Chris Eaton throws a poor pass which goes out of play near halfway. Manawatu lose the ball forward once again, this time after a lineout. They will need to sort their handling out if they are to put any phases together.

West makes a half-break and Hawk's Bay get within 5m of the tryline, but once again Manawatu steal the ball and clear it up field.

Hawk's Bay are inside the Manawatu 22m area, but the ball is stolen at the ruck. Fortunately for them, Manawatu lose the ball forward almost immediately.

Hawk's Bay are happy to play the territory game while the wind is at their back, kicking for the corners early on.

The ball has been lost forward near the tryline. Early opportunity lost. Scrum to Hawk's Bay 10m out.

Hawk's Bay collect the ball from the kickoff and clear the ball up field. Manawatu gather the ball and kick for the corner, but Berquist fumbles the ball and it goes out of play. Great attacking lineout 20m out for Manawatu.

The teams are making their way onto the field.

Hello and welcome to today's ITM Cup Championship Final between Manawatu and Hawk's Bay, live from FMG Stadium - Palmerston North. It's the two best teams that have made it to the final to set up a mouth watering clash. Richard Buckman has been ruled out of today's final with a knee injury which means Mathew Berquist makes his way into the starting lineup. 15min to kickoff, Ultimate Rugby will keep you up to date throughout the match.