Possession stats 25 mins
Taranaki 24%
Hawkes Bay 76%

The conditions playing a large part in the game play with a lot of tight inside runners off the back of a ruck

Taranaki collapsing the scrum gives Bay a chance to clear their lines

Wet slippery conditions here in New Zealand, resulting in many scrums in the first quarter

All level as Lespinas splits the posts with a 40 metre kick

Taranaki holding on the ground and the Bay have their first kicking opportunity.

Huge tackles going in by Taranaki's defence as the Bay counter attack each kick

The bay have a kicking opportunity inside Taranaki's half however they opt to kick for touch early on

We are underway as the referee blows his whistle.

Welcome everyone to Ultimate Rugby's Coverage of an interesting clash in New Plymouth tonight as both teams will look to keep the Ranfurly Shield well out of their minds and it won't be easy for very contrasting reasons. Taranaki have a Shield clash looming against Counties on Sunday while Hawke's Bay will still be trying to get over Saturday's heart-breaking defeat which saw the log 'o wood depart after just six days. Taranaki's form has been indifferent so far this season and it reached a new low on Saturday when they were hammered 15-51 by Auckland, which saw them drop to the bottom of the premiership table. Hawke's Bay, who are second behind Tasman on the championship standings, have made several changes to their forward pack but still have the nucleus of their top backline with Gillies Kaka, Zac Guildford and Ihaia West or named to start.