The Chiefs have held on to win a dramatic 27-21 Super Rugby win over the Blues, which went right down to the wire at Eden Park in Auckland tonight.
83 mins: BLUES 21 CHIEFS 27
Oh no! The throw in from Leni Apisai is ruled to not be straight in the line-out and the match is over with the Chiefs coming away with a thrilling win over the Blues.
82 mins: BLUES 21 CHIEFS 27
TURNOVER! The Blues have come up with a miracle play, managing to get a turnover just as it looked like the Chiefs had the game in the bag.
78 mins: BLUES 21 CHIEFS 27
PENALTY! Lachlan Boshier has been penalised for late tackle on Michael Collins, they look to touch and the Blues have one last shot at scoring a try and win this match.
70 mins: BLUES 21 CHIEFS 27
Final ten minutes of the match and time is running out for the Blues. Rieko Ioane is the one who comes up with a big play for the Blues nailing Chiefs' star Damian McKenzie with a massive tackle and the Blues now have a feed into the scrum around halfway after McKenzie loses control of the ball.
67 mins: BLUES 21 CHIEFS 27
NO TRY! The Chiefs come up with a massive defensive play to hold out the Blues. Akira Ioane is penalised for not releasing the ball after a messy scrum from five metres out of the Chiefs' own try-line.
61 mins: BLUES 21 CHIEFS 27
TRY! Great composure shown by the Blues, their forwards rumble it forward before sending it out to their backs with Bryn Gatland spotting a huge hole in front of him - he goes himself and scores a much needed try for his side to get them back into the match. Gatland lands his own conversion.
56 mins: BLUES 14 CHIEFS 27
THREE! Damian McKenzie extends the Chiefs lead with a successful penalty kick from 40m out. The Blues are in real trouble now dwon by 13 points.
51 mins: BLUES 14 CHIEFS 24
TRY! Take bow Brad Webber! He comes up with stunning intercept try striking a double blow to the Blues. Damian McKenzie lands his conversion from out wide.
47 mins: BLUES 14 CHIEFS 17
TRY! The Chiefs come up with a well constructed line-out maul and it is Sam Cane who comes up with the ball. Their gamble to kick the ball into touch rather than going for the three points pays off. Damian McKenzie lands his first kick at goal.
44 mins: BLUES 14 CHIEFS 10
Another missed opportunity after the Chiefs make another crucial error deep inside the Blues' 22. It's Tiaan Falcon who makes the break and he offloads to Damian McKenzie but he's unable to hold onto the ball.
42 mins: BLUES 14 CHIEFS 10
NO TRY! The did superb to get themselves into a try-scoring opportunity after a break from Damian McKenzie but they are penalised from five metres out for an illegal clean-out.
40 mins: BLUES 14 CHIEFS 10
And we are back underway with Bryn Gatland kicking off deep to the Chiefs.
HALFTIME - BLUES 14 CHIEFS 10
What an action packed first half! Some big shots put on by the Blues late in the second spell to stop the rampant Chiefs from scoring. Expect a big half of rugby from both the Blues and Chiefs.
39 mins: BLUES 14 CHIEFS 10
CRUNCH! Matt Duffie has put in a big shot which has floored Chiefs' star utility back Damian McKenzie at halfway just as the Chiefs made a huge break. Both players stay down momentarily but are now back on their feet.
37 mins: BLUES 14 CHIEFS 10
The Blues get out of a real jam with Akira Ioane running it off the back of the scrum and delivers a pin-point pass to his fullback Melani Nanai who is tackled on halfway by Damian McKenzie. The Chiefs are penalised for batting the ball down and not attempting to catch the ball.
31 mins: BLUES 14 CHIEFS 10
TURNOVER! Scott Scrafton makes up for his mistake prior, coming from the middle of the line-out maul and forces a turnover. The Chiefs' maul is collapsed and Scrafton denies the Chiefs a possible five-pointer. The Blues have a scrum feed five metres out of their own try-line.
29 mins: BLUES 14 CHIEFS 10
REVERSE PENALTY! Chiefs were initially penalised for hands in the ruck but the Blues' lock forwards Patrick Tuipulotu and Scott Scrafton have been penalised for a dangerous clean-out.
26 mins: BLUES 14 CHIEFS 10
TRY! The Chiefs strike back! Solomon Alaimalo creates the space for the Chiefs down the left edge and it is his right wing teammate Sean Wainui who pops up down the left flank to finish off the move for the Chiefs. Damian McKenzie misses another conversion at goal this time from out wide.
22 mins: BLUES 14 CHIEFS 5
TRY! A sensational try by the Blues number eight Akira Ioane after an initial break by George Moala. Akira beats five Chiefs defenders, showing great speed to punch onto the ball after the pop pass from Moala. He fends off two Chiefs defenders before diving over the try-line close to the goal posts. Bryn Gatland is successful with his kick at goal.
17 mins: BLUES 7 CHIEFS 5
PENALTY! The Chiefs number seven Sam Cane comes up with a big play. Denying the Blues a try and gets his side a much needed turnover. The Blues are penalised for not releasing the ball in the ruck.
16 mins: BLUES 7 CHIEFS 5
PENALTY! The Blues again turn down a shot at goal opting to kick to touch going for another five-pointer. A risky move.
13 mins: BLUES 7 CHIEFS 5
TRY! The Chiefs' number eight Taleni Seu crashes over to score after a great run by Sean Wainui in the lead up. Damian McKenzie is again off target with his shot at goal. The Blues lead 7-5.
10 mins: BLUES 7 CHIEFS 0
MISS! Damian McKenzie misses a chance to put his side on the score-board with a missed penalty kick on the angle.
7 mins: BLUES 7 CHIEFS 0
TRY! After a solid line-out maul James Parsons breaks off the back and finds his skipper Augustine Pulu and he powers his way over the try-line with two Chiefs players on him. Bryn Gatland lands the conversion and the Blues are now up 7-0.
6 mins: BLUES 0 CHIEFS 0
PENALTY! Mitchell Brown has been penalised for not releasing in the tackle and the Blues turn down a shot at goal and kick the ball deep into the Chiefs' 22. A solid attacking position for the Blues as they have the feed into the line-out.
4 mins: BLUES 0 CHIEFS 0
MISSED CHANCE! Blues' skipper Augustine Pulu makes a clever little dart down the blindside from the back of a ruck but he loses the ball and the Chiefs now have a scrum feed inside their own 22.
2 mins: BLUES 0 CHIEFS 0
PENALTY! After a solid start for the Chiefs with ball in hand they give away a penalty inside the Blues' 22m line. Nathan Harris tried to creep a few more metres but is penalised for not releasing the ball in the tackle.
KICK-OFF!
And we are underway! Damian McKenzie gets things started with deep kick off to the Blues.
7.34pm: The Chiefs have made a late change with Damian McKenzie named to play at fullback with Tiaan Falcon named at first-five eighth.
7.15pm: The Chiefs have lost another player to injury with Brodie Retallick being ruled out with an eye injury. He's been replaced by Mitchell Brown at lock with Tyler Ardron named on the bench.
PRE-MATCH:
The last time the Blues and Chiefs met it ended in a 16-16 draw at the same venue, Eden Park.
Both side's lost their opening matches last week against the Highlanders and Crusaders, with the Chiefs losing a number of players due to injury.
The Blues will be without Sonny Bill Williams who suffered a knee injury against the Highlanders last week, he will be replaced by TJ Faiane at second five-eighth.
Jerome Kaino and Jimmy Tupou return to bolster the Blues side after missing last week's match.
Michael Allardice replaces injured Chiefs forward Dominic Bird at lock, while veteran Liam Messam starts at blindside flanker.
Charlie Ngatai has been ruled out with Shaun Stevenson shifting to fullback and Sean Wainui named on the right wing.
The Blues will be looking to break a 12 game losing streak against New Zealand team's tonight. Last week against the Highlanders the Blues showed glimpses of attacking brilliance with their discipline costing them the match.
The Chiefs leaked in 19 points against the Crusaders in the final ten minutes of their match, defence and discipline a key thing for them to improve in tonight's NZ derby.
BLUES: 1.Pauliasi Manu, 2.James Parsons, 3.Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 4.Patrick Tuipulotu, 5.Scott Scrafton, 6.Jimmy Tupou, 7.Murphy Taramai, 8.Akira Ioane; 9.Augustine Pulu (c), 10.Bryn Gatland, 11.Rieko Ioane, 12.TJ Faiane, 13.George Moala, 14.Matt Duffie,15.Melani Nanai.
RESERVES: 16.Leni Apisai, 17.Alex Hodgman, 18.Michael Tamoaieta, 19.Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, 20.Jerome Kaino, 21.Sam Nock, 22.Daniel Kirkpatrick, 23.Michael Collins.
CHIEFS: 1.Aidan Ross, 2.Nathan Harris, 3.Nepo Laulala, 4.Mitchell Brown, 5.Michael Allardice, 6.Liam Messam, 7.Sam Cane (c), 8.Taleni Seu, 9.Brad Weber, 10.Damian McKenzie, 11.Solomon Alaimalo, 12.Johnny Faauli, 13.Anton Lienert-Brown, 14.Sean Wainui, 15.Shaun Stevenson.
RESERVES: 16.Liam Polwart, 17.Karl Ui'inukuafe, 18.Angus Ta'avao, 19.Tyler Ardron, 20.Lachlan Boshier, 21.Te Toiroa Tahuiriorangi, 22.Tiaan Falcon, 23.Bailyn Sullivan/Declan O'Donnell.
26 mins: BLUES 14 CHIEFS 10
47 mins: BLUES 14 CHIEFS 17
51 mins: BLUES 14 CHIEFS 24
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