Highlanders 15-24 Chiefs
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FULLTIME: The Chiefs have upset the Highlanders 24-15 in Dunedin. The Chiefs have beaten the Highlanders for the first time in Dunedin since 2013. The Chiefs secured a bonus point by running in three tries.
78mins: Another turnover and McKenzie kicks the ball into touch.
77mins: Highlanders have a scrum close to the Chiefs line. Can they score to set up a thrilling end to the match?
75mins: The Highlanders are now close to scoring but somehow the Chiefs win the turnover.
74mins: The Chiefs get the ball back and are 10 metres from the line. Can they put the nail in the coffin right now?
No they can't as they turn the ball over and Naholo smashes the ball downfield.
72mins: Eight minutes remain in this brutal New Zealand conference match and the Highlanders have a scrum in their half. They clear the ball right away and tackle Shaun Stevenson into touch.
70mins: The Chiefs go close to scoring but the Highlanders turn the ball over and go straight on the counter attack. However they make a mistake. This has been one war between both sides as players from the Highlanders and Chiefs are lying on the ground and look tired.
67mins: PENALTY GOAL CHIEFS - Aaron Cruden lands a penalty goal for the Chiefs and they now make it a two-score game heading into the final stages of the match.
65mins: PENALTY GOAL HIGHLANDERS - Sopoaga lands his fifth penalty goal of the night and now the home side trail by six.
63mins: Naholo breaks the line and the Highlanders have a overlap out on the left wing, but they blow it again! luckily the Highlanders had a penalty advantage and they will go for the points again.
60mins: PENALTY GOAL HIGHLANDERS - Sopoaga lands his fourth penalty goal of the night, but the Chiefs still hold a nine point lead heading into the final quarter of the match.
58mins: The Highlanders win a penalty and will take another shot at goal to try close the gap.
55mins: It is a repeating record right now as the Highlanders make another mistake close to the line. Many predicted the Chiefs to finish last in the New Zealand conference, but they are doing a great job despite the limited oportunities.
53mins: The Highlanders are close to the line again. Can they actually score a try this time? After 17 phases the referee calls the teams back for a penalty and Aaron Smith takes the quick tap.
51mins: The Chiefs are full of confidence as both sides make changes. Tim Nanai-Williams is on the field for the away side.
46mins: TRY CHIEFS - Hika Elliott makes immediate impact to score the Chiefs third of the night. The try came from the lineout. Cruden slots the conversion from the sideline.
44mins: Hika Elliott makes his way onto the field for the Chiefs as a Bon Jovi classic starts blasting around the stadium.
41mins: The Highlanders have the ball early on edging closer to the Chiefs 22 but another mistake hands the Chiefs the ball. The handling errors have really cost the Highlanders in this match.
40mins: We are back underway at Forsyth Barr Stadium. The Chiefs get the second half started.
HALFTIME: Despite dominating the game, the Highlanders trail 14-9 at the break. Mistakes are costing the home team. James Lowe has scored two tries both coming off intercepts.
40mins: PENALTY GOAL HIGHLANDERS - Sopoaga lands his third penalty of the game, this one right in front of the posts.
39mins: The Chiefs turn the ball over but the referee calls everybody back and the Highlanders have another penalty in front of the posts and they are taking the points again.
37mins: Tevita Li breaks the line and the Highlanders get close. They win a penalty after a number of phases and take the quick tap and are now even closer to the line.
36mins: The first half is coming to an end. Can the Chiefs extend the lead or can the Highlanders get back into the match?
34mins: Ben Smith has been ruled out for the remainder of the match. He will be assessed further during the week.
31mins: PENALTY GOAL HIGHLANDERS - The Highlanders win a penalty at the scrum and captain Sopoaga slots it straight down the middle.
28mins: Ben Smith is up and heading to the locker room for a concussion test. Matt Faddes will replace Smith. It is unlikely Smith will return tonight. If he does many questions will be asked.
28mins: The referee stops the clock as Ben Smith is out cold on the ground. Smith jumped for a high ball and hit his head on the ground hard. He is currently being assessed by the medical team. Many concered Highlanders fans in the stadium right now.
27mins: A Highlanders player is tackled without the ball and the Highlanders opt to take the points, but Sopoaga pushes the kick wide.
25mins: Naholo breaks the line and the Highlanders are close to the line again. But the Chiefs force another turnover and clear the ball. The errors are starting to hurt the Highlanders.
23mins: After the TMO looked at the play, he stuck with the onfield decision and ruled it no try. Chiefs now have a 22m dropout.
21mins: Possible try to the Highlanders. Sopoaga puts in a cross field kick and it looks like Naholo has bobbled the ball as Liam Messam slips trying to contest for the ball.
20mins: The Highlanders go right on the counter attack and Tevita Li is carrying Chiefs players as he is crawling to the line.
17mins: TRY CHIEFS - James Lowe has his second try of the match off an intercept. Naholo tries to find Fekitoa on the wing and Lowe reads it perfectly to score again. Cruden adds the extras to extend the Chiefs lead.
15mins: The Highlanders are dominating all the stats early on but do not have much to show for it as errors have been a problem so far. Another mistake by Fekito gives the Chiefs a scrum right on halfway.
13mins: Some razzle-dazzle from the Chiefs and James Lowe spills the ball. If he held onto it, the Chiefs could have had another.
9mins: TRY CHIEFS - The Highlanders make a mistake at the scrum and they are forced back. Aaron Smith throws the ball wide and it is intercepted by winger James Lowe who scores under the posts. Aaron Cruden adds the extra.
8mins: The Highlanders defence is strong early on as the Chiefs make little ground before turning the ball over by not releasing at the breakdown. Highlanders now have a scrum in the Chiefs half.
5mins: Play stops for a moment as Mitchell Karpik gets treatment for a cut on the head. The Chiefs will will have possession when play resumes just outside their 22.
3mins: PENALTY GOAL HIGHLANDERS - Lima Sopoaga slots the penalty goal and the Highlanders take the early lead.
2mins: The Chiefs clear the ball early and the Highlanders go right on the attack, holding onto the ball edging closer to the Chiefs line. But the home side win an early penalty, and they will go for the points.
KICKOFF: We are underway at Forsyth Barr Stadium. The Highlanders get the match underway.
7:33pm: The crowd is loud and amped for this match to get under way. The Chiefs are running out onto the field. The Highlanders are not far away
7:30pm: Welcome into live updates of the Highlanders vs Chiefs Super Rugby match at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin. This match is arguably the match of the round. Both teams will be wanting to get their 2017 campaigns off to a great start.
Who do you think will win? Tweet us your predictions @Newshubsport
Hello and welcome to live updates of the Highlanders hosting the Chiefs at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.
We bring you live streaming written commentary, video highlights (be sure to refresh your browser) and all the action. VIDEO will be available as soon as the final whistle goes.
Commentary will start from around 7:30pm (NZT). In the meantime check out the video above for the latest episode of the Crooked Feed.
Line ups:
Highlanders
1. Daniel Lienert-Brown, 2. Liam Coltman, 3. Siate Tokolahi, 4. Alex Ainley, 5. Tom Franklin, 6. Gareth Evans, 7. James Lentjes, 8. Liam Squire, 9. Aaron Smith, 10. Lima Sopoaga, 11. Tevita Li, 12. Rob Thompson, 13. Malakai Fekitoa, 14. Waisake Naholo, 15. Ben Smith (C)
Reserves - 16. Adrian Smith, 17. Craig Millar, 18. Guy Millar, 19. Jackson Hemopo, 20. Elliot Dixon, 21. Kayne Hammington, 22. Fletcher Smith, 23. Matt Faddes
Chiefs
1 Kane Hames, 2. Hika Elliot, 3. Nepo Laulala, 4. Dominic Bird, 5. Brodie Retallick, 6. Taleni Seu, 7. Mitchell Karpik, 8. Liam Messam, 9. Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 10. Aaron Cruden (C), 11. James Lowe, 12. Johnny Fa'auli, 13. Anton Lienert-Brown, 14. Toni Pulu, 15. Damian McKenzie
Reserves - 16. Samisoni Taukei'aho, 17. Siegfried Fisi'ihoi, 18. Atu Moli, 19. Mitchell Brown, 20. Lachlan Boshier, 21. Jonathan Taumateine, 22. Tim Nanai-Williams, 23. Shaun Stevenson
Match facts and stats
Referee: Mike Fraser (NZL)
Assistants: Brendon Pickerill (NZL), Jamie Nutbrown (NZL)
TMO: Aaron Paterson (NZL)
The Highlanders have won each of their last six games against the Chiefs, a seventh win would equal the longest streak of either team in the history of this fixture, set by the Chiefs from 2004 to 2010.
The Highlanders have won 11 of their last 12 games at home, including each of their last three, and haven’t lost a home fixture by more than the value of a converted try since a 28-point loss to Crusaders in Round 18, 2013.
The Chiefs have won their last four season openers, with all of those games coming away from home against teams from New Zealand.
The Chiefs will be looking to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since 2015 after bowing out of the 2016 semi-finals to the Hurricanes.
Past meetings
Head to head: Played 28, Highlanders 13, Chiefs 15, draws 0
In Dunedin: Played 14, Highlanders 7, Chiefs 7, draws 0
Last time played: Highlanders 25 def Chiefs 15, July 16 2016
Head-to-head: Highlanders - $1.60 Chiefs - $2.35
Pre-match banter: Ross Karl: Early predictions - the scourge of the Kiwi sports fan
Okay, so the Blues went from zero to 100 very quickly last night, but let's tap on the brakes for a second. In fact, let's pull up the handbrake.
Kiwi rugby fans love to make bold predictions. We love to anoint teams as champions early in the season, or in the Blues case, make definitive statements on turning corner and playoffs destinies. It's similar to our fast food culture. We need immediate gratification and opinions are no exception. Our thoughts often reflect what's happening right now, forgetting the context of a full season.
Super Rugby almost never ends the way it starts, front runners fall off, teams make late surges, champions fall away and wooden spooners turn into contenders.
Fans need to learn the lessons from last season. Long term predictions are frought.
Last year, when the Brumbies destroyed the Hurricanes in week one, heaps of pundits (including me) were willing to hand them the trophy. They had too many Wallabies for other sides to handle. They were too slick. They had just slaughtered a Hurricanes side that had put 70 points on the Crusaders in the pre-season. No one could stop them.
By round six the Chiefs had posted 48 points on them in Canberra and they were relinquished to being the best in Australia. As we now know, that didn't mean much last year. The Chiefs went on a seven match winning streak, with two more 50 point blow outs. They were scoring tries at will. The Chiefs were going to run away with it. Despite a very good season, they came third in the tight kiwi conference and couldn't match it with the Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes looked like also rans when they got hammered by the Sharks in South Africa. Star players had been out late before the game and were suspended. They were in dire straights. It wasn't until they beat the high flying Crusaders in Christchurch in the final round that people I spoke to said "hey, these guys are actually the team to beat." Nek minute, champions.
We do the same thing with our opinions on players. We love to talk about dumping long serving stalwarts because of couple of dropped passes or because they're old.
Remember when everyone on talk radio wanted to leave Dan Carter out of the 2015 Rugby World Cup because Lima Sopoaga had played one great Test against South Africa? It was a very popular opinion. Thank goodness the selectors had their heads screwed on. Imagine dropping the greatest first ever because a rookie had played one good Test. The rest of the world would think we're made.
So, think about the wider context. Think about the length of the season. Think about how the present relates to the past and future. Don't jump to conclusions, based on one off matches.
Most predictions end up wrong (I know mine usually do) - that's why the TAB make so much money.
Newshub.
