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Canterbury 26 Hawke's Bay 45
Canterbury - Poihipi, Donaldson, Gibson & Mataele tries; Burke conversion, Debreczeni 2 conversions
Hawke's Bay - Cridge, McClutchie, Toala, Kaifa, Devery, Lowe & Ili tries; McClutchie 4 conversions, Falcon conversion
Fulltime
Even without inspirational captain Ash Dixon on the park, Hawke's Bay have snapped a 68-year losing streak in Christchurch, overpowering Canterbury 45-26 to consolidate their spot atop the NPC premiership table.
Dixon was injured against Tasman last week and will soon leave New Zealand for a contract in Japan, but ran water for the Magpies, as they continued their winning ways in the national competition, with their fifth straight win.
The visitors took 20 minutes to break the scoreless deadlock, through a try by lock Geoff Cridge, but piled on four more before halftime to lead 33-7 over the red-and-blacks.
The Cantabrians hinted at a comeback, with Manasa Mataele and Luke Donaldson scoring consecutive tries, and Magpies prop Joe Apikotoa dispatched to the sin bin.
Flanker Mitch Gibson added a third straight try, as the home side closed within 12 points, but Jonah Lowe put the contest beyond salvation, with Bay's final try.
The outcome gives Hawke's Bay a clear five-point lead on the premiership table, with a Ranfurly Shield challenge from Waikato looming next week.
Second half
40th minute - Bay win the lineout and are playing under advantage, as they maul towards the line. Curran brings them back, McClutchie kicks to the corner again, as the final siren sounds - they want 50.
Flanders wins the lineout and drive over the line, but they're held up and Curran whistles the end of the game.
39th minute - Darry offloads to Punivai, but his pass left to Mataele deflects into touch. From a scrum, Bay move the ball left and Falcon makes big metres.
They win a penalty and McClutchie kicks to the corner for one last raid.
37th minute - Canterbury try to break out of their half, but their cause is surely lost. Debreczeni puts Mataele on a deep run into the 22, but he loses the ball and Bay break out.
36th minute - Bay win a penalty near the Canterbury 22 and Falcon will kick for the posts to soak up time. He slices the kick.
35th minute - Mataele makes a defensive mistake and Bay pour onto attack. Falcon kicks ahead, Canterbury force for a line dropout and gain some respite.
32nd minute - TRY to Lowe
Big scrum from Hawke's Bay turns the ball over, Falcon splits the defence and passes to Lowe's foot. He toes ahead and regathers for the try.
Falcon's pass looked forward and Lowe was lucky to keep hold of the ball, but Curran is happy, Falcon converts, HAW 45-26
31st minute - Bay are back to full strength, but Falcon's kickoff goes out on the full, so Canterbury have a scrum on halfway.
30th minute - TRY to Gibson
Mataele makes another telling run down the left and finds Punivai outside him. Fihaki makes ground and backhands to Gibson running towards the posts. Debreczeni converts, HAW 38-26
29th minute - Bay almost steal the lineout throw, but Donaldson eventually clears. Replays show McClutchie was inside his own half and his kick should have been a 50:22 and Bay throw-in.
28th minute - Bay win a long lineout and McClutchie puts a great kick into the corner.
27th minute - Debreczeni fires a loose pass inside the 22 and another Canterbury attack fizzles out.
Bay scrum disintegrates, but Canterbury are penalised and the Magpies have a chance to clear.
26th minute - Punivai crosses halfway for Canterbury, who go back on attack.
25th minute - Canterbury on halfway again, but McLeod slices his kick into touch on the full.
23rd minute - Rakete-Stones re-enters the game and Long moves to the other side of the scrum, Gareth Evans is the unlucky player to leave.
Bay win a free kick for early scrum engagement from Canterbury and Falcon clears his line.
22nd minute - Canterbury have a penalty in midfield and take a quick tap. Debreczeni kicks ahead, but Punivai can't control the bounce and Bay have a chance to clear.
21st minute - Lienert-Brown tries to slip a pass to his winger, but the ball is deflected back and Falcon clears.
The next scrum could be interesting, because Apikotoa replaced an injured Waa and presumably Rakete-Stones would have to come back on to play the other side of the front row from whence he started.
20th minute - McLeod spots a half gap, as Canterbury attacks the 22. When the ball goes left, Falcon almost has an intercept and collides with Mataele.
19th minute - Canterbury have a penalty, when Darry is lifted by Apikotoa, after play breaks down. Replays show Darry has slipped a knee into his rival's ribs, but Curran is focused on the retaliation.
Apikotoa has a yellow card and Bay are a man down.
Canterbury have a chance to cut into the lead here and pour onto attack.
17th minute - TRY to Donaldson
Donaldson is on at halfback for Canterbury and his first kick is chased down by Naholo, as Canterbury cross halfway. Mataele breaks through down the left and pops a pass infield to Donaldson in support.
Debreczeni converts, HAW 38-19
15th minute - TRY to Mataele
Romano wins the lineout and the Canterbury forwards swarm toward the line. When the ball moves left, Mataele props inside the final defender to score.
Debreczeni misses the sideline conversion, HAW 38-12
14th minute - Canterbury have a midfield penalty and kick to the corner. Lowe almost keeps the ball in.
13th minute - McLeod has a powerful run over halfway for Canterbury and Punivai tries to give Naholo some space down the right. Another loose pass ends the attack.
12th minute - Bay trying to find a way out of their half, but met by strong Canterbury defence. Enari kicks ahead, but the Bay pursuers knock on.
10th minute - McAlister overthrows the Canterbury lineout and Devery pounces on the ball. Bay win a clearing penalty.
Ninth minute - Fihaki kicks ahead towards the goal-line, but it bounces backwards. Bay are penalised and Debreczeni kicks to the corner.
Eighth minute - Big scrum from Canterbury and McClutchie initially recovers, but Canterbury regain possession.
Seventh minute - Another Canterbury attack is stalled by a forward pass. Canterbury have Naholo and Punivai coming off the bench to add some spark.
Debrecezeni moves to first-five and Fihaki to fullback.
Sixth minute - Bay control a defensive scrum and Enari clears.
Fifth minute - From the kickoff, Matele makes a big run down the right and Canterbury pour into the 22. Darry tries to throw a floating pass to Fihaki, but it's cut out by Lowe and ruled forward anyway.
Visinia is replaced by Falcon at fullback for the Bay.
Second minute - TRY to Devery
Bay win the lineout, but have another penalty with Poihipi is offside at the breakdown.
Bay win another lineout and maul to the goal-line. Devery is playing for Dixon this week and gets the hooker's try at the back of the train.
The home crowd cheer, as McClutchie misses the conversion, but they need to refocus on the scoreboard and show some respect, HAW 38-7
First minute - Burke kicks off the second half for Canterbury. Enari kicks ahead and Debreczeni knocks on - it's gathered by a teammate in an offside position and Bay are immediately on attack.
First half
39th minute - TRY to Kaifa
Bay rolling into the Canterbury 22, with Enari calling the shots. Eventually, Ili and McClutchie create space out right for Kaifa to cross in the corner.
McClutchie slots the conversion and that's halftime, HAW 33-7
38th minute - Visinia takes another high kick and runs into the Canterbury half.
34th minute - TRY to Toala
Bay move the ball right and Rakete-Stones runs over his marker on the sideline. Bay have a penalty for offside and they move the ball quickly, with Enari find Toala for a straight run to the line.
McClutchie converts, HAW 26-7
31st minute - TRY to McClutchie
Canterbury are on a roll now and charge into the Bay half. O'Connor charges down Burke's kick and Bay pour forward.
McClutchie chases the ball behind the goal-line, but replays suggest he knocked on. Curran has called a try on the field and no TV angle could conclusively rule that out, so it stands.
McClutchie converts, HAW 19-7
30th minute - Stowers takes the kickoff and Curran pings Bay for not clearing the breakdown. Burke finds touch inside the Bay half.
29th minute - TRY to Poihipi
Off the good work from his forwards, Poihipi takes the pass, fakes inside to Burke and finds the line. Burke converts, HAW 12-7
28th minute - Fihaki recovers the kickoff for Canterbury and they go onto attack.
25th minute - TRY to Ili
Visinia takes a long kick and steams back over halfway to set up an attack. He has the ball back and is dragged down short.
The ball moves right and interpassing between Toala and Ili eventually sees the latter score. McClutchie slices his conversion, HAW 12-0
24th minute - Bay take a quick lineout and Toala bursts up centrefield, but when he tries to move the ball on, it goes loose from Ili.
21st minute - TRY to Cridge
Bay are usually money from this position, but Dixon is missing today. They drive over the line and eventually Cridge lunges over in the corner.
McClutchie converts from the sideline, HAW 7-0
20th minute - Bay steal a long Canterbury lineout throw and have a midfield penalty - a chance to break the deadlock, but McClutchie kicks to the corner.
19th minute - Canterbury scrambling to control the ball in their own 22, but win a clearing penalty. Burke finds a huge touch, inside the Bay half.
17th minute - Magpies steal the ball on the Canterbury 22. Enari tries to put Visinia away down the left, but the pass is lost.
Gibson replaces openside flanker Kellow for Canterbury.
16th minute - Bay enjoying some possession now and building confidence.
15th minute - Parsons wins a lineout and Bay drive forward. Enari finds Lowe on the sideline and he looks inside to Kaifa, but Enari eventually looses the ball.
Curran was playing advantage...
14th minute - Bay defence has Canterbury on the back foot and they eventually win a clearing penalty. Great work from the Magpies.
13th minute - Waa leaves, holding his shoulder - he was the prop brought down in that last scrum. Apikotoa replaces him under pressure.
Stowers charges off the back of the Canterbury scrum and the forwards gather over him.
12th minute - Another scrum penalty for Canterbury and a double blast from Curran. Bay captain Parsons is warned.
11th minute - Canterbury shove the scrum and have another penalty. They'll take another scrum and hope to have someone sent off next time.
10th minute - Curran has McClutchie for offside and Canterbury take the scrum five metres out.
Ninth minute - Darry wins the lineout five metres out, but Bay disrupt the maul.
Eighth minute - Big Canterbury scrum earns a penalty and Burke kicks to the corner again.
Sixth minute - From another lineout win, Burke kicks towards Mataele's corner, but it's controlled by the Bay defence. A long kick goes dead and Canterbury get a scrum on the Hawke's Bay 10.
Fifth minute - Prinsep wins the lineout and Canterbury forwards drive towards the line, with Stowers prominent.
Burke tries to kick behind the defence, but the ball deflects into touch.
Fourth minute - Canterbury win another penalty in midfield and Burke kicks to touch again.
Third minute - Burke throws a long pass left, but Mataele is bundled into touch about 20m out.
From the lineout, Enari clears.
Second minute - Darry wins the lineout and Canterbury attack the 22.
First minute - McClutchie kicks off for Hawke's Bay. Canterbury win a penalty at the breakdown, with Stowers tying up the ball.
Burke kicks to the corner.
4:32pm - Two big absentees from the Bay this week, with Ash Dixon and Marino Mikaele-Tu'u missing.
Former All Black Waisake Naholo will come off the bench for Canterbury today. Mitch Drummond is a late scratching a halfback, with Jono Kitto taking his place in the No.9 jersey.
Stuart Curran will be referee today.
*****
Kia ora, good afternoon and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the NPC premiership clash between Canterbury and Hawke's Bay at Christchurch.
The Magpies are flying high atop the table, after gaining promotion from the championship last season. Their victories have included three home wins over Otago, Bay of Plenty and Tasman to keep a grip on the Ranfurly Shield.
Their last outing was an impressive victory over reigning premiership champions Tasman, but travelling south to take on perennial contenders Canterbury presentes a different challenge.
The red-and-blacks are still reeling from their extra-time loss to Wellington last week and will want a result here to re-establish their claims on a title they've held 14 times over its history.
TAB Odds: Canterbury $1.42, Hawke's Bay $2.70
Canterbury: 1-Daniel Lienert-Brown, 2-Brodie McAlister, 3-Oli Jager, 4-Luke Romano, 5-Sam Darry, 6-Reed Prinsep, 7-Corey Kellow, 8-Henry Stowers, 9-Mitchell Drummond, 10-Fergus Burke, 11-Manasa Mataele, 12-Rameka Poihipi, 13-Dallas McLeod, 14-Chay Fihaki, 15-Jack Debreczeni.
Reserves: 16-Shilo Klein, 17-Finlay Brewis, 18-Fletcher Newell, 19-Liam Allen, 20-Mitch Gibson, 21-Jono Kitto, 22-Isaiah Punivai, 23-Waisake Naholo
Hawke's Bay: 1-Pouri Rakete-Stones, 2-Jacob Devery, 3-Namatahi Waa, 4-Geoff Cridge, 5-Tom Parsons (c), 6-Josh Kaifa, 7-Brendon O'Connor, 8-Devan Flanders, 9-Ereatara Enari, 10-Lincoln McClutchie, 11-Jonah Lowe, 12-Danny Toala, 13-Stacey Ili, 14-Neria Fomai, 15-Lolagi Visinia
Reserves: 16-Kianu Kereru-Symes, 17-Jason Long, 18-Joe Apikotoa, 19-Solomone Funaki, 20-Gareth Evans, 21-Danny Tusitala, 22-Tiaan Falcon, 23-Ollie Sapsford.
More to come
