Live: Blues vs Highlanders | Super Rugby Aotearoa
Follow all the action on the RugbyPass live blog from the Super Rugby Aotearoa clash between the Blues and Highlanders at Eden Park in Auckland.
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Super Rugby Aotearoa returns to Eden Park - where the Blues attracted a mammoth 43,000 strong crowd in round one of the competition. Both the Blues and the visiting Highlanders are undefeated in the competition to date.
The Blues dealt to the Hurricanes two weeks ago then travelled down to Hamilton to record a first win in the Waikato in since 2011 and set a new franchise record for away wins in a row.
The Highlanders, meanwhile, beat the odds and scored a last-minute win over the Chiefs in Dunedin in round one, courtesy of a 35-metre drop goal from Bryn Gatland.
Neither side has tinkered with their squads much since their last matches. The Highlanders have brought Scott Gregory in at fullback in place of Vilimonoi Koroi but there's still no sign of All Blacks pivot Josh Ioane, meaning Mitch Hunt again gets the reins in the 10 jersey. The Blues have made no changes to the team that unravelled the Chiefs last week, instead opting to maintain continuity.
The last eight Super Rugby matches between the Blues and Highlanders at Eden Park have seen each team pick up four wins apiece, despite the Highlanders leading at half-time in six of the games in that span.
All Blacks and Highlanders flanker Shannon Frizell has scored four tries over his last two encounters with the Blues in Auckland while Rieko Ioane managed two in the two sides' previous encounter.
Latest Comments
Good summation Ned. Agree the Canes were out-muscled for once (except at the scrum!) by a focused Brumbies outfit. Tua deserves consideration for higher honors after the way he humbled Jordie and the Canes defense. Thankfully, his lack of eligibility for Oz keeps him from Joe’s plans. While I also agree the injuries affected the Canes performance, some players seemed to lack focus and intensity for this match. Perhaps after the Blues demolished the Brumbies, they thought it was going to be easy? A good reminder that any slip up in preparation can have a big affect on the result. Brumbies deserved that win.
Go to commentsKarl Dixon should never have been appointed this fixture, absolute disgrace, He’s not much of a referee anyway, didn't have the balls to send his mate care off
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