manage to win a line-out as the Canes throw to Thrush once again and launch a attack. Wrong option as Savea tries to grubber and chase but the ball goes dead. 22 metre drop out for the Blues. |
63 |
Hurricanes have battled with the ball in hand in the second-half having the ball taken off them far too often. Hurricanes kicking the ball away with an extra man on the field. Seems like they in a state of shock at the moment. |
60 |
The Blues have won a PENALTY as Weepu kicks it over from about 24 metres out. The Blues bring it back to 1 point. 20-19 to the Canes. |
55 |
Frank Halai receives a YELLOW-CARD for deliberately knocking the ball over the dead-ball line. Very controversial. PENALTY TRY is awarded to the Hurricanes. Tough call for the youngster as Barrett kicks the CONVERSION. 20-16 to the Hurricanes. |
55 |
Some serious errors from both teams as the Blues counter but it's a great steal from Smith as he hands it off the Barrett who kicks it deep and Savea chases but Halai could have knocked this ball dead deliberately . TMO will tell us. |
53 |
Once again there is turn over as the Canes break and the last pass doesn't find Savea and the Blues come back but they too can't make that final pass as the pass misses Moala and goes into touch. The Hurricanes win a penalty from the line-out and Barrett finally gets the Canes fairly close as they are about 25 metres out now. |
52 |
Hurricanes finally do get their hands on the ball but they don't show the same skill as they did in the first-half and lose it forward and Noakes kicks deep and Barrett kicks it out as the Blues are back in the Canes half. |
49 |
18 phases later and the Blues have finally broken the Hurricanes defence. They plugged away and then found a little space out wide and there was a two on one and Charlie Piutau get's the ball with an open line to go over for his team's second TRY. Weepu pulls it wide, hasn't kicked too well this evening. 16-13 to the Blues. |
47 |
Hurricanes can clear their lines after they spoil the ball at the scrum and Barrett clears but it's not out as the Blues counter again through Charlie Piutau and Rene Ranger. Now they are building up better with more patience. Ball going touch to touch as they try and break down this resolute Hurricanes defence. |
45 |
Hurricanes defend beautifully as the rush the defence out wide and Saili throws the pass to ground and the Canes flood the break-down but they Blues keep the ball and the pressure as they camp in the Hurricanes 22 metre area. |
44 |
Blues have advantage for the Hurricanes slowing the ball down at the break-down again. Blues kick the ball to the corner. Line-out five metres out and have their tails up. |
42 |
Noakes once again slips through the gap and offloads to Ranger, really should have done better as he knocks on about 10 metres out. Blues will be disappointed they didn't take points. Barrett gets the ball under pressure and clears it to about 15 metres out from his own line. |
41 |
We are all ready to go for the second 40 as Chris Noakes gets us underway as the Blues hold up Karl Lowe and win the scrum in the Hurricanes half. |
40 |
Blues having a crack before the end of the half as they counter from well in their own half. Franks lying all over the ball and the Blues have a PENALTY from about 47 metres out for Weepu. Right on the edge of his distance. 3 more points for the Blues, as the Canes lead 13-11 at HALF-TIME. Still think that a slight change in tactics from the Canes will see them open the Blues defence up as they have attacked Noakes' channel and he has been found wanting often. Think the Hurricanes will have too much for this inexperienced Blues side in the second-half. |
37 |
Blues see that they can get more men to the break-down and Weepu and co. counter ruck beautifully to win the scrum and they are just hanging on with a couple minutes before the break. If they don't concede here they will be very happy. |
36 |
Smith shows his phenomenal ability as he shows and goes and then fends off Noakes and then slips the pass to Peranara but the Blues again defend well and clear but the Canes are coming straight back at them. |
34 |
Great hands from Brad Shields. Hurricanes again building up beautifully. Ball going through a number of phases but Ben Franks knocks it on about 10 metres out. Blues will be happy with that defence. They can re-group and clear their lines. |
31 |
Blues use the short side well as their loose forwards are carrying very well. Ranger runs a dummy as Noakes dinks it through but Ranger was in front of the ball. Would have been a sure try for Moala but Ranger is blown -up for being offside. |
30 |
Scrum time getting a little messy but the Hurricanes are able to get it out and kick it deep and the Blues counter but are foiled in midfield. Thankfully for them Bateman knocks it on. Blues win the penalty at the scrum and kick to the corner. |
26 |
The sustained pressure from the Canes finally pays off as they up the ante and throw the ball around with forwards showing good skills in the midfield. Smith straightens well at the end of the move to put Julian Savea over for the Canes' first TRY. Barrett kicks the conversion from the left-hand touchline. Hurricanes in the lead 13-8. |
25 |
Canes show some great structure on attack and they keep hammering away and some great hands means that Conrad Smith nearly gets over in the corner but he is bundled into touch. Blues again clear their 22 but the Canes are coming back at them. |
24 |
Great break off the line-out from Alapati Leiua and is held up a few metres short but the Blues manage steal the ball in the maul and clear it out of their own 22 but the Canes are on the attack once again. |
20 |
The young winger Frank Halai is over in the right-hand corner for the Blues first TRY as George Moala busts over the opposition and offloads to Ranger who throws a great pass to Halai who coasts over. Weepu's conversions is unsuccessful as he strikes the up-right. 8-6 to the Blues. |
18 |
Great opportunity here for the Hurricanes on attack but they lose it and then the Blues also lose it. Both teams lacking a little bit of accuracy but that is understandable. Not every game is going to be the same as the Highlanders v Chiefs game! |
18 |
The Blues are blown-up as Tom McCartney is put under pressure and goes down at the scrum. Barrett from about 46 metres kicks his second PENALTY and puts the Canes into a 6-3 lead. |
16 |
Hurricanes again finding some rhythm but they lose the ball and the Blues try and counter from deep and they keep it in hand in their own half of the field. Both teams looking to run it early. Blues scragged in the midfield and the Hurricanes hold the ball up and win the scrum. |
12 |
Brad Shields is also blown-up on slowing the ball down at the break-down. Penalty to the Blues just to the right of the posts for Weepu but he pulls it to the left. Would have thought he would have done better there. |
10 |
Peter Saili with a great little break off the back of the scrum and then the Blues shift it to the left as Noakes finds some space out wide but the ball eludes George Moala on the wing. |
8 |
Peter Saili is blown-up for not rolling away. Refs being very strict on that this season. Barrett has a shot from the 22 and right-hand 15 metre line. He kicks the PENALTY over and it's 3-3. |
7 |
Hurricanes are stringing some great phases together and are charging at the Blues line but the hold out and hold the ball up over the line. 5 metre scrum to the Canes. Really letting the ball do the work are the Hurricanes, going from touchline to touchline and showing great patience. |
4 |
Chris Noakes with a great little show and go and gets through but is tackled on the 22 of the Hurricanes and Barrett is blown-up for playing the ball on the ground. Weepu steps up to take the shot at goal and nails the PENALTY and the Blues go into a 3-0 lead early. |
3 |
First scrum of the game. Both teams will want to gain control early at the set piece. Hurricanes getting the first good hit but the Blues are able to kick deep. |
1 |
The Hurricanes get us underway at the Cake Tin. Simple start from the Blues. Take the kick-off, set up a phase and then Weepu kicks it out. |
-5 |
We are nearly underway under a little bit of cloud but a great evening for rugby in the capital city. This new look Blues side will want to start strong with Weepu playing his 100th Super Rugby game and Rene Ranger playing his 50th. Exciting half-back combination for the Hurricanes with TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett. Teams about to run out onto the pitch. |
-30 |
We are 30 minutes away from kick-off in Wellington. After the phenomenal start in the New Zealand conference yesterday let's hope we have another game like that this morning. The Blues will really want to put last season behind them and really hope that they can get an early win over the Hurricanes. The Canes produced some great rugby last season but it was too far between. Should be a cracker. |
Hurricanes
| Players | |
|---|---|
| 15 | Andre Taylor |
| 14 | Alapati Leiua |
| 13 | Reynold Lee-Lo |
| 12 | Tim Bateman |
| 11 | Julian Savea |
| 10 | Beauden Barrett |
| 9 | TJ Perenara |
| 8 | Victor Vito |
| 7 | Jack Lam |
| 6 | Faifili Levave |
| 5 | Jason Eaton |
| 4 | Jeremy Thrush |
| 3 | Ben May |
| 2 | Ash Dixon |
| 1 | Ben Franks |
| Substitutes | |
|---|---|
| 22 | James Marshall |
| 21 | Tusi Pisi |
| 20 | Chris Smylie |
| 19 | Brad Shields |
| 18 | James Broadhurst |
| 17 | Jeffery Toomaga-Allen |
| 16 | Reggie Goodes |
Blues
| Players | |
|---|---|
| 15 | Charles Piutau |
| 14 | Frank Halai |
| 13 | Rene Ranger |
| 12 | Jackson Willison |
| 11 | George Moala |
| 10 | Chris Noakes |
| 9 | Piri Weepu |
| 8 | Peter Saili |
| 7 | Luke Braid |
| 6 | Steven Luatua |
| 5 | Ali Williams |
| 4 | Culum Retallick |
| 3 | Angus Ta'avao |
| 2 | Keven Mealamu |
| 1 | Tim Perry |
| Substitutes | |
|---|---|
| 22 | Francis Saili |
| 21 | Baden Kerr |
| 20 | Jamison Gibson-Park |
| 19 | Brendon O'Connor |
| 18 | Anthony Boric |
| 17 | Sam Prattley |
| 16 | Quentin MacDonald |