HURRICANES 61 - 7 CHEETAHS
FULLTIME: That is it in Wellington. The Hurricanes have destroyed the Cheetahs 61-7 in Wellington. It was close-ish in the first half, but the Canes ran riot in the second to win the game.
79mins: One last chance for the Cheetahs to have the last say of the game.
78mins: Two minutes to go. Cheetahs have a scrum.
76mins: Another break by the Canes, but they spill the ball. Cheetahs with possession on halfway.
74mins: TRY HURRICANES: The try is given and Leni Apisai has his first. Chris Eves strips the ball and it sits up for Apisai who scores.
73mins: Leni Apisai goes over with the ball. No idea how it happened. The TMO will take a look before it can be awarded.
72mins: Hurricanes now with eight tries and the ball. Black kicks it into space and it dribbles into touch close to the Cheetahs try line.
70mins: TRY HURRICANES: Ben Lam has the try. Brad Shiels makes a big run and finds the former All Blacks Sevens player who uses his pace to sprint over.
69mins:The Cheetahs make a break and chip the ball towards the posts but it doesn't sit up well.
68mins: Scrum to the Cheetahs inside their half.
66mins: Canes with the ball making good ground and building phases.
64mins: Another chip by the Canes and Jordie Barrett is chasing, but Clayton Blommetjies takes the mark, but the referee brings the play back as the away side knocked the ball on earlier in the play.
63mins: Canes kick early and the Cheetahs go on the counter.
61mins: TRY HURRICANES: Vince Aso has three! Ngani Laumape makes another break and kicks it downfield and Aso wins the race to the ball to score. These two are just incredible together.
59mins: Cheetahs with the ball score to the try line. But they knock the ball on and it is a scrum for the Hurricanes.
56mins: TRY HURRICANES: I believe Jeffery To'omaga-Allen scored the try. It was hard to tell as both teams got up and started pushing each other. Yes, can confirm the prop is the try scorer.
55mins: The Hurricanes are close to the line, looking for their sixth try of the game. Ardie Savea goes over but is held up.
53mins: They home team nearly goes all the way to score, but a little bobble and the Cheetahs get the ball, but kick it into touch.
53mins: The Hurricanes win a penalty and take a quick tap and they are off like Usain Boult.
52mins: The Cheetahs go over, but Niel Marais is held up.
51mins: Cheetahs with the ball five metres from the line. Can they score here?
50mins: Cheetahs forced to make a change due to Elandré Huggett being on the bench. While Jordie Barrett and Ben Lam both get ready to come on. Cheetahs win a scrum penalty.
47mins: TRY HURRICANES: Vince Aso scores his second but he needs to thank Ngani Laumape for his effort after he makes a break from the restart. The former Warriors finds Aso who sprints to the corner to score the five-pointer.
45mins: TRY HURRICANES: Tj Perenara is over. Easy try for the Canes who work the ball close to the line, and halfback just dots the ball over the white line.
44mins: YELLOW CARD CHEETAHS: Ben May goes over but it doesn't look like he gets the ball down. A Cheetahs players was offside and Elandré Huggett will get a 10-minute breather.
43mins: Another penalty to the Hurricanes and the referee has a word to the Cheetahs captain. Canes kick to touch again.
42mins: Early penalty to the Hurricanes and they kick towards touch again. Lineout 15 metres from the line.
40mins: The second half is underway in Wellington. The Cheetahs get first use of the ball.
HALFTIME: Three tries for the homes-de put them in a commanding position at the break. It has been far from perfect, but they are on their way to a good win in Wellington. They lead 21-7.
39mins: TRY HURRICANES: Ardie Savea scores the third try of the night for the Hurricanes just before halftime. Easy try as he powers his way over taking three Cheetahs players with him.
37mins: Another chip kick the Canes, and the ball takes a horrible bounce for the Canes, but they had a penalty advantage and they will kick towards touch.
36mins: Hurricanes building up the phases with the ball, nine phases as they cross the Cheetahs 22.
35mins: The Cheetahs attack down the blindside and make a play out of nothing but Raymond Rhule runs out of space and throws the ball away which results in a penalty to the Hurricanes.
33mins: Great defence by the Cheetahs as the Hurricanes are forced to use the ball, three plays later they win a penalty as the Hurricanes failed to release the ball.
31mins: The Cheetahs collapse the rolling maul and the Canes win a penalty. Hurricanes go for another lineout.
30mins: Hurricanes now with an attacking lineout. 10 metres from the line.
29mins: The Hurricanes steal the ball and they are right back on the attack. They attack down the right blindside, before moving infield.
28mins: The Cheetahs survive as another sloppy error by the Hurricanes, poor pass by Perenara as the short Ngani Laumape struggles to catch the ball.
26mins: Attacking scrum for the Hurricanes after Teboho Mohoje makes a critical mistake. The scrum will be just outside the Cheetahs 22.
25mins: TRY CHEETAHS: Cheetahs in for their first of the match, Fred Zeilinga throws a massive dummy and steps past Beauden Barrett to score the Cheetahs first of the game.
24mins: Another penalty tot he Cheetahs, and they kick to touch again. Lineout five metres from the line.
23mins: Time off as a Cheetahs players was tackled late. The Cheetahs in great attacking position and they kick towards touch.
21mins: Scrum to the Hurricanes as the Cheetahs make their first change of the match and it is a big loss as captain Francois Venter hobbles off.
20mins: TRY HURRICANES: Another try for the Hurricanes and Vince Aso scores his 11th of 2017. The home-side throws a quick lineout and spread it wide and Aso finds space and runs over under the posts.
19mins: The Hurricanes clear the ball and the Cheetahs now the ball in Hurricanes territory. They are running around in circles or ovals right now.
17mins: TRY HURRICANES: From the dropout, the kick is charged by Tj Perenara, and as the Cheetahs look for space, Vaea Fifita intercepts the ball and strolls over the line.
16mins: The Hurricanes working their way closer to the line. Two plays later Otere Black kicks towards Ngani Laumape but the Cheetahs win the race to the ball.
15mins: Surprisingly they turn down the option for points and opt for a scrum.
14mins: The Hurricanes go inside the Cheetahs 22, and they win a penalty right in front of the posts.
13mins: The Hurricanes try a cheeky chip over the top and Wes Goosen gets hands to the ball, but it goes into touch.
From the lineout, Fred Zeilinga makes a break but throws the ball too Ardie Savea.
12mins: Great defence by the Cheetahs as the Hurricanes are making little ground with the ball.
10mins: Cheetahs win a penalty now, and they smash the ball downfield trying to get a lineout close to the line, but the ball doesn't go out and now the Canes go on the counter attack.
8mins: Hurricanes penalty and they kick the ball deep downfield. They have a lineout inside the Cheetahs half.
7mins: Hurricanes make a mistake from the line. Julian Savea drops the ball they try to run a set-piece. The Cheetahs will have their second scrum of the match.
6mins: Another chip by Perenara into space and the Cheetahs go running the ball again, before kicking from the ruck, but it goes out on the full. Attacking lineout for the Canes.
5mins: Hurricanes have the ball inside the Cheetahs 22, but Jeff To'omaga-Allen spills the ball and the away side decide to run it out instead of kicking.
3mins: Hurricanes steal the ball and TJ Perenara chips the ball over the top, but the ball just goes out as Julian Savea chases.
2mins: The scrum has to be reset. Eventually, the Cheetahs win and they look to pounce down the left wing.
1mins: Otere Black kicks early and the Cheetahs let the ball bounce. But a tiny knock on means the away side will have the first scrum of the match.
KICKOFF: We are underway in Wellington. The Cheetahs get the match started which means the Hurricanes get first use of the ball.
7:32pm: A moment's silence for Daniel Baldwin who passed away after a game of rugby.
7:30pm: Despite only two wins in 2017, the Cheetahs have pushed the Chiefs, Crusaders, Highlanders and Blues to the limit. Should be a cracking game of rugby tonight in the nation's capital.
Hello and welcome to live updates of the Hurricanes hosting the Cheetahs at Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
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 as Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd talks about the changes made to the squad for the clash against the Cheetahs.
Lineups
Hurricanes
1. Ben May, 2. Ricky Riccitelli, 3. Jeffery To'omaga-Allen, 4. Sam Lousi, 5. Vaea Fifita, 6. Reed Prinsep, 7. Ardie Savea, 8. Brad Shields, 9. TJ Perenara (c), 10. Otere Black, 11. Julian Savea, 12. Ngani Laumape, 13. Vince Aso, 14. Wes Goosen, 15. Beauden Barrett
Reserves - 16. Leni Apisai, 17. Chris Eves, 18. Loni Uhila, 19. Mark Abbott, 20. Hugh Renton, 21. Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22. Jordie Barrett, 23. Ben Lam
Cheetahs
1. Ox Nché, 2. Elandré Huggett, 3. Johan Coetzee, 4. Armandt Koster, 5. Carl Wegner, 6. Uzair Cassiem, 7. Teboho Mohoje, 8. Henco Venter, 9. Shaun Venter, 10. Fred Zeilinga, 11. Raymond Rhule, 12. Clinton Swart, 13. Francois Venter (c), 14. Sergeal Petersen, 15. Clayton Blommetjies
Reserves - 16. Torsten van Jaarsveld, 17. Charles Marais, 18. Tom Botha, 19. Francois Uys, 20. Niell Jordaan, 21. Tian Meyer, 22. Niel Marais, 23. Ruan van Rensburg
Match facts and stats
Referee: Nic Berry
Assistants: Will Houston and Ben O’Keeffe
TMO: Ben Skeen
The Hurricanes have won six of the last eight clashes between these teams, including each of the last two.
The Cheetahs have lost 13 of their 15 Saturday fixtures in New Zealand, including the last four in a row by an average margin of 24 points.
The Hurricanes have scored 28 tries on the opening phase of possession, five more than any other team in the competition and 12 more than the Cheetahs.
Beauden Barrett’s 13 try assists this season are two more than any other player.
The last time any South African team travelled to Wellington and won was the Stormers in Round 11, 2013
Past meetings
Head to head: Played 10, Hurricanes 7, Cheetahs 3, draws 0
In New Zealand: Played 5, Hurricanes 4, Cheetahs 1, draws 0
Last time played: Hurricanes 60 def Cheetahs 27, March 15, 2014
Head-to-head: Hurricanes - $1.03 Cheetahs- $10.00
Pre-match banter: Race begins for All Blacks assistant coach role after Wayne Smith announces departure
Steve Hansen is sure some quality candidates will "drop from the sky" when he goes searching for a new All Blacks assistant coach.
New Zealand Rugby will advertise immediately for a replacement for Wayne Smith, who announced on Friday he is stepping aside in October, after the Rugby Championship.
Hansen says replacing close friend Smith, the person, rather than the coach, will be the biggest challenge.
Steve Hansen is sure some quality candidates will "drop from the sky" when he goes searching for a new All Blacks assistant coach.
New Zealand Rugby will advertise immediately for a replacement for Wayne Smith, who announced on Friday he is stepping aside in October, after the Rugby Championship.
Hansen says replacing close friend Smith, the person, rather than the coach, will be the biggest challenge.
However, the All Blacks head coach doesn't intend to shoulder-tap any preferred candidate.
He will help with the formal process in appointing someone to work alongside Smith during the Rugby Championship, effectively bedding them into the All Blacks' methods.
The process will be fascinating, with a host of well-qualified candidates likely to be interested.
From the well-performing New Zealand Super Rugby teams, experienced pair Chris Boyd and John Plumtree have turned around the fortunes of the Hurricanes while Scott Robertson has made an immediate impact this season with the unbeaten Crusaders.
Tana Umaga hasn't enjoyed the same success in two seasons at the Blues.
Tony Brown (Highlanders) and Dave Rennie (Chiefs) are probably out of contention after lining up contracts in Japan and Scotland respectively later this year.
Offshore, several New Zealand coaches have enjoyed degrees of success, most notably Joe Schmidt with Ireland and Vern Cotter with Scotland.
Hansen will keep an open mind when the CVs roll in, taking into account how he believes the candidates will work alongside himself and assistant Ian Foster.
"But you've got to be flexible in your thinking. You don't know what's going to drop out of the sky," Hansen said.
"We've been in the industry long enough to know who's out there and it's a matter of seeing they're available, keen, and then going through the due process."
Smith believes there are a number of capable candidates in Super Rugby who have the opportunity to add something new to what is a golden era for the All Blacks.
The newcomer will inherit Smith's specific defence portfolio but might not take on some of the other aspects the 60-year-old was involved with.
"It will probably be more simplified than what Wayne is doing now," Hansen said.
"While we call Smithy a defence coach, he has had a big responsibility through the whole team.
"Whoever we appoint will spend some time with us, in the Rugby Championship, just having a look over Smith's shoulder, seeing how he's doing, seeing how we operate as a team, so it's not a big overwhelming thing coming in."
